Let me add my voice to George’s on the importance of the ISI study. It provides precisely the kind of data that is essential in understanding the performance of higher education–the intellectual progress of students from first-year to graduation. Unfortunately, it is just the kind of assessment that universities will resist. Humanities folks don’t like the idea of selecting certain knowledges as central. Administrators will say that schools are too diverse in their missions to warrant comparisons. Top-tier schools don’t want any new measurements that might compromise their standing. And lesser schools worry about findings that might reflect poorly on their benefits, angering legislators and parents who may be footing the bill. But what could be more fair than to ask for some information on the acquisition of learning?