Assessment and Testing Services joins major org
A Mississippi State service department now is associated formally with the prestigious Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education.
The Washington, D.C.-based council recently admitted to its membership the National College Testing Association, of which the university's Assessment and Testing Services is a charter member.
Located in Rice Residence Hall on Magruder Street, ATS provides coordination, leadership, and education for assessment of programs and services in MSU's Division of Student Affairs. The computer-based operation coordinates participation of campus and national surveys that use national benchmarking data for evaluation.
Staff members at MSU and other NCTA-member institutions work to promote professionalism and quality in the administration of testing services and programs, including issues relating to test administration, development, scoring and assessment.
NCTA's more than 2,000 members represent more than 600 post-secondary institutions and 40 corporations and certification agencies in the United States and Canada. For more, see www.ncta-testing.org.
"NCTA is excited to be a part of CAS because many institutions refer to CAS standards in the evaluation of their programs, departments and other entities," said Mary Vaughn, MSU associate director of assessment and testing. "The addition of NCTA and the testing profession is a logical extension of the process."
The university became an NCTA member in 2000 and Vaughn currently serves on its 15-member governing council.
She emphasized that the new CAS affiliation helps "bring additional credibility and visibility to the profession of testing by providing nationally recognized standards by which we can evaluate our services."
CAS was founded 35 years ago as a consortium of 11 associations and today includes more than 40 professional organizations reflecting a wide range of student-oriented functions across higher education institutions. For more, see www.cas.edu.
For more about the Assessment and Testing Services office at MSU, visit www.ats.msstate.edu or contact Vaughn directly at 662-325-6610 or mvaughn@saffairs.msstate.edu.
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Allison Matthews | Public Affairs
