Types of Degrees Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many educational assessment graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree	1,906
Master’s Degree	1,237
Graduate Certificate	394
Doctor’s Degree	315
Basic Certificate	1

What Majors Need to Know

In an O*NET survey, assessment majors were asked to rate what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important in their occupations. These answers were weighted on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most important.

Knowledge Areas for Assessment Majors

This major prepares you for careers in which these knowledge areas are important:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Skills for Assessment Majors

assessment majors are found most commonly in careers in which the following skills are important:

• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Abilities for Assessment Majors

Assessment majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

What Can You Do With a Major?

People with a assessment degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Education Professors	10.3%	$64,780
Education, Training, and Library Workers	10.8%	$42,080
Social Sciences Professors	9.8%	$71,600
Transportation Planners	6.7%	$81,340

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in ?

This is one of the most frequently chosen teaching majors. It is the 6th most popular in the country with 1,336 students graduating with a bachelor’s in assessment in 2021. The major attracts more women than men. About 86% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of assessment majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	30
Black or African American	129
Hispanic or Latino	211
White	1,310
International Students	9
Other Races/Ethnicities	217

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Assessment, too. About 0.5% of those with this major are international students. The most popular countries for students from outside the country are:

• China
• South Korea
• Saudi Arabia
• Taiwan
• India

How Much Do Majors Make?

Bachelor’s Degree Starting Salary

Salaries According to BLS

Assessment majors often go into careers where salaries can range from $46,680 to $85,750 (25th to 75th percentile). This range includes all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to

Some careers associated with assessment require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. In general, the more advanced your degree the more career options will open up to you. However, there is significant time and money that needs to be invested into your education so weigh the pros and cons.

Find out what the typical degree level is for assessment careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Bachelor’s Degree	38.6%
Master’s Degree	17.4%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	0.0%
Doctoral Degree	43.9%
Post-Doctoral Training	0.0%

Online Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	1	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	0	0
Bachelor’s Degree	85	22
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	87	22
Post-Master’s	21	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	65	4
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Worth It?

The median salary for a assessment grad is $73,680 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 85% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $675,600 after 20 years!

Majors Related to

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to assessment.

Major	Number of Grads
Teacher Education Grade Specific	110,770
Educational Administration	46,975
Teacher Education Subject Specific	42,343
Special Education	35,973
General Education	29,389
Curriculum & Instruction	19,217
Student Counseling	14,506
Instructional Media Design	9,224
Teaching English or French	5,525
Other Education	4,887
Teaching Assistants	2,720
Multilingual Education	1,995
Education Philosophy	932
International Education	279

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By US Navy Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Paul J. Phelps under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.