Freshmen and seniors trudge through the halls while the rest of campus has, for all intents and purposes, died. Computers hum as the students either for the first time, or the last, take the Assessment Day test.
Ninety-three percent of over 2,700 students took the test regarding core curriculum knowledge. This year’s batch of test-takers scored an overall three points higher than the national average at 448.
“Our students are doing pretty well,” said Jake Williams, research assistant for the Office of Planning, Research and Assessment (OPRA). “Our faculty is doing well with teaching materials.”
OPRA distributes the tests and then compiles the data received afterwards.
While the above average scores put forth by USI students looks well, Assistant Provost for Undergraduate Studies Brian Posler said a three-point difference makes little impact.
His interest lies in the results from the surveys at the end of the test.
“It’s a small part of a larger assessment picture,” Posler said. “It’s very consistent. We’re very commonly a small amount above the national mean.”
Posler said Assessment Day started years ago in order to demonstrate USI’s legitimacy as a new university.
The data produced by the assessment allows USI to be compared nationally to 334 other institutions through the Voluntary System of Accountability program (VSA), which recognizes the test taken every year on assessment day.
This means that essentially the numbers produced from the test are for outside observers wanting to get a feel for the university.
“Outside influences want to know that USI has good educational programs,” Posler said. “It’s important that we put our best foot forward.”
The main reason the testing was switched from juniors to seniors is so the VSA will recognize USI’s testing and rank the university.
The Educational Testing Service (ETS) puts together the tests and sends them electronically to USI thanks to the new computer tests, which Williams said made the day a little easier than when all paper tests were used.
OPRA pays ETS for the tests, which cost $12 per test. With around 2,700 students scheduled to take the test, the office spends over $32,000 in tests alone.
Add the in the costs of man-hours put in by OPRA staff, printing, postage and other similar expenses, and the bill for Assessment Day grows substantially.
All of this is spent with the hopes of a better reputation for the former branch of Indiana State University.
Posler said the test is important for several reasons other than the promotion of the USI name to outside influences such as measuring progress of the university over time and the growth of knowledge from freshman to senior.
With the new computer systems in place for taking tests, the possibility for errors to occur on the first run was possible, but Research Coordinator for OPRA Jeanne McAlister said it could have been a disaster. There were only minor problems.
