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The School Newspaper of Harriton High School

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The School Newspaper of Harriton High School

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Learning at Colleges Falls Short

College: something that crosses the mind of many Harriton students with great frequency as a place to go after high school, take classes of personal interest, and start on a path that will eventually lead to a future career. It is a place where students expect to learn a great deal and work hard—and from personal anecdotes, it seems as though most college students do just that.

However, according to New York University professor Richard Arum and University of Virginia professor Josipa Roksa, college students certainly are not learning what they are supposed to be learning, and the two even go so far to question if they are learning at all, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Published January 18th along with a book titled Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, the two sociologists attempted to measure the learning of 2,300 undergraduates at private elite universities as well as public flagship schools.

The study shows some surprising statistics. Using the Collegiate Learning Assessment, a “standardized test that is essay-based and open-ended,” according to the New York Times, Arum and Roksa have determined that 45 percent of undergraduates demonstrated “no significant gains in critical thinking, analytical reasoning, and written communications during the first two years of college.” They go on to state that 36 percent of students do not improve in these areas over all four years, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The students were tested longitudinally, taking the CLA three times: fall 2005, spring 2007, and spring 2009. The participants were also surveyed and had their transcripts reviewed.

However, despite the surprising results noted by the study, its value is being questioned across local campuses. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, many are unimpressed with the fact that the study “relied on one test, and did not take into account other critical areas of learning, such as subject knowledge and creativity—or learning styles.”

Educators across the country are also skeptical of the study’s methodology. University of Washington research scientist Catharine Beyer told the Seattle Times that, “the CLA, [a test initiated by a nonprofit], is not a valid measure of college student learning [believing] it is too generic and disregards a students’ particular area of study.”

Dean of Lafayette College Hanna W. Stewart-Gambino told the Inquirer that, “This study always generates more methodological heat than light—meaning that the issues are complex, not easily given to casual statements, and unfortunately easily manipulated by constituencies…and ideologues.”

Yet others see the problem as rooted in the quality of teaching. According to Washington State University’s College of Education Dean A.G. Rud, in “any college town, you can hear faculty complain about how dumb college students are these days.” He questions how anyone can teach effectively with that mindset.

The study does not completely blame the colleges, though; it also talks about the study habits of students and the class schedules they choose to take. According to Arum and Roksa, half the students did not take any classes in the spring of their sophomore year that required at least 20 pages of writing, and about one-third of the students did not take any classes with 40 or more pages of reading a week. More than a third reported studying less than five hours a week, but still achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or greater.

Despite this, many question the value of reading and writing as a measure of learning, particularly with relevance to advanced math and science classes, where reading and writing may be minimal but learning high, as reflected by the diverse opinions of those who have commented on the New York Times story.

With recognition that college comes with social learning as well as academic learning, Arum and Roksa still find that extracurricular activities are only tangentially related to academics and do not teach valuable skills. They argue, in his “corrective blueprint for colleges and universities,” that social learning should not be prioritized over academia. They also suggest that students should spend more hours studying alone and take courses that require a “significant” amount of reading and writing, reports the New York Times.

Interestingly, the study comes at the same time that a UCLA-based annual study reports that college freshmen are suffering from more stress than ever before, with only 51.9 percent rating their emotional health as above-average or higher, reports the Los Angeles Times. Many young people, particularly young women, feel overwhelmed by all they have to do.

If college students are more stressed than ever before, but are not working as hard as they should be, many begin to question the system. The Seattle Times reports Arum’s key question: “if a large number of students are graduating today and are not developing higher-level skills, what does that mean for […] society?”

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