4A NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY FEBRIARY 14, 2008
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2008
》LEGISLATION
Senate studies test options
Task force looks into best variation of federal standardized test
BY FRANCESCA CHAMBERS
fchambers@kansan.com
Students who sleep through general education classes are in for a wake-up call.
The University of Kansas may start requiring students to pass an assessment of skills they have learned at the University before receiving their diplomas.
Dan Bernstein, director of the Center for Teaching and chair of the task force that was created to
research the tests, said the assessment would focus on knowledge of human cultures, the physical and natural world, intellectual and practical skills, analysis, creative thinking, written and oral
communication, literacy, problem solving and teamwork.
"No one is going to look at it as a learning opportunity. They are just going to see it as another hoop to jump through."
He said the task force was unsure whether the assessment would be a multiple choice test, a portfolio of what a student is already doing in his or her classes or another approach, because the task force had just begun its research.
Bernstein said two members of the task force, Elizabeth Friis, an associate professor in mechanical engineering and Dan Spencer, an associate professor in business, would attend an informational session about college-level student assessments next week in Boston. He said after Friss and Spencer returned, the task force would begin its research.
Last semester the Board of Regents invited the state's universities to decide which student assessment would be the best option if such a test were mandated. In response, University Senate created the task force on learner outcomes to research the various assessment tests universities and organizations around the nation were using and the practicality of those tests. The task force will perform the research this spring, run trials of the tests this summer and present its findings early next fall.
JACKIE PRINE
Omaha, Neb. sophomore
Rick Levy, president of Faculty Senate and a professor of law, said the goal of the task force was to
adopt and promote an assessment without distorting the mission of the University the way "No Child Left Behind" had distorted elementary and secondary education.
He said
University Senate created the task force because it was trying to preempt a federal mandate that would require the University to implement a specific test.
"They typically come with strict paperwork requirements and funding penalties if you don't meet targets," Levy said. "So, I think its much more likely a federal mandate would force us to teach what they would like us to teach, not what we as educators think we need to be teaching."
Levy said there was a very strong push within the national and state political arenas for colleges to prove they were effectively teaching students.
U. S. Representative Dennis Moore (D-Kansas) said he had not heard of a federally-mandated college-level assessment test, but that he would not support it if he
did. Moore said Congress should set goals for universities, but the experts in education were better suited to assess students than Congress.
Students are not happy with the institution of any type of assessment test, but Tommy Kesterson, Overland Park sophomore, said if an assessment test were to be instituted at the University, a federally mandated test would be the best option.
Kesterson said if the overall point of the test was to compare how much students at the University of Kansas are learning compared with students at other universities, each university would have to use the same test.
Jackie Prine, Omaha, Neb., sophomore, said she thought the University's reputation would be enhanced if it did institute an assessment, but that students would not appreciate the move.
"No one is going to look at it as a learning opportunity. They are just going to see it as another hoop to jump through," Prine said.
Bernstein said he thought the University would adopt the assessment the task force recommended. He said the University already selects about 200 random seniors to do an hour long interview with a random set of faculty each year.
He said those students were asked questions related to the University's six goals of general education, including the practice of citizenship and the understanding and appreciation of cultures. Bernstein said the University was simply investigating assessments it could do in addition to what it does now or could replace the interviews.
Edited by Samuel Lamb
》 ENTERTAINMENT
Writers Guild back to work as 100-day holdout ends
Writers Guild of America member Bradford Winters makes a telephone call in his New York office as he goes back to work on a new NBC television series "The Philanthropist," Wednesday Feb. 13, 2008. Members of the Writers Guild of America members voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to lift the union's strike order, allowing the industry to jump-start stalled production of numerous TV sitcoms and dramas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The strike reduced prime-time TV to reruns and reality shows and forced the late-night comics to write their own material. For shows that went into reruns, producers and writers began meeting to figure out how much of the season they
LOS ANGELES — One day after the Writers Guild of America voted to end the walkout, writers on idled TV shows were back at the studios, reviewing projects with executives or pestering their agents to set up meetings. Agents were pitching, producers were assessing how to resume interrupted projects, and the little guys who keep the dreamfactory engines running were just glad to be back at work.
"It's back to school with all the trepidation of, 'Do you remember how to do your job? And did you forget the characters' name?'" said Eddie Gorodetski, a writer for "Two and a Half Men." "I want to forget all the strike stuff and just make people laugh."
"We, like every other writer in town, have a million calls in to our agents and managers to see what's next," said Brian Sawyer, who with partner Gregg Rossen had sold a sitcom pilot to Fox before the strike began Nov. 5.
Amid the relief, however, was caution: The Screen Actors Guild could go on strike after its contract expires June 30.
"Heralding that the strike is over is a half-truth because we have the Screen Actors Guild," said producer Peter Guber, former head of Columbia Pictures, current chairman of the Mandalay Entertainment Group and co-host of AMC's "Shootout." "The studios, unless they're going to start production in the next 10 days so they can finish it before June, aren't going to start the pictures."
could salvage and how they would meet tight deadlines to write and shoot new episodes.
Dates were announced Wednesday for some series to return to the air. Among them were "How I Met Your Mother," "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory" on March 17; and "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" on April 3.
Rainn Wilson, a Writers Guild member and co-star of "The Office," said he was hearing that everyone on the show will report back on March 10 to shoot six more episodes.
Writers returned after guild leaders and producers came to terms on a key sticking point — compensation for shows and movies distributed over the Internet. Guild members are expected to ratify the contract in voting over the next 10 days.
bilized thousands of technicians, makeup people and other production workers. The Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. estimates the strike cost the local economy $3.2 billion in lost wages and revenue.
Along with the 10,500 writers who walked out, the strike immo-
How long it takes before it's business as usual in Hollywood is anyone's guess. But screenwriter John Ridley, whose credits include "Undercover Brother," expects one constant to quickly resurface: That talent writers have for putting off work.
"Writers, and I include myself, are the whitest bunch of people on the planet," Ridley said. "I'm sure the first day back, somebody's already saying, 'Where's lunch? Did anybody order lunch?' And the producers are saying, 'Oh, they're whining about lunch again. We're back. It's really over."
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008 Adams Alumni Center
join us for this unique one-day seminar especially designed for the Class of 2008! You'll learn about interview tips, paying off college loans,the ins and outs of your first job, benefits package and some other great tips for starting your "Life After KU!"
Schedule
Schedule
11 a.m. Check-In
11:15 a.m. Welcome, Etiquette lunch and Alumni speaker
1 p.m. Session 1 (Finances, Career Center or That First Job)
1:45 p.m. Break
2 p.m. Session 2 (Finances, Carær Center or That First Job)
2:45 p.m. Door prizes and Conclusion
3 p.m. KU vs. OSU Watch party (attendance optional)
Free appetizers and soft drinks
Cost is $10 for students-FREE if you are a current Tradition Keeper member. To register,go to www.kualumni.org for an online registration form.
Questions? Contact Jennifer Alderdice at 864-9778 or jalderdice@kualumni.org. A confirmation email will be sent to you with more details upon registration.
Brought to you by the KU Career Center;
Board of Class Officers, Student Senate and Student Alumni Association.
ARMY ROTC. START STRONG.