The Best Test of Ph.D. Student Success

摘要

In Their Education Forum "Performance- based data in the study of STEM Ph.D. education" (16 July, p. 282), D. F. Feldon, M. A. Maher, and B. E. Timmerman suggest that graduate education could be improved by the implementation of performance-based assessments. They do not acknowledge that a performance-based system already exists in graduate work: quality (not quantity) of publications. Feldon, Maher, and Timmerman downplay publication as an indicator of student performance because of the involvement of mentors and peers, but input from multiple parties is a necessary and productive aspect of collaborative research. Collaboration benefits individual success and leads to innovation. Failing to recognize published work as a predictor of effectiveness as a researcher trivializes employers' ability to distinguish poor research from quality research, and by extension, the graduate student's ability to conduct research and collaborate effectively.