The Emerging National Policy Agenda on Higher Education Assessment: A Wake-Up Call

This paper examines the current educational crisis in American education as reflected by student performance on various assessments at the elementary, secondary, and higher education levels and discusses how various performance indicators have shaped public opinion during the past decade. The paper then illustrates how growing public concern for improving educational quality in the United States has led to the establishment of national education goals, describes the assessment dilemma facing higher education as a consequence, and raises questions for higher education researchers about assessing progress.