Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
INTRODUCTION
The sixth component of the OSA contains questions for the Social and Behavioral Sciences core.
The first questions ask the participants about how they fulfilled their Social and Behavioral
Sciences core requirement.
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
Page 1 of 17
Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
The following table shows the number and percentage of participants who selected each
response to the first question regarding where students took their core curriculum course. The
number of participants selecting each response adds up to more than the 1,578 total
participants because participants were instructed to select all that apply
How did you complete your core curriculum requirement in Social and Behavioral Sciences?
Response
n
% of Sample
I took an individual and group behavior core curriculum class through
158
10.0%
dual credit in high school.
I took an advanced placement social and behavioral sciences core
110
7.0%
curriculum class in high school.
I took a CLEP exam for social and behavioral sciences core curriculum
7
0.4%
credit.
I received transfer core curriculum social and behavioral sciences
660
41.8%
credit for a class that I took at another institution.
I took my core curriculum class in social and behavioral sciences at
1,030
65.3%
Tech.
For the analysis in this report the 1,578 participants are divided into the “TTU” group and the
“ELSE” group. The TTU group represents the 1,030 participants (65.3% of the sample) who
selected “I took my core curriculum class in social and behavioral sciences at Tech.” The
participants who selected one or more of the other responses were asked if the class they took
outside of Tech counted for their core curriculum credit. The ELSE group will represent the 485
participants (30.7% of the sample) who reported that a class taken outside of Tech did count for
their Social and Behavioral Sciences core curriculum credit. These 485 participants were asked
which course counted. The following table shows the number and percentage of the sample
who selected each response.
Which one?
Response
A dual credit class.
An advanced placement class.
A CLEP exam.
A class I took at another institution.
I don’t know.
[did not answer]
Total
n
66
27
1
383
7
1
485
% of Sample
4.2%
1.7%
0.1%
24.3%
0.4%
0.1%
30.7%
63 participants (4.0% of the sample) reported that they did not know if a course taken outside
of Tech counted for their Social and Behavioral Sciences core curriculum credit. These 63
participants will be excluded from any TTU vs. ELSE group analyses.
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
The system stores data for the participants which makes it possible to identify the respondents
who major in programs related to the Social and Behavioral Sciences core. The following
majors were identified and classified as Social and Behavioral Sciences majors: Agricultural and
Applied Economics; Agricultural Communications; Anthropology; Business Economics;
Communication Studies; Community, Family, and Addiction Studies; Economics; Electronic
Media and Communication; Exercise and Sport Sciences; Family and Consumer Sciences;
Geography; Human Development and Family Studies; Human Sciences; Human Sciences
Undeclared; International Economics; Political Science; Psychology; Social Work; and Sociology.
The following table shows that there were a total of 377 Social and Behavioral Sciences majors
in the OSA sample. It also displays how many participants were in each of the Social and
Behavioral Sciences majors.
Social and Behavioral Sciences Majors
Major
Frequency Percentage
Agricultural and Applied Economics
15
1.0%
Agricultural Communications
12
0.8%
Anthropology
10
0.6%
Business Economics
1
0.1%
Communication Studies
16
1.0%
Community, Family, and Addiction Services
5
0.3%
Economics
10
0.6%
Electronic Media and Communication
9
0.6%
Exercise and Sport Sciences
97
6.1%
Family and Consumer Sciences
2
0.1%
Geography
2
0.1%
Human Development and Family Studies
51
3.2%
Human Sciences
14
0.9%
Human Sciences Undeclared
1
0.1%
International Economics
5
0.3%
Political Science
28
1.8%
Psychology
74
4.7%
Social Work
7
0.4%
Total
377
23.9%
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
RESULTS
The student learning outcomes for the Social and Behavioral Sciences are:




To identify and critique alternative explanations for claims about social issues and
human behavior.
To recognize the appropriate methods, technologies, and data that social and behavioral
scientists use to investigate the human condition.
To identify and appreciate differences and commonalities between cultures.
To demonstrate knowledge of the origins and evolution of U.S. and Texas political
systems.
The Social and Behavioral Sciences section of the OSA contains ten knowledge questions. The
first learning outcome aligns with questions 1, 4, and 5. The second learning outcome aligns
with questions 2, 3, and 4. The third learning outcome does not clearly align with any of the
questions. The fourth learning outcome aligns with questions 6 through 10. A screenshot and
summary of responses for each question is shown on the following pages.
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 1:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the first question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 3 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that the majority of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more people
in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (63.7% vs. 61.8%).
This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This suggests that on average
students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere do not do significantly
better with this question than students who took their course at TTU. Since the first question
aligns with the first learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students
who took their course elsewhere.
We can't be sure the mothers' recollections of
how much time the babies spent watching
videos is accurate.
11.5%
9.3%
Because the study was conducted in a lab, the
toddlers may have behaved differently than
they would have at home.
23.7%
23.7%
The design of the study doesn't allow us to be
sure the videos caused the difference in
vocabulary.
There is nothing wrong with this.
0.0%
TTU
61.8%
ELSE
63.7%
3.0%
3.3%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 2:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the second question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that the majority of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more people
in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (71.1% vs. 69.1%).
This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average
students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere do not do significantly
better with this question than students who took their course at TTU. Since the second
question aligns with the second learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to
students who took their course elsewhere.
69.1%
The sample included only boys and the results
may not generalize to girls.
The sample is too small to draw conclusions.
It is difficult to draw conclusions about
developmental changes from a longitudinal
study.
The names assigned to the stages are arbitrary
and may not have the same meaning to
children from different cultures.
0.0%
71.1%
11.4%
10.7%
TTU
12.5%
ELSE
10.7%
7.0%
7.4%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 3:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the third question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 2 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that less than half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more
people in the TTU group chose the correct answer as compared to the ELSE group (38.1% vs.
31.1%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU do not do
significantly better with this question than students who took their course elsewhere. Since the
third question aligns with the second learning outcome, this suggests that on average students
who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar
to students who took their course elsewhere.
Only 95% of those surveyed, not 95% of her
constituents, said they supported raising taxes
to support social services.
43.7%
50.5%
38.1%
The question itself was biased.
The sample is biased because it isn't
representative of her constituents.
The sample is too small.
0.0%
31.1%
12.7%
TTU
12.0%
ELSE
5.5%
6.4%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 4:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the fourth question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 4 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that less than a fourth of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more
people in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (20.4% vs.
20.0%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere do not do
significantly better with this question than students who took their course at TTU. Since the
fourth question aligns with the first and second learning outcomes, this suggests that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU meet these
learning outcomes similar to students who took their course elsewhere.
The design of the research doesn't allow us to
conclude that single-parent families and
school problems are related.
24.4%
21.4%
Not all children from single-parent families
have problems in school; therefore, the
research conclusions are invalid.
29.8%
32.6%
Other research indicates that other factors,
such as low socioeconomic status, contribute
to problems in school, so divorced parents…
None of the above is a valid criticism of this
conclusion.
0.0%
25.8%
TTU
25.6%
ELSE
20.0%
20.4%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 5:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the fifth question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 3 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that less than half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more
people in the TTU group chose the correct answer as compared to the ELSE group (36.9% vs.
32.2%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU do not do
significantly better with this question than students who took their course elsewhere. Since the
fifth question aligns with the first learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to
students who took their course elsewhere.
Immediately after putting her down for a nap,
he should pat her on her tummy 3 times.
21.8%
23.3%
25.7%
He should just wait 5 minutes (without going
in to pat her on the tummy).
27.4%
He should wait 5 minutes and then go in and
stand next to her.
0.0%
TTU
36.9%
He should wait 5 minutes and pat her on the
tummy 3 times to see if it keeps working.
ELSE
32.2%
15.5%
17.1%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 6:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the sixth question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that just under half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more
people in the TTU group chose the correct answer as compared to the ELSE group (49.8% vs.
49.3%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere do not do
significantly better with this question than the students who took their course at TTU. Since
the sixth question aligns with the fourth learning outcome, this suggests that on average
students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences at TTU meet this learning outcome
similar to students who took their course elsewhere.
49.8%
is much longer.
49.3%
26.8%
is much shorter.
is much less specific.
has been amended less.
0.0%
25.6%
TTU
5.2%
ELSE
7.4%
18.2%
17.7%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
Page 10 of 17
Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 7:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the seventh question for participants
who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took
their Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 2 is the correct choice. It
can be seen that less than half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more
people in the ELSE group chose the correct answer as compared to the TTU group (44.5% vs.
40.6%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere do not do
significantly better with this question than students who took their course at TTU. Since the
seventh question aligns with the fourth learning outcome, this suggests that on average
students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences at TTU meet this learning outcome
similar to students who took their course elsewhere.
36.0%
twice a year.
32.2%
40.6%
once every two years.
every year.
year round.
0.0%
44.5%
13.0%
TTU
12.8%
ELSE
10.4%
10.5%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 8:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the eighth question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that just under of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more people in
the TTU group chose the correct answer as compared to the ELSE group (48.4% vs. 47.2%). This
difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students
who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU do not do significantly better with
this question than students who took their course elsewhere. Since the eighth question aligns
with the fourth learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their Social
and Behavioral Sciences at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students who took their
course at elsewhere.
48.4%
The President
47.2%
21.9%
Senators
22.5%
Representatives (Members of the House of
Representatives)
Judges (State and Local)
0.0%
26.6%
TTU
27.8%
ELSE
3.0%
2.5%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 9:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the ninth question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 2 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that a large majority of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more
people in the TTU group chose the correct answer as compared to the ELSE group (95.3% vs.
94.4%). This difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on
average students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU do not do
significantly better with this question than students who took their course elsewhere. Since the
ninth question aligns with the fourth learning outcome, this suggests that on average students
who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to
students who took their course elsewhere.
1.8%
The two houses have unequal power.
2.7%
95.3%
The two houses have equal power.
The two houses have no power.
94.4%
1.0%
TTU
1.0%
ELSE
The two houses have supreme power.
0.0%
1.8%
1.9%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Question 10:
The chart below shows the distributions of answers to the tenth question for participants who
took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). Answer 1 is the correct choice. It can
be seen that over half of both groups chose the correct answer. Overall, a few more people in
the TTU group chose the correct answer as compared to the ELSE group (59.8% vs. 59.2%). This
difference is not statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This means that on average students
who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU do not do significantly better with
this question than students who took their course elsewhere. Since the tenth question aligns
with the fourth learning outcome, this suggests that on average students who took their Social
and Behavioral Sciences at TTU meet this learning outcome similar to students who took their
course elsewhere.
59.8%
County Judge
59.2%
32.8%
Commissioners Court
County Boss
County Surveyor
0.0%
35.3%
1.7%
TTU
1.4%
ELSE
5.7%
4.1%
20.0%
40.0%
60.0%
80.0%
100.0%
Percent of Sample
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
Social and Behavioral Sciences Average:
The table below compares the differences between TTU and ELSE when the results are
averaged (e.g., if a student got 8 out of the 10 questions correct, his score will be 8/10 = .80).
Both groups have low means around 50%. The mean is slightly higher for students who took
their core requirement for the Social and Behavioral Sciences at TTU. This difference is not
statistically significant at the 0.05 level. This suggests that on average students who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course at TTU do not perform better on the Social and
Behavioral Sciences questions than students who took their course elsewhere.
Core at TTU
Mean
SD
n
Social/Behavioral
Overall
1,030
52.0%
n
17.7%
Core Elsewhere
Mean
SD
485
51.3%
17.6%
t-stat
p-value
0.69
0.2458
The chart below shows the distributions of scores for participants who took their class for the
Social and Behavioral Sciences core requirement at TTU (red) and participants who took their
Social and Behavioral Sciences course elsewhere (blue). The distributions are similar, but it
looks like there are a few more in the TTU group answering more than half of the questions
correctly and that there are a few more in the ELSE group answering less than half of the
questions correctly.
Social and Behavioral Sciences Questions: TTU vs. ELSE
Percent of Sample
25.0%
20.0%
18.8%
15.0%
13.4%
21.0%21.4%
20.5%
19.6%
18.8%
12.8%
12.4%
10.3%
TTU
10.0%
7.0%
4.8%
5.0%
0.4%
0.0%
4.1%
2.3% 2.3%
0.6% 0.6%
1.2%
1.0%
0.2%
0%
10%
ELSE
6.6%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Percent Correct
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
Page 15 of 17
Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
The table below shows a comparison of the average scores for the participants selecting each
course option within the ELSE group.
Elsewhere
A dual credit class.
An advancement placement class.
A CLEP exam.
A class I took at another institution.
I don't know.
[did not answer]
Total
n
66
27
1
383
7
1
485
Mean
50.9%
59.3%
60.0%
51.0%
44.3%
100.0%
51.3%
SD
18.6%
17.7%
17.3%
21.5%
17.6%
Based on the mean, students who took their Social and Behavioral Sciences course through
advanced placement are the highest-performing group, excluding the single student who took a
CLEP exam and the single student who did not answer the question, and students who took
their course through a dual credit class are the lowest performing group, excluding the students
who did not know which course counted for their core curriculum credit.
The following table shows a summary of the correlations between the percentage of Social and
Behavioral Sciences questions answered correctly and the following variables of interest:
gender, age, SAT score, ACT score, transfer credit hours, total credit hours, cumulative GPA,
Humanities major, Mathematics major, Natural Sciences major, and Social and Behavioral
Sciences major.
Gender
Age
SAT score
ACT score
Transfer hours
Total credit hours
Cumulative GPA
Humanities major
Mathematics major
Natural Sciences major
Social/Behavioral major
Correlation
-0.10
0.05
0.34
0.33
-0.03
0.01
0.14
0.06
0.07
0.05
0.00
p-value
<.0001
0.0408
<.0001
<.0001
0.2500
0.5999
<.0001
0.0152
0.0055
0.0381
0.9537
n
1,575
1,578
897
743
1,578
1,578
1,576
1,578
1,578
1,578
1,578
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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Online Senior Assessment 2013: Social and Behavioral Sciences
The following tables summarize the regression model using these same variables of interest
with Social and Behavioral Sciences scores on the OSA as the outcome variable. Note that the
variables SAT score and ACT score were combined into one variable, SAT/ACT score, to include
more students in the one model. This variable was created by using a conversion table from
the ACT website to convert ACT scores to the SAT score range (see
http://www.act.org/solutions/college-career-readiness/compare-act-sat/).
n
1,183
Regression model predicting
Social and Behavioral Sciences score
F-value
p-value
R2
21.35
< .0001
0.1541
Variable
B
SE
β
Intercept
-0.1759
0.0648
Gender
-0.0224
0.0104
-0.06*
Age
0.0099
0.0019
0.16***
SAT/ACT score
0.0004
0.0000
0.33***
Transfer credit hours
-0.0003
0.0002
-0.04
Total credit hours
-0.0002
0.0002
-0.02
Cumulative GPA
0.0278
0.0089
0.09**
Humanities major
0.0274
0.0232
0.03
Mathematics major
0.0181
0.0151
0.04
Natural Sciences major
0.0403
0.0164
0.07*
Social and Behavioral Sciences major
0.0399
0.0120
0.10***
Note: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001; gender: 0 = male, 1 = female
The model overall is significant at the 0.05 level (R2 = 0.1541). For this model gender, age,
SAT/ACT score, cumulative GPA, Natural Sciences major, and Social and Behavioral Sciences
major were significant predictors at the 0.05 level for Social and Behavioral Sciences scores on
the OSA. The model suggests that when controlling for the other variables in the model male
students, older students, students with higher SAT/ACT scores, students with higher GPA’s,
students with a Natural Sciences related major, and students with a Social and Behavioral
Sciences related major, on average, score higher on the Social and Behavioral Sciences section
of the OSA.
Office of Planning and Assessment, Devin DuPree and Gail Alleyne Bayne, June 2013
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