Orlando Sentinel: Colleges could face exit exams

[PJH <hardingpj3@comcast.net>]

Not sure if you guys have seen this one...
Pauline



http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/education/orl-loccollegefcat09060903jun0
9.story

  Colleges could face exit exams

  By David Damron | Sentinel Staff Writer
  Posted June 9, 2003

  Florida college students already cram for final exams and pull
all-nighters to finish semester-end reports, but soon they also may have to
sweat over a new exit test as seniors.

  Inspired by statewide testing used to determine whether third-graders are
promoted and high-school seniors can receive standard diplomas, top
education officials in Tallahassee and Washington are devising an exam for
college students.

  Most backers want to tie students' success rates on the test to future
college funding, much as Florida offers funding incentives and assigns
grades to public schools that perform well on the Florida Comprehensive
Assessment Test.

  "We put pressure on high-school teachers and third-grade teachers, why not
put some pressure on university professors to show their students are
learning?" said Steven Uhlfelder, a member of the Florida Board of Governors
that oversees colleges. "I just want to measure how well we are doing in
educating our college students."

  No state in the nation has such a comprehensive college test, experts say.

  Crucially, unlike high-schoolers who take the FCAT, college students
likely would not have to pass their test to graduate, supporters say.

  No surprise, many college students hate the idea.

  "An FCAT-type test at the college level would be a big waste of money,"
said Marco Pena, a former University of Central Florida student-body
president who is set to graduate this summer. "The real test comes in the
real world; whether you can get a job."

  Pena said university boards of trustees could easily measure student
success rates by tracking hiring rates, graduate-school test grades, and
placement rates at postgraduate institutions.

  Besides, Pena said, if passing the test isn't required to graduate, some
students won't bother to take it, and if they have to, they may just slough
it off.

  "That could skew the results," Pena said.

  The Florida Board of Governors, a new panel created by voters last fall,
will start studying the testing proposal later this month.

  Uhlfelder said that he envisions an exam that all college students would
have to take, but not one that they would have to pass to graduate. It
should measure basic reading and writing skills, he said, but not assign
grades to colleges.

  "I don't want a punitive test," Uhlfelder said.

  It's not clear whether the idea has much support on the Board of
Governors, which would have to approve any plan, most likely along with
state lawmakers. When Uhlfelder broached the subject at a meeting last
month, many members sounded cautionary tones.

  "We're all interested in accountability," said Carolyn Roberts, acting
chairwoman of the Board of Governors. But, she added, "It would cost a great
deal of money to administer throughout the state."

  Uhlfelder said he spoke with a testing company official at work on a
similar pilot project in Tennessee, and they estimated an exam cost about
$11 per student to administer.

  Roughly 35,700 graduates earned bachelor's degrees in Florida's 11 public
universities in 2001, according to state records. Using Uhlfelder's
estimate, testing them would have cost the state about $400,000.

  Pressure for the testing is coming partly from frustration about such
issues as rising college tuition and a rash of six-figure salaries handed
out to university presidents, Uhlfelder said.

  Expressing similar concerns, federal lawmakers recently began hearings to
craft higher-education legislation this year that could include standardized
tests.

  While most Republicans on the U.S. House Higher Education Committee lauded
the concept, U.S. Rep. Ric Keller, ROrlando, vocally denounced the increased
government scrutiny over universities.

  "That's just a case of Big Brother being a big pain in the ass," Keller
said. "I'm just very sympathetic to students on this one."

  Keller acknowledges that his stance could pit him against both President
Bush and his brother, Gov. Jeb Bush, but Keller said he sees a difference
between testing third-graders to measure literacy and forcing a philosophy
major to take an exit exam that may have math or chemistry questions.

  "It just seems so unnecessary," Keller said.

  David Damron can be reached at ddamron@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5311





  Don't miss the Bookmarks and Files at
  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Parent-DirectedEducation

  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
  Parent-DirectedEducation-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.


      Yahoo! Groups Sponsor






Don't miss the Bookmarks and Files at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Parent-DirectedEducation

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
Parent-DirectedEducation-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


      Yahoo! Groups Sponsor



To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
homeschool2college-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.