Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Study: Nevada’s college grads below average

A college degree from a Nevada institution may not be worth as much as one from other states, according to a national report released last week.

The report shows that Nevadans perform below average, compared to other states, on tests required for licensing in health specialties such as physical therapy or radiology, on graduate school admission exams and on proficiency exams administered to select students.

The only area in which Nevada excelled was teacher preparation.

The report is part of a five-state pilot study looking at specific skills taught in college.

But the study, "Measuring up on College-Level Learning," is too vague and slim on data to paint a conclusive picture of what a Nevada degree is worth, Jane Nichols, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, said.

The study showed just how difficult it is to measure the skills or knowledge a college graduate should have, she said.

Officials had a hard time gathering and comparing data on how Nevada students did on state licensing exams because each board records the information differently. They had trouble even getting data from testing companies who oversee graduate school admission exams, Nichols and Tyler Trevor, assistant vice chancellor for academic and student affairs, said.

Nevada's institutions also had difficulty trying to talk students into volunteering to take proficiency tests they didn't need for graduation.

The state's institutions had about $400 each to try to recruit students to take nearly three hours of tests, Trevor said, meaning the most they could do was buy the students pizza or offer raffle prizes. Only about 300 students statewide took the tests.

It would take more money to administer the test to enough students to make the resulting data worthwhile, Nichols and Trevor said.

They said they are not sure the data is worth the cost when each institution evaluates students on an individual basis.

Each student who graduates from UNLV, the Community College of Southern Nevada and Nevada State College in Henderson is tested repeatedly at the program level and the course level based on the skills they are supposed to learn for the degree, college officials said.

Many programs also survey alumni and their employers to measure how well students were prepared for the workforce.

Student assessment is part of the accreditation process and allows the colleges to continually improve their programs, Trevor said.

But the initial findings for Nevada in the pilot study show a need for institutionwide proficiency testing at the college level, said Margaret Miller, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Virginia and co-author of the report. The report measured Nevada scores against those in Illinois, Kentucky, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Nevada received poor to failing grades on the 2002 and 2004 "Measuring Up" reports, Miller said, and the population as a whole does not fare well on literacy tests.

Sophomores in community colleges scored anywhere from 13 percent to 36 percent below the five-state average on proficiency tests in reading, applied math, locating information and business writing.

University students did as well as their peers on tests in writing and critical thinking, but officials had to throw that data out because of problems administering the test and because only 100 students took it.

And not only did Nevada students score lower than their peers on professional licensing tests and graduate school entrance exams, they also were significantly less likely to even take the tests, Miller said.

Having fewer students pursuing professional careers or graduate school directly affects the state's ability to diversify its economy, he said.

A survey of licensure boards in the state, including boards for accounting, contracting, engineering, architecture and health science specialties, showed pass rates of 40 percent to 70 percent depending upon the profession.

But most of the boards were not able to break down how students educated at Nevada colleges performed versus those who earned their degrees in other states.

Nevada students typically pass nursing and teacher licensure exams at a rate of about 80 percent to 90 percent, usually higher than the national average.

The push for better data goes together with a greater focus on accountability, higher education officials said. More and more policymaking organizations are saying proficiency testing should be mandatory.

"It really is the higher education parallel for No Child Left Behind," said Hyla Winters, an associate dean of health sciences at CCSN, who is writing her doctoral dissertation in higher education administration on the pilot study.

Christina Littlefield may be reached at 259-8813 or at [email protected].

archive