USA Today: Employers want ways to judge grads beyond tests, grades

A survey of business leaders finds that most would prefer finding ways to assess "a student's ability to apply college learning to real-world settings." Most don't seem to be interested in the kinds of recommendations Sec. Spellings made in 2006.

"Too many policymakers and educational leaders are focused on the tests rather than on what is really important: whether students are learning what they need to know," says Roberts Jones, president of Education & Workforce Policy, a consulting firm based in Alexandria, Va.