Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

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

  • 06/24/14

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

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • S4L Announces 2026 Education Design Showcase Winners

    Spaces4Learning is thrilled to announce the winners of the 2026 Education Design Showcase! Now in its 27th year, the annual awards program honors innovative solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction across K–12 and higher education.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.