Standard tests could measure success
Published Feb. 9, 2007
Most college students, save those that seek to polish up their high school ACT scores, don't usually worry about dealing with state-mandated standardized testing after graduation day.
However, a piece of legislation introduced in the Missouri Senate Jan. 29 might make standardized testing a viable option for Missouri colleges and universities to track their students' academic performances.
Passage of the proposed bill, which covers many higher education concerns, would not only create a tuition cap for Missouri colleges according to inflation rates but would also hold the state higher education authority, the Coordinating Board for Higher Education and each individual institution accountable for forming standards to rate the quality of Missouri colleges and universities.
The proposed legislation answers Gov. Matt Blunt's recommendation in last month's State of the State address to create higher education performance measures.
"Missouri's colleges and universities need to be accountable to taxpayers," Blunt said in the address. "Funding for higher education should be tied to colleges and universities meeting (the Coordinating Board for Higher Education's) standards."
The standards would also serve as a basis for how much money each school would be given from the state's higher education budget and according to Senate Education Committee Chairman Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, provide "protection" for consumers looking to invest in higher education in Missouri.
Nodler, who sponsored the bill, said Missouri students and their families should know the "quality of the product they buy — that being education."
"Right now, it's something measured on reputation," Nodler said.
The Senate's proposed legislation would rate the state's colleges and universities along five guidelines. According to Nodler, the bill does not contain language that specifies how schools will be rated.
Three of the measures would be determined by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education while the other two measures would be determined by each individual institution. Possible standards could include retention rates, graduation rates or the number of students entering graduate school.
Rep. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, said though standards have yet to be determined, the state has not "singled out standardized testing" as the sole catalyst in measuring the performance of college students.