International Sustainability Literacy Test Available for Piloting Now through October 10, 2014

DENVER, CO — The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE), the Disciplinary Associations Network for Sustainability (DANS) and the Higher Education Associations Sustainability Consortium (HEASC) have been involved in an international effort to create a sustainability literacy tool for higher education. The International Sustainability Literacy Test is a free, online multiple choice question assessment, with customized versions for different countries and regions of the world. It attempts to assess a student’s basic level of knowledge about sustainability — including social and environmental responsibility — and can be administered in any college-level course, undergraduate or graduate.

The International Sustainability Literacy Test is designed to provide the first worldwide picture of the sustainability knowledge of our students. More than 150 academics, NGOs, corporations and volunteers from 25 countries participated in the development and early testing phase of the tool, and the current target is to have 100,000 students take the test. Colleagues at Kedge Business School in France are leading the effort, working with many other countries to develop the test instrument and process.

Over the past several months, campus sustainability experts from the AASHE, DANS and HEASC communities developed and reviewed questions for the U.S. version of the test. We are now asking all higher education institutions in the U.S. to participate in a pilot of this first version. Any instructor can sign up to be an examiner. Instructors and their students who pilot the exam will receive scores and other helpful information, and can provide feedback to the test creators to improve the next version. The piloting phase is occurring through September.

Please consider participating by signing up and administering the test during the next few weeks. For questions, contact the U.S. National & Regional Committee at [email protected] or the General Secretariat for the test at [email protected]. And visit the website today!

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Receives Best Project Award from ENR

    Tomball West High School near Houston, Texas, recently received a K–12 Education Best Project Award in Engineering News-Record’s 2026 Texas & Southeast Best Projects Awards, according to a press release. The new facility was completed in May and opened its doors to students for the fall 2026 semester.

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Missouri K–12 District Cuts Ribbons on Two New Middle Schools

    Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo., recently celebrated the completion of two new middle school facilities with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, according to a district news release. The district officially opened the new Pipkin Middle School and Reed Academy on Sept. 3, both of which were funded through the $220-million Proposition S bond program approved by voters in 2023.

  • Amazon Expands Lockers to More Than 500 College, University Campuses

    Amazon recently announced that its Locker Network now totals more than 750 locations at more than 500 college and university campuses around the United States, according to a company news release.