The Most Important Higher Education Study in Years
That would be Academically Adrift, by NYU sociologist Richard Arum and his colleague Josipa Roksa, released today. The study measured how much 2,300 statistically representative undergraduates who enrolled as freshmen in a diverse group of 24 colleges and universities in 2005 had learned by the time they (in theory) were ready to graduate, in 2009. As a measuring tool, the researchers used the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a respected test of analytic reasoning, critical thinking, and written communication skills.
Their finding? Forty-five percent of students made no gains on the CLA during their first two years in college. Thirty-six percent made no gains over the entire four years. They learned nothing. On average, students improved by less than half a standard deviation in four years. “American higher education,” the researchers found, “is characterized by limited or no learning for a large proportion of students.”
For a more detailed explanation of the findings and my take on what they say about accountability, affirmative action, the Obama higher education agenda, and why this doesn’t mean that fewer students should go to college, read my Chronicle of Higher Education column. There’s a lot more to talk about beyond that and it’ll