Presents ordering theory as a useful method in the identification and validation of logical hierarchies among tasks that measure student development. An example shows the application of ordering theory to the measurement of college students' decision making about careers. (Author/ABB)

Recent research on how college students learn and what constitutes an effective educational experience is reviewed, and implications for bringing about desired changes in the undergraduate experience are discussed. Topics examined include students' ability to reason with abstractions, development of moral values, extent to which the curriculum and…