ENG 009-100
Assessment
Fact Book
Retention and Performance: Fall 2006 and Fall 2007 Cohorts
Compiled by the Office of Academic Assessment
Profile of the First-Year ENG 009 and 100 Students and Follow-up
Introduction: Students who did not meet USM’s English proficiency policy (i.e. low SAT-Verbal scores
upon entry to the university) were required to take the English Placement Exam; which was an in-house,
40-item multiple-choice test designed by the English department. USM students who had a raw score of
30 or above were able to enroll in the ENG 100 (College Writing Course), and those students with scores
below 30 on the placement exam were recommended to enroll in the ENG 009 (Developmental Writing)
course before enrolling in the ENG 100 (College Writing) course. The students identified in the tables
below are those students who enrolled in their required English course their first semester at USM, and
further enrolled in the subsequent English courses within the second year. See profiles of the ENG 009
and ENG 100 students for the fall 2006 and fall 2007 cohorts.
Fall 2006 Cohort: English 009 and 100 Students
Profile of ENG 009 Student
Total N
First year English courses
ENG 009 – Developmental Writing
ENG 100 - College Writing
Course Grades
(A-C)
(DFW)
304
230
87%
85%
13%
15%
Total N
A-C
DFW
198
35
87%
88%
13%
12%
Total N
Course Grades
*First-Year Retention: 205 (67%)
Subsequent English courses
ENG 120 - Intro to Literature
ENG 150 - Topics in Literature
*Second-Year Retention: 183 (60%)
Profile of ENG 100 Student
First year English courses
ENG 100 - College Writing
(A-C)
(DFW)
170
80%
20%
Total N
A-C
DFW
66
31
88%
89%
12%
11%
*First-Year Retention: 124 (73%)
Subsequent English Courses
ENG 120 - Intro to Literature
ENG 150 - Topics in Literature
*Second-Year Retention: 111 (65%)
Fall 2007 Cohort: English 009 and 100 Students
Profile of ENG 009 Student
Total N
First year English courses
ENG 009 – Developmental Writing
ENG 100 - College Writing
Course Grades
(A-C)
(DFW)
420
306
88%
87%
12%
13%
Total N
A-C
DFW
192
46
87%
88%
13%
12%
Total N
Course Grades
*First-Year Retention: 277 (66%)
Subsequent English courses
ENG 120 - Intro to Literature
ENG 150 - Topics in Literature
*Second-Year Retention: 248 (59%)
Profile of ENG 100 Student
First year English courses
ENG 100 - College Writing
(A-C)
(DFW)
201
83%
17%
Total N
A-C
DFW
97
50
89%
89%
11%
11%
*First-Year Retention: 142 (71%)
Subsequent English Courses
ENG 120 - Intro to Literature
ENG 150 - Topics in Literature
*Second-Year Retention: 137 (68%)
Policy Change: In the spring semester of 2008, the English proficiency policy was changed; primarily
due to the changes in the newly revised College Board’s SAT exam, and because of the updated changes
in the English curriculum. Beginning with the fall 2008 incoming cohort, the English Placement Exam
was eliminated and the (new) SAT-Writing scores were to be used for placement purposes into the
College Writing course. The ENG 009 Developmental Writing course was revised into a 4-credit Enriched
College Writing course (ENG 104) and is considered to be equivalent to the current 3-credit College
Writing course (ENG 100). The updated English proficiency policy states that students with low SATWriting scores will be required to enroll in the ENG 104 course and those with high SAT-Writing scores
will be able to enroll in the current ENG 100 course.