State higher education officials are wanting an annual assessment of student learning at post-secondary institutions in three major areas: math, communication and critical thinking.

Sound reasonable?

The first stab at this has produced a lot of statistics but little uniformity.

First off, the schools used different assessments based on the programs they offered and the characteristics of the student bodies.

The universities used six different assessment systems; community and technical colleges used eight.

An example of the different approaches shows that Kansas University used the ETS Proficiency Profile to provide a base line on math performance.

During the study, approximately 100 upper division students and 200 lower division students were assessed.

Forty-nine percent of lower division students and 75 percent of upper division students tested as proficient at the level that requires a general understanding of math, while 23 percent of lower division and 50 percent of upper division students tested proficient at the next level of math, which is more complex.

But Kansas State measured math by using the number of students who completed college algebra with a grade of C or higher. Emporia State used College Assessment of Academic Proficiency tests to gauge students’ proficiency in math and writing.

Kansas Board of Regents member Robba Moran said it makes sense for schools to use different assessments since the schools have different missions and different kinds of student bodies, but she said it would be helpful to have more uniformity so that policymakers can get a better sense of what is going on.

Moran said the regents want to “make sure we have graduates who have the skills they need.”

Higher education officials nationally are trying to figure out how best to assess learning outcomes as a way to improve learning and increase accountability on the part of the institution.

Daniel Hurley, associate vice president for government relations and state policy with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, said determining student learning outcomes has been a major issue in higher education for several years.

“There is a continued strong need for the higher education community to do a better job of measuring specific learning outcomes,” Hurley said.

He said it is ironic that higher education, which contributes research in numerous areas, doesn’t do a good job in measuring learning.

But Hurley said to a certain extent the proof is in the pudding. “The national economic marketplace is probably the most significant indicator of student learning, and that shows there is huge value added to education,” he said.

Moran said she hoped the first report would produce discussion on how to fine-tune future reports. The full board will discuss the report later this month.

Sara Rosen, KU’s senior vice provost for academic affairs, said KU is trying to implement a system that assesses student learning both generally in those three main areas — math, communication and critical thinking — and specific to the students’ major.

“We all have to decide what our goal is in assessing student learning,” Rosen said. She said the more specific testing is crucial to show what students are learning in their particular degree program and it will help instructors improve curricula.