The National Assessment of College Student Learning

This report presents the primary papers given at a 1992 workshop to identify specific higher order thinking and communication skills and to develop appropriate indicators of collegiate outcomes as suggested by Goal 5.5 of the National Education Goals formulated in 1990. This goal addressed improvement in college graduates' ability to "think critically, communicate effectively, and solve problems." Part 1 presents the five papers upon which the working groups built their discussions. These papers are: (1) "Skills for Citizenship" (Suzanne W. Morse); (2) "A National Assessment of Critical Thinking Skills in Adults: Taking Steps Toward the Goal" (Diane F. Halpern); (3) "Assessing Thinking: A Framework for Measuring Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills at the College Level" (David Perkins et al.); (4) "Assessing Speaking and Listening: Preliminary Considerations for a National Assessment" (John A. Daly); and (5) "No Guru, No Method, No Teacher: The Communication Domain and the NACSL (National Assessment of College Student Learning)" by Stephen P. Witte. Part 2 includes group summary reports, reviewers' comments, a listing of speaking and listening skills, and additional information on an ongoing Delphi study at Pennsylvania State University. Part 3 presents comments by participants on the conference products and results of a survey of all participants. Consensus on "next steps" included recommending further development of the taxonomy of skills, abilities, and competencies. (The five papers contain references.) (DB)