Student Learning: About Student Learning
There are very few measures available across states that assess the degree to which students' knowledge and skills improve as a result of their education and training beyond high school. Margaret Miller of the University of Virginia (http://www.people.virginia.edu/~mam5mc) received funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts to develop measures for collegiate student learning that might eventually be used in Measuring UP: The State-by-State Report Card for Higher Education.This project, known as the National Forum on College-Level Learning, has developed a set of learning indicators that will be piloted in a small group of states over the next two years. State-wide average scores will be complied in the pilot states on the following measures:
- ACT's WorkKeys
- RAND's Collegiate Learning Assessment
- Licensure exams
- Graduate admissions tests
- The National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL)
- The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)
- The Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE)
- The College Results Survey (CRS)
The results of the project will be described in Measuring Up 2004. If the pilot proves successful (i.e., source providers willing to share data, information can be collected on adequate samples, and the results discriminate among the states) and enough states choose to gather similar information, states could be graded on learning as early as Measuring Up 2006.
For more information about this topic, please see "Measuring Up and Student Learning" by Margaret Miller and "Grading Student Learning" by Peter Ewell, or visit the project Website at http://www.people.virginia.edu/~mam5mc/nationalforum.html.