[Saltassessmentworkinggroup] need for studies on alternative skills

[Andi Curcio]

I hope this finds all of you doing well and having had a restful holiday break.

As the ABA attempts to develop an accreditation standard that looks at student learning outcomes and broadens those to encompass more than the skills currently assessed, there is, of course, resistance.  The two main arguments articulated in the attached article are cost and inability to measure and evaluate a wider range of lawyering skills.  

http://chronicle.com/article/Law-Schools-Resist-Proposal-to/63494/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

One way to combat the above arguments is to demonstrate that we can cost effectively i.d., measure, and evaluate student achievement of a wider variety of skills.  It would be great if folks on this list could brainstorm some ideas for scholarly research in this area.  Also, if anyone knows of anyone already measuring a wider range of skills in their regular teaching, perhaps you could encourage them to collaborate with someone on this list to begin scholarly exploration of that work.   And, don't forget - we have a group of social science researchers willing to help with empirical research.

Finally, if you know of published studies in this area, please let the rest of us know - it's way easier to build upon others' work than to re-invent the wheel.

As always, thanks for your work and interest in this area.

Take care

Andi Curcio
Professor of Law
GSU College of Law