高校学生学习结果测试的国际经验

An international comparison of collegiate learning outcome assessments

近10年来,对高校学生学习结果进行标准化测试的需求渐趋高涨,越来越多的国家开始研发测试工具并加以实施,高校对测试的态度也从消极抵制转为主动参与。本研究通过对比国际上8种学习结果测试工具,有以下几点发现。第一,就测试内容而言,目前在高校中更为流行、更有影响力的是通用技能测试。我们若想对学生的专业技能进行测试,则需将学生划分为更多类别,将专业细分为更多分支,以增强测试的针对性。第二,就测试题目而言,重要的不是运用什么样的题型,而是题目中是否含有丰富多样的信息,以反映现实世界的多样性和复杂性。第三,就测试结果的应用而言,保密原则和建立网络数据库至关重要,前者有助于高校将注意力集中于教学改进而非大学排名,后者有助于高校按需对数据进行深挖。

Demands for standardized assessments of collegiate learning outcomes have been increasing since the last decade. An increasing number of countries are developing and implementing various assessment tools. Meanwhile, the attitude of universities about assessments is shifting from resistance to active participation. By comparing eight collegiate learning outcome assessments in the world, this article makes the following conclusions. Firstly, as for contents of assessments, more popular and influential in universities is generic skill assessments. When students′ discipline-specific skills are tested, the assessments need to be redesigned to target a particular group of students studying a particular program. Secondly, as for assessment items, what really counts is not the item type, but whether items provide students with rich information to reflect the diversity and complexity of the real world. Thirdly, as for the implication of assessment outcomes, it is important to adhere to the principle of confidentiality and to build a web-based database. The principle of confidentiality helps universities to focus on improving their teaching instead of ranking, and building a database could facilitate on-demand data analysis.