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NEWS
| October 8, 2003
UT System
Assessment to compare UTA, system
universities
A 40-minute test will examine
how core classes advance academic and critical thinking skills.
By Danny
Woodward
The Shorthorn staff
A group of 200 juniors will be tested against those from four other
system universities to assess UTA’s academic standing and
curriculum.
The juniors, who must have completed their core classes and have
attended only UTA, will take the system’s Academic Profile
Test later this month to gauge how well their general required classes
have advanced reading, critical thinking, college-level mathematics
and college-level writing skills.
The students’ scores will be compared to those from other
system universities, and the UT System Board of Regents will hear
a report early in 2004. Steps will be taken based on the results.
“We want to measure the value added by the institutions as
students progress through their college years,” said Pedro
Reyes, the system’s associate vice chancellor for planning
and development. “We are hoping universities will identify
strengths and weaknesses to make improvements where needed. Although
students will be taking the test, we are really trying to measure
the performance of academic programs and not the individual students.”
Students at UT-Brownsville, UT-El Paso, UT-San Antonio and UT-Tyler
are also involved.
The tests, designed by the Educational Testing Service and The College
Board, focus on how students’ academic skills are developed
and not on their knowledge of the curriculum.
Education Dean Jeanne Gerlach said a test such as this yields valuable
information and is an accurate indicator of what’s going on
in UTA classrooms.
“This kind of opportunity will help the students and all of
us know what they need to do better and what they’re doing
well,” she said. “It makes us all stronger and gives
us a real picture.”
The Office of Institutional Research and Planning will begin contacting
eligible juniors within the next few weeks. Testing is Oct. 27 through
Oct. 31. Participants receive $30, and the 20 highest scorers will
be in a drawing for a $1,000 scholarship.
The 36-question test lasts 40 minutes and produces scores in humanities,
social sciences, natural sciences, writing, critical thinking and
mathematics and a total. The test also indicates proficiency levels
in writing, math and reading.
Interim Provost Dana Dunn, also vice president for academic affairs,
said the merit of the test goes beyond education.
“It is an attempt to see the value of the institution,”
she said. “Increasingly, there’s an emphasis on accountability
in higher education, and I think that’s a good thing. This
is documentation that we’re doing our job well.”
Officials here administered a similar test a few years ago, Dr.
Dunn said, with favorable results. The new test, which is a system
mandate, is independent of that.
The university incurs no out-of-pocket expense in administering
the test, and the UT System has purchased the testing instruments
and will pay for the scoring.
But the university might gain financially, Dunn said.
She said the timing of this test is crucial because it can show
state lawmakers — and their appropriations — that the
university is worthy of grants and funding.
“An institution can show what it’s accomplishing,”
she said.
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| Dana
Dunn, interim provost, says test results can
indicate the value of the university.
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