When we began identifying what a liberal arts degree would mean, we very quickly discovered the need for assessment. You have to identify the criteria that indicate meeting different levels of ability. When you walk into our classrooms, teaching and assessment look very much the same. The students are practicing the ability and at some point teachers are taking a measure of that. You really need multiple measures over time to get an increasingly rich and complex picture of how the students are developing each ability.
Assessment is part of everyday school activity.
At some colleges you prove yourself once, and then you don't have to think about it again. My favorite image is that you get a license to practice, but you can still get pulled over to the side of the road. There's more to being a good teacher than getting a license. There are ongoing expectations. We don't want students to take a developmental psychology course and forget about it.