Trust Us? Shouldn't They?

'Trust Us' Won't Cut it Anymore

Reading Kevin Carey's article, while interesting, nearly made me spit blood. I have never been a proponent of standardized testing. I don't think that it shows real growth, takes into account learning disabilities, and gives conclusive evidence of learning. I, personally, feel that standardized tests take the soul out of education. And here Carey is suggesting that they need to be implemented at the collegiate level.

He cites a study done by Richard Arum from New York University and Josipa Roksa from the University of Virginia. The study, recently published in  Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses (University of Chicago Press), followed a couple thousand students and periodically administered the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). They found at after four years of college thirty-six percent of the students had made no gains. Carey makes the sweeping generalization that the students learned nothing! 



In no way do I discredit Arum and Roksa's work. I found the results of their study both interesting and sobering. It's not such a stretch to think that the students made to work more would learn more. Learning is hard work. I just think that it is unfair to place the entirety of the burden on the professors. And Carey does make the point that academic system does not make the professors' jobs any easier. Chasing tenure, research, and job security certainly distract from the teaching process. 


I think that it is also a mistake to completely remove the burden of learning from the students. College is supposed, at least in my opinion, be a period for maturation, growth, and responsibility. To bring standardized testing and, by extension, parents further into the equation would just serve to make college more like elementary education.


Do I think that learning and development should be of the foremost concern at the collegiate level? Absolutely. But I don't think that standardized evaluation is the way to do that. I think the problem is the academic system, not the individual professors.  


Carey, Kevin. "'Trust Us' Won't Cut it Anymore." The Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 18 Jan. 2011. Web. 19 Jan. 2011.