GENERAL EDUCTION ASSESSMENT REPORT – 2011-2012
Gen. Ed. Category
Communication subcommittee
Gen. Ed. Outcome Statement:
Analyze, develop, and produce rhetorically complex texts
Approved Courses addressing
this Outcome Statement:
Person submitting this report
(name and e-mail):
Date submitted:
COMM101
ENGL110
ENGL111
Ruth Neveu rneveu@lssu.edu, Julie Barbour jbarbour@lssu.edu, Catherine White cwhite9@lssu.edu
November 4, 2014
Assessment Measurements Conducted During the Current Year
Assessment Tools:
Summary of Results
Recommendations
Faculty submitted grades from final
research paper in Fall 2012 to assess
courses in the discipline.
Results from senior ETS testing
completed during the 2012-2013
academic year.
Coursebased
Activities
Final research paper will show the
ability to analyze, develop, and
produce rhetorically complex texts.
The BODY/SUPPORT and
RESEARCH/DOCUMENTATION
categories on the rubric assess the
student's ability to analyze
rhetorically complex texts through
On a 1-5 scale, student averages were as follows:
Purpose 2.88
Structure 2.65
Analysis 2.195
Conclusions 2.245
Language 2.76
In general, students are performing adequately (or
slightly below if we are to be precise) for
Purpose, Structure, and Language. Analysis and
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Continue faculty grading of final
research papers.
During the 2014-2015, the
subcommittee will discuss and pilot the
LEAP Reading and Written
Communication Value Rubrics. These
rubrics include ratings for Benchmark,
the use of sources in the body of
the paper.
The
LANGUAGE/STYLE/RHETORIC
category assesses the student's
ability to
develop and produce rhetorically
complex texts by evaluating the
rhetorical complexity of the
research paper itself.
Externally- ETS exam
based
General
Education
Assessment
Activities
Conclusions are weak areas (which is typical).
Seniors taking the ETS exam in 2012-2013
earned the following scores:
Reading Level 1 79% Proficient, 15% Marginal,
7% Not Proficient
Reading Level 2 44% Proficient, 28% Marginal,
28% Not Proficient
Critical Thinking 5% Proficient, 20% Marginal,
75% Not Proficient
Writing Level 1 65% Proficient, 28% Marginal,
7% Not Proficient
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Milestones, and Capstone levels. With
input from English faculty and a
volunteer from a capstone class for a
non-English program, the
subcommittee will gather data and
make recommendations about using the
rubric to assess the outcome statement.
The intent of the recommendation is
not to add extra assessment to courses
but offer an option for assessment that
may be more beneficial and realistic
considering the large number of
students in ENGL110/111 each year.
Further, the use of Benchmark,
Milestone, and Capstone identifiers
imply that the process of learning to
effectively analyze, develop, and
produce rhetorically complex texts is
done throughout a student’s program.
As the General Education committee as
a whole discusses LSSU outcomes,
data from a pilot assessment may be
helpful in that discussion.
After continued discussion about the
alignment between the ETS assessment
of reading, writing, and critical
thinking and the General Education
outcome statement, a curriculum map
is warranted. The Communications
subcommittee will map course
objectives and the ETS assessment
focus to the outcome statement.
Writing Level 2 20% Proficient, 38% Marginal,
42% Not Proficient
Writing Level 3 6% Proficient, 28% Marginal,
66% Not Proficient
When compared to test scores of seniors at
Baccalaureate Liberal Arts Colleges, LSSU
scores were above the national averages in all
categories except Critical Thinking (LSSU 5%
and National 7%) and Writing Level 2 (LSSU
20% and National 21%). See Figure 1
Further, no trends were identified in item analysis
of the exams.
Senior Exit Survey
Other.
LSSU seniors gave the following ratings:
Analyze, develop, and produce rhetorically
complex texts
ENGL110
12.3% Well Prepared
63.1% Adequately Prepared
0% Somewhat Prepared
23.1% Neutral
1.5% Poorly Prepared
0% Not Prepared
ENGL111
15.4% Well Prepared
61.5% Adequately Prepared
0% Somewhat Prepared
21.5% Neutral
1.5% Poorly Prepared
0% Not Prepared
None at this time.
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Figure 1
Senior Proficiency ETS Compared to Baccalaureate (Liberal Arts) Colleges I and II
Methods Used for Sharing Assessment Information:
Next Steps: See recommendations in above table.
Additional Comments:
None at this time.
HLC Six Fundamental Questions
1. How are your stated student learning outcomes appropriate to your mission, programs, degrees, and students?
2. What evidence do you have that students achieve your stated learning outcomes?
3. In what ways do you analyze and use evidence of student learning?
4. How do you ensure shared responsibility for student learning and for assessment of student learning?
5. How do you evaluate and improve the effectiveness of your efforts to assess and improve student learning?
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6. In what ways do you inform the public and other stakeholders about what and how well your students are learning?
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