A different kind of test, proposed as an alternative to standard college rankings, assesses how much students learn in college.
By
JoAnne Viviano, published on January 01, 2005 - last reviewed on February 13, 2007
In the fierce competition for entry into top colleges, parents and students commonly rely on college rankings that, critics contend, have little to do with learning. A group of educators have come up with something that's winning high marks in academia—a test to measure how much the college experience boosts the brainpower of students.
Modeled on the law boards, the test measures the critical thinking, problem solving and writing skills that undergraduates gain in college. Following a three-year feasibility study at 14 colleges and universities, the test of learning outcomes—called the Value-Added Assessment Initiative (VAAI)—is now in trial runs at 65 additional schools.
In the fall of 2004, the RAND Corporation's Council to Aid Education began implementing the test to track freshmen through graduation at 25 universities. "Assessment of student learning is the best kind of evidence to give feedback to individual students and the best kind of data an institution can use to make educational improvement," contends Richard H. Hersh, ex-president of Trinity College and prime mover of the VAAI at RAND, where he's a senior fellow.
Educators believe such a test of student performance could better indicate an institution's quality than the popular rankings published annually in U.S. News & World Report, which focus on reputation, graduation rates, financial resources and admissions selectivity. "If you only look at resources and reputation, you'll never get at the contribution a school makes to an individual," says Peter Ewell, vice president of the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.
"It really asks the questions, 'What kind of abilities and aptitudes does a young person show up with?' and, four years later, 'How have you been changed?'" says John Roush, president of Centre College in Kentucky. Faced with the results, says Edward R. D'Alessio, provost of Harcum College in Pennsylvania, colleges will have a clear indicator of how to develop and improve their curriculum to turn out well-educated adults.
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