The Faculty Senate could make an assessment about a statewide testing initiative Tuesday.

The testing pilot, sponsored by the The Pew Charitable Trusts, is being introduced in five states including Illinois but will be optional to private and public universities.

The testing involves each academic discipline developing exams or other measures to assess what students have learned during the first two years of college and closer to graduation, according to an Illinois Board of Higher Education press release.

The IBHE is pushing the initiative for testing similar to that seen in kindergarten through 12th grade.

English professor David Radavich will speak to the senate on feedback gained through the Illinois Federation of Teachers conference held in Chicago last month.

“In college you have so many diverse areas that the assessment needs to be on a departmental basis. It’s not clear to me how much more testing students need,” Radavich said last week.

Junior college Black Hawk College in northern Illinois has advanced more toward the testing.

“The senate has not yet taken a position on it — we are looking at it,” chair Anne Zahlan said.

The Faculty Senate will also hear discussion from English professor Bonnie Irwin of the IBHE faculty council on the testing.

The council generated a variety of opinions, Irwin said.

“There was some discussion whether it’s better to be involved in the process early or stay out of it completely,” she said. “Standardized testing is not good on any level of education because I think you can end up teaching to the test.”

The senate subcommittee on faculty development will lead another discussion.

Sociology professor Reed Benedict, subcommittee member, is working on a survey for faculty as to what kinds of services they want to see in teaching.

The survey will touch on faculty goals and what it will take to meet those goals, Benedict said.

Last week the senate heard reports from several university employees involved in the electronic writing portfolio, a collection of submissions showing the progression of student writing over their college career.

The senate is compiling questions and comments to offer feedback from the discussion, Zahlan said.