This paper evaluates the use of a departmental exit examination as a tool for assessing the effectiveness of a criminal justice undergraduate major. It identifies several limitations of exit exams, including survivor bias among test-takers, difficulties in establishing shared content standards across diverse specializations, and the challenge of measuring higher-order thinking skills. The paper also notes practical advantages, such as reduced grading bias, while arguing that workforce tracking of graduates offers a more comprehensive picture of program success. The discussion draws on research into criminal justice student outcomes and the ongoing debate over standardized assessments such as the GRE.
According to Lightfoot and Doerner (2007), despite the considerable expense of attending a university, little is known about the relative success of criminal justice majors in preparing students for future careers. The dropout rate for social science degrees is 50 percent, compared with 10 percent for students in the humanities, and the time-to-degree rate of program completion has increased for all students in all majors (Lightfoot & Doerner, 2007, p. 114). The Criminal Justice Department has been asking graduating seniors to take an exit exam as a measure of departmental learning outcomes — but how effectively can that tool determine whether the criminal justice major is succeeding?
Asking students to take an exit exam is problematic because, by definition, the students who have made it through four years of schooling have already attained some level of success. Students who fail to find adequate support within the major as undergraduates will not be counted among those who sit the exam. This survivorship bias means the exam captures only those who persisted, systematically excluding the experiences of students who left the program early — precisely the population whose departure might indicate a program failure.
Another significant problem with using an exit exam as a measure of program success is that it does not take into consideration the successful advancement of graduates in the workforce, either immediately after graduation or over time. The utility of a degree cannot be measured by students' grades on an academic assessment alone. Of course, some students may have been successful regardless of the major they chose. But if graduates with a criminal justice degree are able to obtain work both within the field and outside of it, and sustain that vocational success over time, this constitutes a meaningful measure of the degree's effectiveness — particularly given that the degree is a practical social sciences major, constructed with the intention of preparing students for real work in the justice system rather than training them solely in theory.
"Varied tracks complicate shared exam content"
"Exams reduce bias but face update challenges"
"Exams struggle to measure critical thinking skills"
An exit exam may have some merit, but the logistics of constructing, administering, and updating it are likely to be quite burdensome and may not fully justify the difficulties of creating the test. Keeping track of student performance and success in the workforce, however, is likely to be more advantageous for the department. Workforce tracking better enables the department to judge how well it prepares students for professional life, and the data it produces can also be used to demonstrate the degree's value to prospective students.
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