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In the KnowThe New Assessment MandateA relatively little known law passed by Congress in 1993 is slowly having a major impact on how the nation operates its colleges and universities. In essence, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 requires federal agencies to justify the money they spend -- and the money they request at budget time -- by providing concrete, measurable "results" to Congress each year. The first of these reports will be given to Congress in March 2000 and will be based on performance plans and indicators developed over the past two years. The Results Act is aimed at government agencies. They will have to justify their budget requests based on how well they've met their set of predetermined "performance indicators." But institutions and individuals -- such as colleges and universities receiving Title III funds for remedial courses and researchers working on federal grants -- will also have some explaining to do under the Act. Congress says that federal agencies must emphasize the "bottom line." Accordingly, those receiving federal funds must also demonstrate "bottom line" results. This federal government action, coupled with decisions by a number of states to link higher education budgets to a variety of performance measures, means that assessment will play an increasingly important role on our nation's campuses. But determining what to assess and how to assess it may be a lot more problematic than Congress and legislatures realize. For instance, "even grades may not be much of a indicator of student learning unless you know what's being measured," notes Association of American Colleges and Universities President Carol Geary Schneider. "An A on a true-false test isn't the same as an A on a 25-page research paper." For university researchers, there are additional pitfalls, notes Temple University Professor Leon Dubeck. "Demanding results may very well reduce wasteful spending," he notes. "But it can also reduce creativity and experimentation as agencies become reluctant to fund innovative projects that cannot guarantee results." What this all means is still unclear, notes NEA staffer Rachel Hendrickson. "But faculty and staff need to be aware that, as assessment plays an ever larger role on our campuses, they need to be involved in defining what assessment means." |
