Motlow State Community College
Program Student Learning Outcomes
Use of Assessment Results
Spring Semester 2014
Program Title: General Education, Tennessee Transfer Pathway
Course: BIOL 1120 (General Biology II)
Assessment Results and Use of Results:
Expected Student Learning Outcomes:
1. The student should be knowledgeable of taxonomy and the evolutionary relationships
and significant innovations regarding the different plant and animal groups. (Questions
1, 2, 3)
2. The student should be knowledgeable of animal characteristics related to the
advancement and complexity and its application to the major animal phyla (Questions 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
3. The student should know the major human body systems including the circulatory and
the reproduction systems. (Questions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
4. The student should be knowledgeable about plant anatomical structures and plant
reproductive features. (Questions 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
5. The student should know the significant plant division characteristics. (Questions 22, 23,
24, 25)
Performance Measure(s): Pre-test, Post-test
Effectiveness Standard: Effectiveness of this course will be determined according to the
following two measures based upon the results of the Pre and Post-tests:
1. The percentage of Post-Test correct responses per item will be at least 20 points higher
than the percentage of Pre-Test correct responses per item if the Pre-Test values is
below 50%.
2. Each item will have at least 50% correct responses on the Post-test.
Assessment Results:
Results of the pre-test were as follows:
BIOL 1120 GE Pre-and Post-test Results for S14
Question
Q1
Q2
Q3
PreTest
#
Correct
51
82
54
PreTest
%
Correct
43%
69%
46%
PostTest
#
Correct
42
77
51
PostEffectiveness Effectiveness
Test
Standard #1
Standard #2
%
%
Met/Not
Met/Not
Correct Difference
Met?
Met?
N
N
44%
1%
NA
Y
80%
11%
N
Y
53%
7%
Q4
Q5
Q6
Q7
Q8
Q9
Q10
Q11
Q12
Q13
Q14
Q15
Q16
Q17
Q18
Q19
Q20
Q21
Q22
Q23
Q24
Q25
77
58
90
39
53
33
80
82
109
62
53
37
48
33
17
37
46
98
69
38
50
34
65%
49%
76%
33%
45%
28%
68%
69%
92%
53%
45%
31%
41%
28%
14%
31%
39%
83%
58%
32%
42%
29%
73
63
80
73
67
28
76
80
91
62
58
44
58
63
14
80
58
84
84
52
75
65
76%
66%
83%
76%
70%
29%
79%
83%
95%
65%
60%
46%
60%
66%
15%
83%
60%
88%
88%
54%
78%
68%
11%
16%
7%
43%
25%
1%
11%
14%
2%
12%
16%
14%
20%
38%
0%
52%
21%
4%
29%
22%
36%
39%
NA
N
NA
Y
Y
N
NA
NA
NA
NA
N
N
N
Y
N
Y
Y
NA
NA
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
N
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
118 students took the pre-test and 96 students took the post-test.
For Effectiveness Standard #1, scoring for eight questions met the standard, seven did not and
ten did not apply as pre-test scores were over 50%.
For Effectiveness Standard #2, scoring for twenty-one questions met the standard and four did
not.
Use of Assessment Results: Department faculty met electronically and discussed the results of
BIOL 1120 assessments. It was decided that the pre-/post-test was too long and had too many
questions. Faculty will work together to shorten future tests to no more than 10 questions.
It was also decided that having a pre-test earlier in the semester would produce more
representative pre-/post-test differences. In the future, pre-tests will be available online during
the first week of classes.