Caitlyn C
Post #4
Subject: Education
Title: Trying to assess learning gives colleges their own test anxiety
Author: Daniel de Vise
Publication: The Washington Post
Date Published: March 14th 2012
Word Count: 516 words

Eight years ago, leaders of the University of Texas set out to measure something few in higher in education had thought to question - how much their students learn. An unsettling answer emerged from the study: not very much. The University of Texas administered a 90 minute essay test to seniors and freshmen to gauge the difference in critical thinking and communication skills. U Texas and a few other public universities have joined a growing movement in accountability in higher education - embracing this test and others that attempt to quantify collegiate learning on a large scale. A few students and staff are outraged to see four years of higher education reduced down to the score of a single test. The poor scores have also seeded fresh doubts about the quality of our country's system of higher education. Up until now, most upper level learning institutions have been exempt from the accountability movement that has swept through the elementary and secondary schools - the No Child Left Behind law and other similar programs. In a shocking study using data from public and private colleges, sociologists found that a whopping 36% of students made no significant learning gains from freshman to senior year. More and more schools are taking gains in order to rectify this problem; around 150 schools have posted the scores of the freshman/senior test. Although many of these schools are taking responsibility for this great injustice, many universities are still abstaining from administering or posting the results of this test. The biggest fear is that the test scores may be put to ill use by the collegiate ranking industry. 

Universities are where we assume we learn the most. That's why it costs so much, right? Wrong. According to this study, 36% of college students do not make significant learning gains from freshman to senior year. That's 4 years of tuition at a higher education level completely gone to waste. It's not just state colleges - this study also took data from private universities. A few schools are taking the initiative to "up their game" by taking the time and resources to ensure that their students are actually learning during their time at college. Others are hesitant to administer or post the scores of the test, fearing that their overall ranking will go down in the collegiate world. Overall, what we get out of any experience is what we put into it. One cannot passively learn, and ultimately it is up to the student to actively participate in his or her own education.