Position Paper

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Qcuneer

Other

HE 553

Purdue University Global

Description

Position Paper

Assignment Introduction

A Position Paper is exactly what it sounds like. You take a side on an issue and then explain and defend that opinion, or position, using information from reliable sources and logical, rational reasoning. Your position must be supported with solid evidence, properly cited in APA format. Explore the pros and cons of your position. Evaluate possible solutions or applications of your topic where appropriate. Remember, a position paper is meant to convince the reader that your position is correct!

Assignment Directions

There is current debate in higher education about assessing students before they arrive on campus. As part of the recruitment and admission process, some campuses are asking, and some are requiring, their students to complete assessments. These assessments can fill several purposes, including:

  • Determining skill levels for placement, particularly in math or English courses.
  • Identifying areas where students need additional support, such as note-taking skills or time management.
  • Determining other services that the campus could offer to the student to ensure retention at the institution, such as counseling services or employment assistance.
  • Establishing student demographic characteristics to be able to provide targeted support based on those measures.
  • Giving the campus a baseline achievement level for the incoming class to determine where the group may need additional support.

These assessments are meant to help the institution better serve the student. There are objections, however — often from parents — about the collection and use of this information.

Since you have studied remedial education, Student Affairs assessment, campus safety, student mental health issues, and helicopter parents, take a stand on whether students should be assessed at the time of admission. Within your paper, discuss the following:

  • Consider the potential benefits to the institution and to the student and try to reconcile that with the privacy issues and the logistical issues that doing so would present.
  • Offer an appraisal of the objectives and merits of these kinds of assessments and then present your case for whether to implement such a scheme or not.
  • If you decide you are for assessment like this, describe what would you collect and what would you do with the information?
  • If you are against, explain why and how else you might collect the data you need to be able to serve your students.
  • Consider the long term implications for these kinds of programs. What do they mean for retention and graduation rates and why might that be important for the student and for the institution in the future?

Format

Your paper should follow this outline:

  • Introduction: State your position, clearly, and grab the reader.
  • Body of the paper (several paragraphs, each of which clarifies a particular concept within your topic):
    • Background
    • Supporting evidence or information
    • Exploration of both pros and cons of issue
  • Conclusion (summarize and reinforce concepts) and suggestions, solutions, or extrapolations.

This paper should be 5-6 pages, not including your title page or references page.

Follow the most current APA style guidelines for formatting, citations, and references.

Resources

Use at least 3-4 journal articles as references.

Your Unit 6 Assignment is due at the end of this unit and is worth 165 points. Upload your completed Assignment to this unit’s Dropbox. Please refer to the Rubrics links under Course Resources for grading information.

User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Here you go. In case of any further inputs, please let me know.All the best!I appreciate working with you!

Running head: STUDENT ASSESSMENT

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Position Paper
Name
Course
Professor
Date

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

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Student Assessment

Good assessments make good higher learning institutions and well-educated students.
The reverse is also true since bad assessments can produce poorly-educated students or won't
improve the learning outcome of students. With the current increase of mental health issues in
the universities, it is better to engage early in efforts that would identify the weaknesses before
they manifest to bigger issues that will be difficult to address. Assessment in higher education
uses empirical data to adjust the programs which will ultimately improve student learning. The
assessment process is continuous and creates measurable and clear learning outcomes. The
information collected will help in developing and informing improvement in student learning.
Each part involved in the assessment cycle usually gets monitored and revised. Student
assessment is therefore crucial for both the student and the institution.
Every year there is a number of students who fail to complete their college degrees. The
National Student Clearing House Research Center indicated that 30% of students never returned
to college in 2014 fall for their second year. In recent years, some states have mandated that
students should get to complete some projects to assess their eligibility for a high school diploma
and prepare them for college. The assessments are often based on skills synthesis instead of
showing some competency on specific academic subjects (Falchikov, 2013). The assessments
combine individual performance with group tasks. Some institutions have developed a system
requiring students to display competency in aspects of social responsibility, interpreting
information, decision-making, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Some other institutions
also take the approach of assessing their students. If these approaches are occurring in high
schools, then it is necessary for the same students also to get assessed when joining the higher
learning institutions. They can form the basis of the new ways of admitting students to

STUDENT ASSESSMENT

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universities and colleges. The high school assessments are better means of predicting college
success instead of the conventional test scores. These measures can help make informed
decisions by the admissions office. This approach also builds better ties between higher
education and secondary education. It would also assist in identifying talent for the college
whic...


Anonymous
Just what I was looking for! Super helpful.

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