The Commission on the Future of Higher Education, recently appointed by the Bush administration, is discussing the implementation of standardized testing in universities and colleges.
Gary Cox, a member of the State-National Information Network Advisory Committee, which is a cooperative member of National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, explained the commission's plans.
"The objective would be to measure the success of students," Cox said.
Officials have expressed differing views over whether or not it would be beneficial to use standardized testing to assess students' performance in colleges and universities.
Bill Arceneaux, formally a board member of the NAICU, said he is adamantly opposed to the standardized testing and does not see any advantages in it.
"You have schools of art, you have schools of design, you have music colleges. All of them are doing different things, teaching different things and educating in different ways," said Arceneaux. "There is no standardized test that would apply [to all areas of education]."
Tony Pals, the director of public information at NAICU, said he does not view a national standardized test as yielding any advantages."
"We see as a downside that the national test points to national outcomes which points to national curriculum, and we worry that what will be harmed in the process will be the diversity of college university admissions across the country," Pals said.
Pals added that many higher education institutions already utilize different ways to assess what their students learn.
Cox said the educational community always faces the issue of trying to balance faculty creativity and independence with standards of what should be taught.
By implementing a standardized test in higher education institutions, this creativity might be taken away from the faculty, affecting the curriculum and the students, Cox said.
Tonya Moon, an Education professor and expert in competency testing and student assessment at the University, believes that standardized testing can be beneficial when used for the right reasons.
"One positive is to see how we can do better," Moon said.
Pals explained that supporters of the standardized testing believe "families need more data" when considering colleges for their future students to attend.
According to Cox, the best thing about the possibility of standardized testing in higher education institutions is "the fact that we're discussing it and thinking about what students are learning."
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