Standardized Testing in College?

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Apr 11, 2007

Remember those standardized tests you took in high school to prove that you could read and write? Well, those tests may be coming to college soon. Concerned that the standards of higher education have been dumbed down, the U.S. Department of Education is seriously considering a set of federal standards to hold students and teachers accountable for learning on the college level..

Want to know more? Read about proposed federal standardized testing for college students in the April 9, 2007 Christian Science Monitor.

Is this a good idea? Critics argue that the program may have the same problems as the No Child Left Behind Act-- namely, that schools gear their efforts way too much towards teaching students how to pass the tests. There's also concern about government intrusion into the college classroom. As Catharine Hoffman Beyer argues, college "success" means different things to different people and cannot be measured in a standardized manner.

I am sympathetic to these arguments. On the other hand, I've read a few too many papers in my times written by college students who do not know how to use a verb. I'm leery of testing as a solution to this problem, but I do feel strongly that something has to be done to raise higher education standards.