The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which administers standardized tests to high-schoolers across 70 countries, is considering doing the same thing for universities. Diane Ravitch is alarmed:
If this idea proceeds, we can be sure that universities will start teaching to the OECD tests. OECD will become the arbiter of the question, “what knowledge is of most worth?” We can safely predict, as I did in a speech to the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities last year, that the NCLB framework will ensnare higher education and restrict imagination and creativity. Who will measure the value of courses in art history, Ancient Greek, anthropology, diplomatic history or other studies that have enormous cultural rewards, but limited economic promise? How do we measure the economic value of independent, well-informed thought?
The OECD has already spent $13 million to administer trial exams at some 250 colleges across 17 countries. Preliminary results (pdf) indicate that the project is feasible, even though Russians are at “high risk of cheating,” Italians just don’t get standardized testing, and students in nearly every Western country lack motivation.
The Dish 