The goal of state policy should be to provide the motivation for institutions to create a campus culture that focuses on the definition, measurement, and improvement of learning – in short, to create a learner-centered environment, one that takes into account the needs of diverse types of students. For colleges and universities to take advantage of what we already know works, a commitment from faculty, administrators, and students is critical to move teaching and learning to the center of the institution where all share in the responsibility for student learning.

We believe that the academic community has an important stake in helping policymakers create appropriate and effective modes of accountability. Higher education leaders have frequently argued that the assessments taking place in elementary and secondary education – at the direct instigation of state policymakers – are too dependent on simplistic testing and don’t measure the real goals of education, such as critical thinking and the ability to apply concepts to real-life problems. If that is so, then what it the alternative? To learn more, please download our Policy Brief and view the Responsibility for Student Learning questions you can ask academic leaders and policymakers.

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