QCC COURSE ASSESSMENT FORM
Fall 2004, Rev. 6/15/07
Date: May 5, 2016
Department: Academic Literacy
Course: BE203: Intermediate Composition for Non-native Speakers
Curriculum or Curricula: LA
PART I. STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES
For Part I, attach the summary report (Tables 1-4) from the QCC Course Objectives Form.
(See Table #5 for Student Learning Objectives for Actual Assessment Assignment)
TABLE 1. EDUCATIONAL CONTEXT
BE 203 is intended for students who are judged to need additional preparation before taking the
advanced ESL composition course, BE‐205, and their placement is based on the results of the
departmental examination administered in BE 201 or their scores on the CATW exam. The emphasis in
this intermediate composition course is on intermediate grammar, paragraph development, and
writing the short compositions. Students must demonstrate competence in writing a short
composition to pass a departmental examination before taking BE 205.
1(21)
TABLE 2. Curricular Objectives
Note: Include in this table curriculum-specific objectives that meet Educational Goals 1 and 2:
1. Prewriting: Students will use a variety of techniques, including brainstorming, free writing, outlining
mapping and debating, as preparation for writing on a variety of topics.
2. Rhetoric : Students will demonstrate facility in writing reading‐response essays that have an
introduction, body paragraph(s) and a conclusion. Students will demonstrate competency with
paragraph unity; using topic sentences when needed; the appropriate level of relevant supporting
details; and concluding sentences.
Students will analyze and summarize a variety of texts, identifying one important idea from the text
and relating this issue to another reading or personal experiences. Students will use their
understanding of the writing process to complete assignments, i.e. planning, drafting, proofreading,
and rewriting.
3.Communicate Effectively: Students will demonstrate competency with peer editing/review of short
essays. Students will demonstrate listening comprehension when listening to students’ writing and
introductory college‐level texts.
4.Grammar and mechanics: Students will demonstrate competency with basic conventions of Standard
Written English (SWE), which include (a) command of sentence boundaries, plural noun endings, (b)
subject‐verb agreement, and (c) improved command of simple, compound, and complex sentences,
and their use of these structures will have improved since the beginning of the semester.
5. Students will demonstrate the ability to observe the stylistic conventions of word processed
academic papers, such as capitalization, double spacing, spaces between periods and new sentences,
etc.
2(21)
TABLE 3. General Education Objectives, based on draft Distributed at the January 2010 Praxis Workshops
To achieve these goals, students graduating with an associate degree will:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate evidence in order to make informed
decisions.
Reason quantitatively and mathematically as required in their field of interest and in everyday life.
Use information management and technology skills effectively for academic research and lifelong learning.
Integrate knowledge and skills in their program of study.
Differentiate and make informed decisions about issues based on multiple value systems.
Work collaboratively in diverse groups directed at accomplishing learning objectives.
Use historical or social sciences perspectives to examine formation of ideas, human behavior, social institutions,
or social processes.
Employ concepts and methods of the natural and physical sciences to make informed judgments.
Apply aesthetic and intellectual criteria in the evaluation or creation of works in the humanities or the arts.
Gen Ed
General Educational Objectives addressed by BE203
Objectives
1
(1) Students will write coherent and convincing paragraphs and short essays.
1
(2) Students will use writing to create and clarify meaning.
7
(3) Students will articulate and support their ideas in group work and in class
discussion.
(4) Students will use writing to create and clarify meaning.
1
1
2
(5) Students will write with increased control of grammar, diction, and punctuation,
editing as necessary.
(6) Students will interpret texts critically.
2
(7) Students will evaluate the quality of evidence in discussions, reading, and writing.
7
(8) Students may write or make a presentation based on group work.
7
(9) Students will work in groups accomplish learning tasks and common goals.
7
(10) Students will demonstrate interpersonal skills and accountability working in
diverse groups.
3(21)
TABLE 4: Course Objectives and student learning outcomes
PART ii. Assignment Design: Aligning outcomes, activities, and assessment tools
For the assessment project, you will be designing one course assignment, which will address at least one general
educational objective, one curricular objective (if applicable), and one or more of the course objectives. Please identify
these in the following table:
Objectives
BE203 Student Learning Outcome
1
1. Students will use prewriting techniques to generate ideas for short readingresponse essays.
1, 6
2. Students will create a thesis statement that expresses the central point of the
essay.
1
3. Students will write introductory paragraphs that prepare readers for what is to
come.
1
4. Students will write topic sentences that support the thesis of each essay.
1, 2
5. Students will support topic sentences with unified, coherent, and well developed
body paragraphs.
1
6. Students will write concluding paragraphs that provide a sense of closure and
remind the reader of the intention of the essay.
1
7. Students will use a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences.
1
8. Students will use consistent and appropriate diction.
1, 2
1
9. Students will demonstrate an ability to use transitions effectively within and
between paragraphs.
10. Students will demonstrate a command of sentence boundary punctuation.
1
11. Students will write using basic command of grammar.
1
12. Students will proofread effectively.
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TABLE 5: OBJECTIVES ADDRESSED IN ASSESSMENT ASSIGNMENT
Course Objective(s) selected for assessment: (select from Table 4)
1. Students will use prewriting techniques to generate ideas for short reading-response essays.
2. Students will create a thesis statement that expresses the central point of the essay
3. Students will write introductory paragraphs that prepare readers for what is to come.
4. Students will write topic sentences that support the thesis of each essay.
5. Students will support topic sentences with unified, coherent, and well developed body paragraphs.
6. Students will write concluding paragraphs that provide a sense of closure and remind the reader of
the intention of the essay.
7. Students will use a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences.
8. Students will use consistent and appropriate diction.
9. Students will demonstrate an ability to use transitions effectively within and between paragraphs.
10. Students will demonstrate a command of sentence boundary punctuation.
11. Students will write using basic command of grammar.
12. Students will proofread effectively.
Curricular Objective(s) selected for assessment: (select from Table 2)
1. Prewriting: Students will use a variety of techniques, including brainstorming, free writing, outlining
mapping and debating, as preparation for writing on a variety of topics.
2. Rhetoric : Students will demonstrate facility in writing reading‐response essays that have an
introduction, body paragraph(s) and a conclusion. Students will demonstrate competency with
paragraph unity; using topic sentences when needed; the appropriate level of relevant supporting
details; and concluding sentences.
3. Students will analyze and summarize a variety of texts, identifying one important idea from the text
and relating this issue to another reading or personal experiences. Students will use their
understanding of the writing process to complete assignments, i.e. planning, drafting, proofreading,
and rewriting.
4.Grammar and mechanics: Students will demonstrate competency with basic conventions of
Standard Written English (SWE), which include (a) command of sentence boundaries, plural noun
endings, (b) subject‐verb agreement, and (c) improved command of simple, compound, and complex
sentences, and their use of these structures will have improved since the beginning of the semester.
5. Students will demonstrate the ability to observe the stylistic conventions of word processed
academic papers, such as capitalization, double spacing, spaces between periods and new sentences,
etc.
5(21)
General Education Objective(s) addressed in this assessment: (select from Table 3)
1. Communicate effectively through reading, writing, listening and speaking.
Reading: Students will read various passages and summarize them.
Writing: Students will write summaries and essay responses.
Listening and speaking: Students will discuss key components of main ideas in passages
and summary writing in pairs, groups and as a class.
2. Students will use analytical reasoning to identify issues or problems and evaluate
evidence in order to make informed decisions.
Students will make informed decisions about which ideas are most important to include in
their summaries. Students will learn to use analytical reasoning to determine what
constitutes a major detail, which is included in their summaries vs. minor and more
insignificant details that are omitted. Students who can achieve this objective will have a
better opportunity to produce a successful and passing summary.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Students will differentiate between major and minor details in reading passages.
2. Students will organize their ideas using appropriate transitional devices.
3. Students will write effective summaries on various reading passages.
In the first row of Table 6 that follows, describe the assignment that has been selected/designed for this project. In
writing the description, keep in mind the course objective(s), curricular objective(s) and the general education
objective(s) identified above,
The assignment should be conceived as an instructional unit to be completed in one class session (such as a lab) or over
several class sessions. Since any one assignment is actually a complex activity, it is likely to require that students
demonstrate several types of knowledge and/or thinking processes.
Also in Table 6, please
a) identify the three to four most important student learning outcomes (1-4) you expect from this assignment
b) describe the types of activities (a – d) students will be involved with for the assignment, and
c) list the type(s) of assessment tool(s) (A-D) you plan to use to evaluate each of the student outcomes.
(Classroom assessment tools may include paper and pencil tests, performance assessments, oral questions,
portfolios, and other options.)
Note: Copies of the actual assignments (written as they will be presented to the students) should be gathered in an
Assessment Portfolio for this course.
TABLE 6: Assignment, Outcomes, Activities, and Assessment Tools
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Briefly describe the assignment that will be assessed:
The assignments chosen for assessment were timed in-class essays that served as BE 203 students’
midterm and final exams. In the middle of the semester, all students enrolled in BE 203 took a
standardized midterm exam that resembles the CATW in instructions, requirements, and scoring (see
Appendix ). During the last week of class, the students took a standardized final exam with the same
instructions, requirements, and scoring as the midterm, but a different reading.
Desired student learning
outcomes for the assignment
(Students will…)
Briefly describe the range of
activities student will engage
in for this assignment.
What assessment tools will
be used to measure how well
students have met each
learning outcome? (Note: a
single assessment tool may be
used to measure multiple
learning outcomes; some
learning outcomes may be
measured using multiple
assessment tools.)
The assignments chosen for
assessment were timed in-class
essays that served as BE 203
students’ midterm and final
exams. In the middle of the
semester, all students enrolled
in BE 203, took a standardized
midterm exam that resembles
the CATW in instructions,
requirements, and scoring (see
Appendix II). During the last
week of class, the students
took a standardized final exam
with the same instructions,
requirements, and scoring as
the midterm, but a different
reading was used.
a. CATW Grading Rubric.
List in parentheses the Curricular
Objective(s) and/or General
Education Objective(s) (1-10)
associated with these desired
learning outcomes for the
assignment.
2. Students will create a thesis
statement that expresses the
central point of the essay. (1, 2)
4. Students will write topic
sentences that support the thesis
of each essay. (1, 2)
5. Students will support topic
sentences with unified, coherent,
and well developed body
paragraphs. (1, 2)
7. Students will use a variety of
simple, compound, and complex
sentences. (1, 2)
9. Students will demonstrate an
ability to use transitions
effectively within and between
paragraphs. (1, 2)
10. Students will demonstrate a
command of sentence boundary
punctuation. (4)
Students were engaged in a
range of activities that varied
from section to section both
before the midterm and
between the midterm and the
final.
11. Students will write using basic
command of grammar. (4)
12. Students will proofread
effectively. (4)
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b. Faculty survey.
Part iii. Assessment Standards (Rubrics)
Before the assignment is given, prepare a description of the standards by which students’ performance will be
measured. This could be a checklist, a descriptive holistic scale, or another form. The rubric (or a version of it) may be
given to the students with the assignment so they will know what the instructor’s expectations are for this assignment.
Please note that while individual student performance is being measured, the assessment project is collecting
performance data ONLY for the student groups as a whole.
Table 7: Assessment Standards (Rubrics)
Evidence for Assessment
When scoring the final exam, instructors use the CATW Analytic Scoring Rubric, which assesses student essays in the
following five areas:
1. Critical Response to the Writing Task and the Test: This category focuses on whether students understand the
main ideas in the text and understand the nature of the writing task, which is to discuss these ideas and to analyze and
integrate them with their own ideas and experiences critically.
2. Development of the Writer’s Ideas: In this category students are assessed on whether they are able to
develop their ideas through summary, narrative and/or problem/solution. Students should support statements with
details and examples from what students have experienced, read, or learned about. Students also must refer to specific
ideas from the reading to support their ideas.
3. Structure of the Response: This category focuses on students’ ability to express ideas that connect to a central
focus or thesis and to use an organizational structure and transitions that help to support the thesis.
4. Language Use: Sentences and Word Choice: This category focuses on clarity and sentence control.
5. Language Use: Grammar, Usage, and Mechanics: This category focuses on students’ ability to follow
conventions of Standard American English.
The domains of the scoring rubric correspond to the Student Learning Outcomes as indicated in Table 8.
Table 8
CATW Analytic
Scoring Rubric
BE203 Student Learning Outcome
Critical Response
to the Writing
Task and the Test
2. Students will create a thesis statement that expresses the central point of
the essay
Development of
the Writer’s Ideas
5. Students will support topic sentences with unified, coherent, and well
developed body paragraphs.
Structure of the
Response
4. Students will write topic sentences that support the thesis of each essay.
11. Students will demonstrate an ability to use transitions effectively within
and between paragraphs.
9. Students will demonstrate an ability to use transitions effectively within
and between paragraphs.
8(21)
Language Use:
Sentences and
Word Choice
7. Students will use a variety of simple, compound, and complex sentences.
11. Students will write using basic command of grammar.
12. Students will proofread effectively.
Language Use:
Grammar, Usage,
and Mechanics
10. Students will demonstrate a command of sentence boundary punctuation.
11. Students will write using basic command of grammar.
12. Students will proofread effectively.
In this assessment, each of the five individual domains listed above has been scored on a scale of 1-6 by two instructors.
The scores from each instructor are calculated according to CATW guidelines. Domains 1, 2, 3 (Content) are doubleweighted. Domains 4, 5 (Language Use) are added to Content domains, and these are single-weighted. And then the
scores from both individual instructors are combined for a totaled score.
The researcher also averaged the two individual scores the student essay receives in each domain. The average of the
two scores will be used to calculate the mean scores of all essays within the samples across the five domains.
Please refer to Appendix for a copy of the CATW Analytic Scoring Rubric.
The CATW Analytic Scoring Rubric (Appendix I) includes detailed descriptions of each score in each domain; however,
Table 9 presents a general description of each score, ranging from 1 to 6.
Table 9: Description of Scores within the CATW Analytic Scoring Rubric
Score
Description
1
The student demonstrates a minimal ability to accomplish the task within the essay.
2
The student demonstrates a weak ability to accomplish the task within the essay.
3
The student demonstrates a general or uneven ability to accomplish the task within the
essay.
4
The student demonstrates a competent ability to accomplish the task within the essay.
5
The student demonstrates an effective or skillful ability to accomplish the task within the
essay.
6
The student demonstrates a thoughtful or insightful approach to accomplishing the task
within the essay.
The total score may range from 16 (in which the student writer received a score of 1 from each reader in each of the five
domains) to 96 (in which the student writer received a score of 6 from each reader in each of the five domains). For the
final, students must receive a 50 or higher in order to qualify for BE 205. A score of a 50 requires the student to score at
least competent in one of the first three domains, or for both of the language use domains, while maintaining a 3 in the
other domains. In terms of the CATW, students must receive a score of 56 in order to pass the exam and exit writing
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remediation. The borderline score of 56 indicates that a student has received a majority of individual scores of 4,
described as “competent” in the rubric; however, the student also scored a 3 in more than one area of the exam,
meaning some aspects of the essay were deemed “uneven” or “general.”
Refer to the Appendix for a copy of the teacher survey. In short, the teacher survey asked five questions to assess: how
accurate the midterm was, how much the results of the midterm affected their teaching, how much the instructors
focused on certain issues in the second half of the semester, and what other support they think would best help
students after the midterms.
Faculty Surveys
In addition, in order to understand how much the instructors themselves use the results from the midterm to change
their teaching in the second half of the semester, we administered a survey at the end of the semester. The survey
looked to confirm how much effect, if any, the midterm results had on the way the second half of the semester was
conducted by the instructors. The survey also investigated what instructors found themselves focusing on in the time
between the midterm and finals. Finally, the survey asked for suggestions as to which services would help students as
they progressed from the midterm to the final. These surveys were examined qualitatively after the data on the
midterms and finals were collected.
Part iv. Assessment results
Analysis of Assessment Results
The committee collected scores for the students in BE 203 sections for both the midterm and the final. Additionally, we
collected the surveys from all BE 203 instructors. This assessment will consider the following questions:
1) How are students in BE 203 performing in each of the scoring domains at the midterm exam? (Table 10)
2) How are students in BE 203 performing in each of the scoring domains at the end of the semester? (Table 10)
3) What kind of progress is observed in the students in BE 203 between the midterm and final overall, as well as in
the scoring domains? (Tables 10, 11, 12)
4) How do the results in BE 203 compare to the previous assessments of BE 205 students from Fall 2013 and Fall
2014 semesters? (Table 13)
5) What information can be found in faculty surveys that may be useful in understanding how students in BE 203
developed their writing skills after the midterm? (Survey responses)
The data from above will be used to develop a resulting action plan.
Examination of Midterm and Finals results for students in BE 203
Table 10: Fall 2015 BE 203 midterm results broken down by domain score on midterms and finals
Critical
Response
Average
Development
Average
Structure
Average
LU1 Average
LU2 Average
Combined
Weighted
Average
N
MT*
F*
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
3.03
3.18
2.95
3.12
2.99
3.03
2.88
2.96
2.89
2.89
47.28
48.99
137
136
10(21)
*MT refers to Midterm, and F refers to final.
Table 10 shows the average score in each CATW Rubric domain for the midterm and the final. The average
scores were mostly higher in the non-language use domains both during the midterm and the final. It can also be
observed that the language use domain for Language Use 1: Word and Sentence Choice improved, while Language Use
2: Grammar, Usage and Mechanics stayed the same. Similarly, the Structure domain didn’t show much improvement.
However, both Critical Response and Development did improve by at least .15.
Table 11: Contrast of the Percentages of Students with Specific scores by Domain at the Midterm and Final
Score
CR
DE
ST
LU1
LU2
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
MT
F
1
1.1%
0%
.8%
.4%
.4%
0%
.8%
0%
.4%
0%
2
21.2%
10.3%
24.5%
16.5%
18.3%
14%
21.5%
12.1%
26.6%
16.2%
3
51.5%
62.8%
54%
54.4%
63.9%
59.9%
66.8%
79%
62%
73.5%
4
26.3%
27.9%
20.8%
28.7%*
17.5%
29.8%
11%
8.9%
11%
10.3%
* Includes one score of 5.
Another way to consider the data from the midterm is to consider what percentage of students are achieving
what scores in each domain. Table 11 shows that again Language Use domains appear to be weakest. It should be noted
that between the midterm and final exams, the percentages of low scores (scores of 1s and 2s) decreased where as the
higher scores of 3s and 4s increased. However, this population experienced the fewest “competent” (4) scores both
during the midterm and the final, and while there was in fact a decrease in the number of papers scoring “competent”
with Language Use domains between the midterm and the final, there were far fewer “weak or uneven” (2) scores in
those domains on the final than on the midterm. A similar decrease in the number of “weak or uneven” scores can be
found across all domains. Finally, the Development and Structure domains both showed significant increases in
“competent” scores between the midterm and the final. These results suggest that the improvement, or lack of
improvement, seen in Table 10, may be coming from different sources. Notably, the improvement seen from Table 10 in
Critical Response seems to be more about fewer “weak or uneven” scores, while the improvement in Development and
Structure could be attributed to more “competent” responses.
Table 12: Percentage of students scoring within certain scoring ranges
Scoring Range
Percentage of
Students in Range
MT
F
<42
24.8%
11.8%
41<Student<50
34.3%
35.3%
49<Student<56
24.8%
40.4%
>56
16.1%
12.5%
11(21)
Table 12 summarizes the percentage of students who place into certain program levels based on midterm and
final results. At the midterm, only about 41% of students appeared ready to advance to BE 205 or an early-exit test. By
the final, however, about 53% of students were ready to advance. Interestingly, nearly 25% of students at the midterm
were scoring below the placement level for BE 203. This number does decrease to below 12% by the final, but still about
46% of students who have completed BE 203 are not ready for BE 205 by the final.
Table 13: Comparison of Fall 2015 BE 203 average scores with Fall 21014 BE 205 Average Scores by domain for
department final and CATW
CR
DE
ST
LU1
LU2
Total
F’15 BE 203 Midterm
3.03
2.95
2.99
2.88
2.89
47.28
F’15 BE 203 Dpt Final
3.18
3.12
3.03
2.96
2.89
48.99
F’14 BE 205 Dpt Final
3.25
3.36
3.34
3.04
3.19
52.25
F’14 BE 205 CATW
3.39
3.34
3.29
3.10
3.00
52.28
Finally, Table 13 shows the average domain and final scores for the midterm and the final of BE 203, as well as
the final and CATW scores of BE 205 from the previous assessment. Although there is variation in the domain scores
between the departmental final and the CATW, the average scores are nearly identical. It is also worth noting that the
improvement on the total average score of 1.71 between the BE 203 midterm and final represents the average
improvement of students over the course half a semester, approximately 30 contact hours of instruction. The difference
between the final average for BE 203 and the BE 205 represents almost exactly double that amount, which of course
coincides with the doubling of the time, that is a full semester between BE 203 and BE 205 instead of the half a semester
represented by the midterm to final time. This suggests a linear relationship between contact hours and student
improvement on the exam. It is also worth noting that the average is in fact lower than the passing grade of 56,
suggesting that the lower bound for the BE 205 placement score should be raised to perhaps 52 from 50.
Summary of Survey Results
The teacher surveys were returned by six BE 203 instructors. All the instructors but one indicated that the
midterm results affected how and what was taught by them in the second half of the semester “a fair amount.” The
other instructor indicated the midterms “heavily” influenced their teaching in the second half of the semester. The same
instructor said the midterm results “heavily” affected how they worked with individual students in the second half of the
semester. Three instructors said the midterm results affected what they focused on with individual students “a fair
amount.” The other two said it affected what they focused on with individual students “a little bit.” Overall, no issue
emerged as one that received more focus than another in what instructors focused on after the midterms, except that
grammar and vocabulary issues were focused on least. Similarly, no support service emerged as one that instructors
generally felt were needed, but there were multiple requests for more online tutoring, in-class tutoring, and
conversation hour opportunities. Finally, the instructors felt the midterm scores were accurate. Overall, while there was
variation in what the instructors focused on and what support services they thought would help most after the
midterms, the results suggest that instructors found the midterms to be an accurate and useful tool in helping guide the
students to the end of the semester.
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Conclusions
Faculty reported finding the midterm to be a helpful practice in guiding how they taught their classes in the
second half of the semester. Student progress between the midterm and the final is most clearly observed in the
number of students achieving a score of 50 or higher increasing from about 41% at the midterm to about 54% by the
final (Table 3). Additionally, the domain that showed the clearest improvement was Development with an increase in
average student score (Table 1) accompanied by an increase in the number of “competent” scores in Development
(Table 2). Language Use domains showed the least improvement overall, however these results do not seem surprising
considering instructors by and large reported that they did not focus on grammar during the second half of the
semester. Finally, Table 4 suggests that there may be a near-linear correlation between contact hours and CATW score
improvement, with the 1.71 improvement over half a semester extended to BE 205 results.
TABLE 14. Resulting Action Plan
In the table below, or in a separate attachment, interpret and evaluate the assessment results, and describe the actions
to be taken as a result of the assessment. In the evaluation of achievement, take into account student success in
demonstrating the types of knowledge and the cognitive processes identified in the Course Objectives.
A. Analysis and interpretation of assessment results:
See section above.
B. Evaluation of the assessment process:
What do the results suggest about how well the assignment and the assessment process worked both to help students learn
and to show what they have learned?
As the goal of the assessment was to better understand how students are progressing during their semester and the scoring
domains give a rough estimation of how and where the students are improving, the assessment has been successful. The
results suggest the clearest domain of improvement to the advancing level in the Development category, which corresponds
to students’ abilities to expand with detail and analysis body paragraphs in their essays. Additionally, there is evidence in the
Language Use domains that BE 203 students’ struggle with developing grammatical, vocabulary and stylistic conventions
continues to limit their success.
The assessment’s inclusion of a faculty survey allowed us to confirm that the midterm is a useful teaching tool, one that
instructors use in adjusting the material they focus on while trying to help students pass the class. The assessment confirmed
that the midterm not only provides students with an assessment of where they stand and what they need to improve upon in
the second half of the semester, but the midterm also allowed instructors to see what adjustments they should make in the
second half of their classes. The assessment showed that even if the midterms were uniformly used in adjusting instruction,
the manner in which that instruction was adjusted was not uniform. This insight may be useful in future assessment, perhaps
suggesting an investigation of how the adjustments made by instructors affected student performance in certain domains.
Finally, the assessment allowed us to see that a fair amount of students (~25%), while placed in BE 203 or advanced into 203
from 201, by mid-semester were not producing BE 203 level work. A future assessment may track the progress of these
students specifically.
C. Resulting action plan:
Based on A and B, what changes, if any, do you anticipate making?
To the committee, three primary conclusions can be drawn from the midterm data and the survey results. First and foremost,
the practice of a midterm is a useful tool for the teachers and students in helping identify in what ways students need to
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develop as writers and English Language Learners (ELLs) in order to be proficient enough for BE 205 and beyond. It is not
entirely clear if the lack of focus on language issues reflects whether instructors were not so concerned with language issues,
or if it reflects a focusing of the limited amount of time remaining in the semester on skills that instructors felt would most
likely help students progress. A future assessment should attempt to explain why exactly instructors chose to focus on what
they did. Additionally, the next assessment should investigate if there is a link between the skill(s) instructors focus on and
domain improvement. That is, does a focus on summary writing contribute to better Critical Response scores.
The second conclusion the committee draws from the assessment is that the relatively high number of students scoring
below 203 level at the midterm point (nearly one in four students) is an area of concern. This phenomenon should be
investigated further, first to determine if these scores accurately reflect the instructors’ impression of the work the students
have done in the class to that point. It should also be determined if a larger percentage of these students not considered at
203 level midway through the semester come more from being place in BE 203 from entering CATW or from advancing out of
201. Finally, the reading levels of these students should be investigated as well. This data taken with apparently linear
relationship between contact hours and CATW-score improvements further suggest a reconsideration of the placement
scores for students in both BE 203 and BE 205, perhaps to 52-55 for BE 205. It is also worth considering if this data is unique
to ESL students, or is it also seen in native-speaking students?
Finally, the committee recommends that the Academic Literacy Learning Center (ALLC) and the Department coordinate more
closely in interventions after the BE 203 midterm. Many of the support services instructors thought would be most useful in
helping students during the second half of the semester are services the ALLC already provides. Visits from ALLC personnel to
each BE 203 after midterms are returned to students may facilitate instructors and students to avail themselves of the
services more.
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Appendix:
Midterm reading, Final reading, Writing Instructions, Faculty Survey, CATW Scoring Rubric
Midterm Reading
To Keep Teenagers Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In
By
Jan Hoffman
New York Times
Jilly Dos Santos really did try to get to school on time. She set three successive alarms on her phone. She skipped
breakfast. She applied makeup while her fuming father drove. But last year she rarely made it into the frantic rush at the
doors of Rock Bridge High School by the first bell, at 7:50 a.m.
Then she heard that the school board was about to make the day start even earlier, at 7:20 a.m. “I thought, if that
happens, I will die,” recalled Jilly, 17. “I will drop out of school!”
That was when the sleep-deprived teenager turned into a sleep activist. She was determined to convince the board of a
truth she knew in the core of her tired body: Teenagers are developmentally driven to be late to bed, late to rise. Could
the board realign the first bell with that biological reality?
The nearly 20-year movement to start high schools later has recently gained momentum in communities like this one, as
hundreds of schools in dozens of districts across the country have accepted the accumulating research on the adolescent
body clock.
New evidence suggests that later high school starts have widespread benefits. One research team found that the later a
school’s start time, the better off the students were on many measures, including mental health, car crash rates,
attendance and, in some schools, grades and standardized test scores.
But many parents, and some students, still object to shifting the start of the day later. They say doing so makes sports
practices end late, jeopardizes student jobs, bites into time for homework and extracurricular activities, and upsets the
morning routine for working parents and younger children.
So how did Jilly make her case? She pulled an all-nighter. She used Facebook and Twitter to alert hundreds of students
about the school board meeting. She then got in touch with a nonprofit group that provided her with research
supporting her position. With a blast of emails, she also tried to enlist the help of every high school teacher in the
district.
The testy school board meeting that Monday was packed. Jilly spoke coolly to the board about the adolescent sleep
cycle: “You know, kids don’t want to get up,” she said. “I know I don’t. Biologically, we’ve looked into that.”
The board heatedly debated the issue and decided against the earlier start time. They didn’t move the start time back,
but they didn’t move it up either.
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Final Reading
It’s Not Just the Money; It’s the Time
RL Stephens II, The Guardian, US Edition
As the movement for a $15 minimum wage grows, low-wage workers know the problem isn’t just the hourly pay
rate. It’s also the number of hours scheduled. I’ve worked at Gap in multiple locations since October 2014. I’d like to
earn a living wage – but a raise alone won’t help me pay the bills if unfair schedules aren’t fixed too.
I spent most of 2014 unemployed while applying to dozens of jobs. Then, in October, I finally got a job at Gap.
Our schedule comes out less than a week in advance. Some of the shifts leave workers “on-call,” meaning we don’t
know if we’re going to be working at all that day. The earliest we find out is two hours before the shift is scheduled to
start. At my first store, I had 18 hours of penciled-in shifts with only nine guaranteed hours some weeks. This is not
uncommon in the industry.
The low pay and unreliable work schedule meant my life at Gap wasn’t all that different from when I was
unemployed. Though I was working, I still had to go to a food pantry for groceries. In winter, I had to choose between
having heat bills I couldn’t afford and freezing in my apartment. My landlord would ask me when I’d have the rent
money, but I couldn’t give her an answer because I never knew how many hours I’d actually work in a given week.
Unpredictable last-minute scheduling makes it difficult to budget and turns even the most basic decisions into
headaches. Will we need babysitters for our children? Will we be able to make a doctor’s appointment? Will we have to
rush to Gap from our second jobs?
Another co-worker began working at Gap, in addition to a second retail job, as a way to escape the illicit drug
trade. My colleague once told me: “Everybody wants a job; no one wants to really be out hustling in the streets.” But the
on-call shifts became unbearable, and he struggled to pay rent. For him, the trade-off between street money and regular
employment was costly.
Finally, it’s important to point out that the financial gains from these scheduling practices don’t go to us, the
hourly workers. They flow to the top-earners in the company, whose salaries have significantly increased while ours
have stayed mostly the same. We make the sacrifices; they reap the rewards.
I do, however, feel hope. Lawmakers are considering new legislation that would require three weeks’ advance
notice of work schedules. Across the country, low-wage workers are fighting for fair scheduling, and the tide is turning.
Just this summer, Victoria’s Secret and Abercrombie & Fitch announced an end to their on-call shifts. The Gap can and
should be part of this rising tide.
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Writing Instructions
Basic Skills Midterm/Final Exam
Writing Instructions:
Read the article provided and compose an essay that summarizes the
short text, identifies a significant idea in the text, and relates it to your
own reading, observations, or personal experience. Your essay should
consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
______________________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
Your introductory paragraph should summarize the passage, stating the author’s most important
ideas (at least two). You may quote in your summary, but also make certain that you
demonstrate in your own words (i.e., paraphrase) that you understand the article’s main points.
BODY
Focus your first body on the idea that you feel is most significant in the reading passage.
Explain why it is significant (remember, significant means important) in this paragraph. Make
sure you describe this experience/reading/lesson assuming the reader knows nothing about it.
Be sure that you explain how the significant idea in the reading and your own reading,
observations, and/or personal experience are connected.
CONCLUSION
Wrap up your entire essay in your conclusion. Give your reader a sense of closure.
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Faculty Survey
Fall 2015 Teacher survey for BE 203 assessment
Please answer the following questions to the best of your ability. Thank you very much for your time.
1. How much do you feel your students’ performance on the departmental midterm affected how and what
you taught the rest of the semester?
a) The midterm results did not affect my teaching for the rest of the semester at all.
b) The midterm results affected my teaching a little bit for the rest of the semester.
c) The midterm results affected my teaching a fair amount for the rest of the semester.
d) The midterm results heavily influenced my teaching for the rest of the semester.
2. How much do you feel individual student performances on the departmental midterms affected what you
focused on with individual students?
a) The midterm results did not affect how I dealt with individual students for the rest of the semester.
b) The midterm results affected how I dealt with individual students a little bit for the rest of the
semester.
c) The midterm results affected how I dealt with individual students a fair amount for the rest of the
semester.
d) The midterm results heavily influenced how I dealt with individual students for the rest of the
semester.
3. Please order from 1 to 5 how much you focused on each of the following issues after the midterms. Use
1 to indicate an issue you focused on the most, 2 to indicate an issue you focused on second most, etc. If
you did not focus on a skill listed, do not give it a number.
___ Summary Writing
___ Organization and Structure of Essays
___ Organization and Structure of Paragraphs
___ Development of Paragraphs (e.g. developing details in personal examples)
___ Connecting Summaries to Examples Outside of the Text
___ Developing a Significant Idea
___ Stylistic Issues (e.g. punctuation, capitalization, spelling, etc.)
___ Grammar Issues (e.g. word forms, word order)
___ Vocabulary Issues
___ Other (Please specify and order for each “other”:_________________, ____________________,
______________....)
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4. What support services do you think would be most useful in helping guide students to progress more
effectively from the midterm to the final? Please order according to what you think would be most
useful.
___ In-class tutoring.
___ More out-of-class tutoring sessions.
___ Different type of out-of-class tutoring sessions.
Please specify_________________________________________________________
___ More online grammar tutorials
___ More conversation hour opportunities
___ Other.
Please specify_________________________________________________________
5. How accurate do you feel the midterm scores were? (Respond on a 5 point scale with 1 being least
accurate and 5 being most accurate.)
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