In his PhysLrnR post of 27 Feb 2006 titled "Fwd: FYI: Today's NY
Times Editorial," Dewey Dykstra forwarded from Ed Eckel an editorial
"Proof of Learning at College" [(NYT (2006)].
I have copied a more reader friendly version (with added hot-linked
academic references) into the APPENDIX. I believe this constitutes a
'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107
of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section
107, the material is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for
research and educational purposes. For more information go to
<http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml>.
For other references relevant to the NYT editorial and a preposterous
suggestion that the physics education reform effort might serve as a
model for higher education see Hake (2005, 2006a,b)].
Hake, R.R. 2006b. "Measuring Teaching and Learning Performance:
Interconnected Issues," in "Proceedings of the Third International
Conference on Measurement and Evaluation in Education (ICMEE 2006),"
Penang, Malaysia, 13-15 February. This paper is also online with
hot-linked URL's as ref. 38 at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> or download directly by clicking on
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/ICMEEk-2006.pdf> (230 kB).
NYT. 2006, New York Times Editorial "Proof of Learning at College,"
26 February 2006 freely online for probably only a short time at
<http://tinyurl.com/nytrg>. Copied into the APPENDIX.
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APPENDIX (Copy of NYT Editorial of 26 February 2006 "Proof of
Learning at College" with references by Hake)
PROOF OF LEARNING AT COLLEGE
Americans generally accept on faith that this country has the best
higher education system in the world, and presume that everything is
going just fine when it comes to student achievement. The business
community has long disputed this view, citing the large numbers of
college graduates who lack what should be basic skills in writing,
problem solving and analytical thinking - the minimum price of
admission to the new global economy. [See e.g., COSEPUP (2005)
"Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America
for a Brighter Future."]
The most recent findings from the National Assessment of Adult
Literacy [NTLF (2005)]] revealed distressing declines in literacy,
especially among those with the most education. For example, fewer
than a third of college graduates - down from 40 percent a decade ago
- were deemed "proficient" in terms of literacy as defined by the
ability to read and understand lengthy passages placed before them. A
small but still alarming percentage of college graduates scored
"below basic," meaning that they were incapable of all but the
simplest tasks.
In response, the chairman of the Bush administration's Commission on
the Future of Higher Education recently suggested that standardized
tests be used to determine how much college students are actually
learning [see e.g., Lederman (2005), USDE (2005)]. The higher
education community is up in arms about the suggestion, arguing that
what colleges teach cannot be fully tested and that standardized
tests would only dumb down an excellent education system. Those are
important arguments, but they will not end the controversy, as long
as business leaders keep complaining about the suspect quality of
many college graduates from both public and elite colleges. Indeed,
more than 40 states have now created accountability systems aimed at
having colleges prove that their students are actually learning [see
e.g., Hersh (2005)].
Colleges and universities should join in the hunt for acceptable ways
to measure student progress, rather than simply fighting the whole
idea from the sidelines. UNLESS THE HIGHER EDUCATION COMMUNITY WAKES
UP TO THIS PROBLEM - AND RESOLVES TO DO A BETTER JOB - THE MOVEMENT
AIMED AT REGULATING COLLEGES AND FORCING THEM TO DEMONSTRATE THAT
STUDENTS ARE ACTUALLY LEARNING WILL ONLY KEEP GROWING. [My CAPS.]
REFERENCES (by Hake to NYT Editorial)
Berliner, D.C. 2005. "Our Impoverished View of Educational Reform"
Teachers College Record, August 02, freely online to subscribers at
<http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentID=12106>. Abstract:
"This analysis is about the role of poverty in school reform. Data
from a number of sources are used to make five points:
1. Poverty in the US is greater and of longer duration than in other
rich nations.
2. Poverty, particularly among urban minorities, is associated with
academic performance that is well below international means on a
number of different international assessments. Scores of poor
students are also considerably below the scores achieved by white
middle class American students.
3. Poverty restricts the expression of genetic talent at the lower
end of the socioeconomic scale. Among the lowest social classes
environmental factors, particularly family and neighborhood
influences, not genetics, is strongly associated with academic
performance. Among middle class students it is genetic factors, not
family and neighborhood factors, that most influences academic
performance.
4. Compared to middle-class children, severe medical problems affect
impoverished youth. This limits their school achievement as well as
their life chances. Data on the negative effect of impoverished
neighborhoods on the youth who reside there is also presented.
5. Small reductions in family poverty lead to increases in positive
school behavior and better academic performance.
It is argued that poverty places severe limits on what can be
accomplished through school reform efforts, particularly those
associated with the federal No Child Left Behind law. THE DATA
PRESENTED IN THIS STUDY SUGGEST THAT THE MOST POWERFUL POLICY FOR
IMPROVING OUR NATIONS' SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT IS A REDUCTION IN FAMILY
AND YOUTH POVERTY.
COSEPUP. 2005. COmmittee on Science, Engineering, and PUblic Policy,
"Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America
for a Brighter Future," National Academies Press; online at
<http://fermat.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html>: "In a world where
advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily
available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and
technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated
federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S. competitiveness and
pre-eminence in these areas. This congressionally requested report by
a pre-eminent committee makes four recommendations along with 20
implementation actions that federal policy-makers should take to
create high-quality jobs and focus new science and technology efforts
on meeting the nation's needs, especially in the area of clean,
affordable energy:
1) INCREASE AMERICA'S TALENT POOL BY VASTLY IMPROVING K-12
MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE EDUCATION (see page 91 at
<http://print.nap.edu/pdf/0309100399/pdf_image/91.pdf>, and also page
92 at <http://fermat.nap.edu/books/0309100399/html/92.html> regarding
underprivileged groups [cf., Berliner (2005)];
2) Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research;
3) Develop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and
engineers from both the U.S. and abroad; and
4) Ensure that the United States is the premier place in the world
for innovation.
Some actions will involve changing existing laws, while others will
require financial support that would come from reallocating existing
budgets or increasing them.
Hersh, R.H. 2005. "What Does College Teach? It's time to put an end
to 'faith-based' acceptance of higher education's quality," Atlantic
Monthly 296(4): 140-143, November; freely online to
(a) subscribers of the Atlantic Monthly at <http://tinyurl.com/dwss8>, and
(b) (with hot-linked academic references) to educators at
<http://tinyurl.com/9nqon > (scroll to the APPENDIX). Hersh wrote: ".
. . in an era when the importance of a college diploma is increasing
while public support for universities is diminishing, [assessment of
student learning] is desperately needed. The real question is who
will control it. Legislators are prepared to force the issue:
Congress raised the question of quality during its recent hearings on
the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act; all regional
accrediting agencies and more than forty states now require evidence
of student learning from their colleges and universities; and
pressure is rising to extend a "No Child Left Behind"-style testing
regime to higher education" [see USDE (2005a,b)].
Lederman, D. 2005. "Graduated but Not Literate," Inside Higher Ed, 16
December, online at
<http://insidehighered.com/news/2005/12/16/literacy>. Lederman writes
(my italics): "Not only does [the report on literacy NAAL (2005)]
find that the average literacy of college educated Americans declined
significantly from 1992 to 2003, but it also reveals that just 25
percent of college graduates - and only 31 percent of those with at
least some graduate studies - scored high enough on the tests to be
deemed 'proficient' from a literacy standpoint, which the government
defines as 'using printed and written information to function in
society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and
potential.' 'This seems like another piece of hard evidence, a fairly
clear indication, that the 'value added' that higher education gave
to students didn't improve, and maybe declined, over this period,'
said Charles Miller, the former University of Texas regent who is
heading the U.S. education secretary's Commission on the Future of
Higher Education. 'You have the possibility of people going through
schools, getting a piece of paper for sitting in class a certain
amount, and we don't know whether they're getting what they need.
This is a fair sign that there are some problems here.' "
NAAL. 2005. National Assessment of Adult Literacy: A First Look at
the Literacy of America's Adults in the 21st Century," National
Center for Educational Statistics, online at
<http://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/PDF/2006470_1.PDF> (724 kB).
USDE. 2005. U.S. Dept. of Education, "Secretary Spellings Announces
New Commission on the Future of Higher Education," press release
online at
<http://tinyurl.com/cxgfz>: "Spellings noted that the achievement gap
is closing and test scores are rising among our nation's younger
students, due largely to the high standards and accountability
measures called for by the "No Child Left Behind Act." More and more
students are going to graduate ready for the challenges of college,
she said, and we must make sure our higher education system is
accessible and affordable for all these students."