2 subjects endorsed for system testing

UNC-system leaders want students to be critical thinkers and strong communicators, and they’re willing to use standardized tests to ensure it.

On Friday, UNC-CH’s Faculty Council unanimously approved a resolution that endorses the assessment of two subjects — critical thinking and written communication — next year.

The assessments, which were piloted at five UNC-system schools this fall, are part of President Tom Ross’s systemwide five-year strategic plan.

“Students and policymakers are increasingly interested in a common assessment of learning outcomes,” the plan states. Tests would help students transfer credits among the state’s community colleges and universities, according to the plan.

According to a UNC-CH survey of 1,173 alumni presented at Friday’s meeting, graduates rated critical thinking and the ability to write clearly as the top skills needed to get a job.

In April 2013, Ross appointed three system-wide committees to work on implementation of his five-year plan. One of these is the General Education Council, which includes two UNC-CH professors. The council will present its recommendations on implementing the tests to Ross in January.

UNC-CH Faculty Chairwoman Jan Boxill said amid questions from faculty about the strategic plan, Ross was invited to the next Faculty Council meeting in December.

Abigail Panter, a UNC-CH psychology professor who serves as a representative to the UNC-system’s General Education Council, said the assessment’s format — and whether or not every campus would implement the same test — is still being discussed.

But UNC-CH biology professor Steve Bachenheimer said he was concerned the University would not have enough say in the format of the tests.

“I don’t think there’s any question that critical thinking and writing are qualities we like to see our students obtain — where it gets fuzzy is assessment,” he said. “There is a tendency to want to bring great uniformity to process across the system.”

At a Faculty Executive Committee meeting last Monday, UNC-CH microbiology professor Gregory Copenhaver argued that the competencies would have little value for students.

“These core competencies are so vague they are utterly meaningless,” he said.

One option for the tests, the Collegiate Learning Assessment, was piloted at five UNC-system campuses last spring. Administrators in charge of the tests at Appalachian State University, one of the pilot schools, said the results of the Collegiate Learning Assessment mirrored those of students’ SAT scores.

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