Every two years, each state receives a higher education report card from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

This year’s “Measuring Up” survey put Illinois among the elite.

“While the grades were a bit lower, Illinois public universities have done very well,” said NIU President John Peters.

One element every state received an incomplete on was the learning factor because there is no standard method to assess exactly what students learn.

“Assessment isn’t just about testing,” said Associate Vice Provost Virginia Cassidy . “It’s about being able to demonstrate what students know and what they can do with that.”

The Prairie State Achievement Exam, now a state-mandated exam, evaluates the skills of high school juniors. The second part of the exam is the American College Test, a previously optional exam. The PSAE is the final evaluation of students before graduation.

Based on the results of this past year, less than 60 percent of students have the skills for 90 percent of jobs in the market, WGN News recently reported.

Elementary and middle schools take the Illinois State Achievement Test, which tests the general education students should receive at that age.

Some are doubtful that one standard test can be formulated to assess what kind of general education college students are supposed to receive.

“Can we agree on a general education? Knowledge in each field is different,” Peters said. “I am very skeptical about capturing the essence of a four-year liberal education in one test.”

Colleges and universities, instead, turn to program specific assessments.

“Fitting a test to a curriculum, there we are on stronger ground,” Peters said.

Assessment of student learning has been a requirement for more than a decade at NIU, Cassidy said.

“You should have multiple indicators,” Cassidy said. “One test doesn’t tell you much about what you need.”

NIU has several methods to assess what students learn during their undergraduate experience.

Recent alumni are surveyed each year by the Office of Assessment Services. An additional writing exam is administered to a handful of juniors in the spring semester.

The English Department evaluates these tests to see if NIU students have sufficient writing skills after completing the majority of their general education.

Each major has its own method of assessment as well. Capstone courses, courses students can take within their major to gain professional experience, are available to senior-level students.

“Students are expected to pull together everything they learned,” Cassidy said. “They should perform as a person in their discipline would perform.”

NIU may be ahead of other universities in its assessment methods. The Illinois Board of Higher Education is in the process of implementing the Illinois Commitment requirement, a requirement that “all academic programs will systematically assess student learning and use assessment to improve programs,” according to an IBHE press release.

Completion for NIU is anticipated for the 2004-2005 academic year.