Define the specific information or skills you expect students to master over the course of the term. These form the basis of the learning outcomes, and should be tied to the overall curriculum of a program. The learning outcomes should be easy enough that the vast majority of students can complete them, but challenging enough that they only achieve success with consistent effort.
Design assessments that measure the degree to which students master the material in the learning outcomes. Measurements may be direct, such as tests or essays, or indirect, which would include surveys or exit interviews. Direct assessments have the advantage of providing clear information on whether or not the learning outcomes were achieved, but they do not tell you if the learning objectives were correctly designed; perhaps the outcomes were not ambitious enough. An indirect assessment that asks students how many hours per week were spent on homework would give a better measurement of this.
Review the assessment data, both direct and indirect, and evaluate the appropriateness of the learning outcomes. Are the expectations expressed in the learning outcomes too low or too high? Are there key elements of learning that are ignored by the current curriculum or assessments? This review process is essential to refining the learning outcome and assessment process.