Writing Students F 06

Test used: Writing Sample

Total students tested	Total percent that tested up or out	Tested up	Tested out	Final Grade in higher level course including ENG IT 121
70	57%	030 = 99% 060 = 45%	090 = 12%    [ on to 121]	87% passed with ‘B’ or better

 

Reading Students F06

Test used: Gray Silent Reading Test

Total students tested	Total percent that tested up or out	Tested up	Tested out	Final Grade in higher level course
23 [only those within 5 points of testing up]	57%	030 = 75% 060 = 49%	090 = 49%    [ to 121]	93% passed with ‘B’ or better

If we use these results to approximate future results, we can expect that about half of developmental students will shift levels at the beginning of each semester, which will affect instructors add/drop' rates within the first week,  but shifts should not be perceived as negative or alarming.  It  is very advantageous for  the  57% of our students who are able to move to a higher functional Reading or English level!  

Based on last semester's results, 90% of those students who tested up or into 121, passed with a 'B' or better.   
This means that:  

 1. Accuplacer Cut scores are not placing students in the correct class.  They are 10 points too high, especially in Reading.  

 2. Students are being placed in the correct course with alternate testing and final course grade results.  

 3. The Language lab is working! 

Some students need only one semester to polish skills that 'rusted', and student's who need skill building, build skills.  We  are more likely to retain students who can move efficiently through their developmental course than by forcing them to function at lower levels than necessary. 

Students who move from one level to another are not being lost, they are being retained! One of the goals of Student Support Services is to aid in student success and retention, and that is what the internal testing has made possible.  Students are still on campus, are functioning at the highest levels possible! They are happy with the rate of their own progress. Previously, the frustration level was high, resentment was high, and we were losing students who felt like they could not succeed.

If the consensus of opinion of the other Junior Colleges is to require Accuplacer 'test out's' of 090's, chances are that 61% of our developmental student's will not successfully test  into college level courses.  In effect, we will be taking a step backward. The Lab numbers will revert back to last year's high numbers, and we will, once again, need to revise the current Accuplacer re-testing Policy.  I did not adequately anticipate Language Lab enrollment and/or student's testing to higher course levels this year, so I understand that administration was not expecting the number shifts which have occurred.

I will continue to monitor and assess results in my area, and will comply with decisions made by the whole, but it is my recommendation that we keep current testing procedures even through they are messy, especially in the Fall. 

It is also my recommendation that we hire one part-time Language Lab instructor, besides myself, who will teach three classes in the Fall and two in the Spring.  We have an outstanding and dedicated team of teacher's in the Lab who work tirelessly to enhance and build student's basic skills,and we can't afford to lose them!

I worry that  adjunct instructor's will not be available in Fall and Spring , and I will have to scramble to rehire quality teachers. Each instructor  not only teaches, but must be trained to administer Reading and Writing tests, and check Accuplacer results in the critical first week of each semester.  I want to retain my trained staff. 

Submitted by,

Terre Compton, Jan 2006