Before they award diplomas, colleges and universities must more effectively measure and improve students’ performance in basic skills such as writing and critical thinking. Nothing makes clearer the need for change than a recent survey of college graduates, which reveals that a large number simply are not mastering the basic skills they need to compete.
An American Institutes for Research (AIR) survey found a majority of participating seniors at 80 randomly selected colleges and universities were unable to perform some common tasks that one would expect college graduates to have mastered: They could not calculate the cost per ounce of a food item. They could not compare or understand the viewpoints of two conflicting editorials. Even worse, 80 percent lacked basic quantitative literacy skills.
Students’ actual coursework may be one contributor to these results. The AIR study found that literacy levels are significantly higher among students who say their coursework places a strong emphasis on applying theories or concepts to practical problems, in comparison with students who say their coursework rarely touches on these skills. Frequently, students have too much autonomy when choosing their courses. Many large universities allow professors to use too many multiple-choice tests instead of essay exams and research papers. This may be exacerbated in part by underfunding, which creates larger class sizes.
To deal with such problems, the U.S. Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education is considering, among other measures, standardized testing. This controversial idea, which some members floated and then pulled away from, would be one way of prodding colleges to do something new and better.
Changing the prevailing attitudes at universities often can be as slow as melting an iceberg. Well-intentioned and dedicated faculties strongly object to any encroachment on their freedom or alternative measurements of educational objectives. But the results clearly indicate that something needs to change if our graduates are going to be prepared for the new and complex world marketplace.
Florida is one of a few states taking serious steps to deal with these problems. In 2004, when I was a member of Florida higher education’s board of governors, I initially proposed some form of standardized testing as an accountability step to measure critical thinking and writing before graduation. As one might expect, the idea was unpopular. Eventually, the board reached a compromise and decided to mandate that state universities adopt “Academic Learning Compacts” for their baccalaureate degree programs. The compacts require universities to establish simple, clear expectations for every student who enrolls and to determine whether each graduating student meets those standards with respect to content-area knowledge, critical thinking, and communication skills.
Our state’s Academic Learning Compacts will make college degrees more meaningful and comparable. More important, the compacts will help ensure that graduates are capable of the work expected of them. According to the new policy, the compacts can use multiple assessment measures to certify academic competency. These could include standardized tests, essays, licensure exams, or a combination of these and other methods. However, the ultimate test of effectiveness will be what students’ future employers think of the talents of each institution’s undergraduates.
There is no silver bullet for assessing and improving higher education. It has taken us a while to get here, and the problems will not be solved overnight. However, real accountability measures will give all stakeholders better benchmarks of undergraduates’ skills.
