Serendipity35

I'm seeing more and more alternatives to traditional college courses. But the thing that allows colleges to hold onto students is still the degree. Maybe one day, employers will accept certificates or badges or some alternative assessment of proficiency. Maybe alternatives to colleges will end up partnering with brick and mortar colleges for the credit and accreditation. Maybe employers will take over the responsibility of training and bypass the universities.

But, for now, a degree still has value in the working world. 

That doesn't mean that companies aren't trying to crack that market. One company like that is StraighterLine. They announced that this fall they will offer students access to three leading critical-thinking tests. This will let them bring their test results to employers or colleges to demonstrate their proficiency. The tests to be offered include the Collegiate Learning Assessment (sponsored by the Council for Aid to Education) and the Proficiency Profile (from the Educational Testing Service). Both literacy tests measure critical thinking and writing, among other academic areas. The iSkills test, also from ETS, measures the ability of a student to navigate and critically evaluate information from digital technology. These tests have already been used by colleges to measure student learning, but students did not receive their scores. (A testing situation that often seen as one that offers little incentive for students to do well.

StraighterLine offers online, self-paced introductory courses that students can take, but taking their courses won't be a requirement to to sit for the two new tests. Still, some students will take their classes and take these tests and it is hoped that the test scores will help validate StraighterLine courses.

The program is being called My Line and the cost of a test will probably be under $100.

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From the StraighterLine press release:

StraighterLine, one of the nation’s leading providers of online college courses, announced today that starting in the Fall of 2012, they will offer “MyLine,” a place where students may purchase, and gain access to, general education coursework and validated tests from leading educational organizations.The agreement calls for StraighterLine to offer a variety of core skills and information literacy tests from Educational Testing Service (ETS) and the Council for Aid to Education (CAE).
“Combined with StraighterLine’s courses, these products and services will offer students the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in key academic areas not easily measured by traditional coursework,” says Burck Smith, StraighterLine’s founder and CEO. “Student grades and test scores will be accessible through each student’s individual MyLine profile, which students may share with employers and colleges seeking qualified employees and students.”
Starting in the Fall of 2012, students will be able to purchase an individualized version of ETS’s iSkills™ assessment, the ETS® Proficiency Profile and CAE’s Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA). The iSkills assessment measures a student’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills in a digital environment. The ETS Proficiency Profile assesses critical thinking, reading, writing, and mathematics skills in a single test. Through the use of authentic, performance-based qualitative and quantitative measures, the CLA assesses a student’s ability to think critically and write well, including their capacity to problem solve, reason analytically, and write in a persuasive manner that exhibits proper and accepted mechanics.