[RUME] RUME: Proof of Learning at College

[Richard Hake]

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 increasing learning in higher education see Hake (2005; 
2006a,b).

Richard Hake, Emeritus Professor of Physics, Indiana University
24245 Hatteras Street, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
<rrhake at earthlink.net>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake>
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~sdi>


REFERENCES
Dykstra, D. 2006. "Fwd: FYI: Today's NY Times Editorial," post of 27 
Feb 2006; online at
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0602&L=physlrnr&O=D&X=33A71C3346E92FDA18&Y=rrhake%40earthlink.net&P=7170> 
or more compactly <http://tinyurl.com/posns>. The encyclopedic URL 
indicates that one must subscribe to PhysLrnR in order to access its 
archives. However, it takes only a few minutes to subscribe by 
following the simple directions at 
<http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/physlrnr.html> / "Join or 
leave the list (or change settings)" where "/" means "click on." If 
you're busy, then subscribe using the "NOMAIL" option under 
"Miscellaneous." Then, as a subscriber, you may access the archives 
and/or post messages at any time, while receiving NO MAIL from the 
list!  

Hake, R. R. 2005. "The Physics Education Reform Effort: A Possible 
Model for Higher Education," online as ref. 37 at
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake> or download directly by clicking on
<http://www.physics.indiana.edu/~hake/NTLF42.pdf> (100 kB). This is a
slightly edited version of an article that was (a) published in the
National Teaching and Learning Forum 15(1), December 2005, online to
subscribers at <http://www.ntlf.com>, and (b) disseminated by the 
Tomorrow's Professor (TP) list 
<http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings.html> as Msg. 698 on 14 Feb 
2006. For subscribers' discussions of TP posts see
<http://amps-tools.mit.edu/tomprofblog/>.  See also Hake (2006a,b).

Hake, R.R. 2006a. "Miracles in Education," online at 
<http://listserv.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0602&L=pod&O=D&P=17456>. 
Post of 20/21 Feb 2006 to (among others) Dewey-L, PhysLrnR, POD, 
STLHE-L, and various AERA lists.

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 with added 
hot-linked references.


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
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 [NAAL (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 
: "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 of 
19 Sept; 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."