GE Program Assessment Plan

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GE Program Assessment Plan
Developed – Fall 2006
Discussed and approved by the Board of General Studies – 12/7/06
Assessment of the General Education Program includes various components to provide multiple
lines of evidence of achievement of GE Program Objectives. The plan includes a mix of internal
instruments and external studies or standardized tests. This allows for comparison with other
institutions and provides the flexibility to assess objectives that are unique to SJSU. The
components are:
 Course embedded assessment
 Writing Skills Test (WST)
 Team SJSU Studies
 ETS Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment Test
 Benchmark Studies
Overall results from these assessment components will be reported to the Academic Senate in the
fall of each academic year.
Course Embedded Assessment
SJSU has a well established system for collecting and evaluating, on a regular basis, assessment
data from GE courses. New General Education program objectives were approved by the
Academic Senate in spring 2005 and were mapped onto GE area objectives. Evidence collected
from GE area student learning objectives can be used to assess GE program objectives by
summing over courses.
Each year the Board of General Studies will select one or two GE areas and summarize the
course embedded assessment data that were collected for courses in those areas. Mapping these
data onto the GE program objectives, the Board will evaluate the effectiveness of courses in
these areas in meeting GE program objectives..
Writing Skills Test (WST) for Assessment of GE Program Objectives
For each of the five annual administrations of the Writing Skills Test (WST), writing prompts
will be used to draw out evidence of student learning with respect to both GE area learning
objectives and GE program objectives. Each administration of the test will focus on a different
GE area or GE program objective. Prompts have been, and will continue to be, reviewed by the
Writing Requirements Committee.
A rubric parallel to that used to evaluate student writing skills will be used to assess student
learning with respect to GE area and program objectives. After each administration of the WST,
graders will summarize both writing and area achievement. The GE area assessment data will be
reviewed each Spring, by the Board of General Studies.
GE Program Assessment Plan
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Writing Skills Test (WST) Data Analysis
The Office of Institutional Research is exploring the development of a standard report that would
summarize the scores from each administration of the WST with respect to demographic
information, student preparation, and program/College. This standard report will allow Colleges
and programs to examine any trends that emerge as a result of changes in curriculum or
pedagogy, or changes in preparation of incoming Community College students.
Team SJSU Studies
Team SJSU Studies (to be piloted in fall 2007) consists of a two-course sequence (six units in
fall and three units in spring) that will organize all of the goals and objectives for the four SJSU
Studies areas: (Earth and Environment; Self, Society & Equality in the U.S.; Culture,
Civilization & Global Understanding; and Written Communication II) around a contemporary
issue. Students will complete a project that incorporates opportunities to put theory into practice,
such as service learning, community-based learning, undergraduate research, or community
education. The courses will be team-taught by faculty from three different discipline areas.
Assessment from these courses, equivalent to collecting data from a capstone course, will
provide summative data about achievement of GE program objectives as well as integrative
learning. The first data will be collected in spring 2008 and reviewed in 2008/2009.
Information Literacy Test for Assessment of GE Information Literacy Outcome
SJSU is piloting the administration of the Educational Testing Service’s (ETS) standardized
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Literacy Assessment Test. The ETS
assessment test uses real-time, scenario-based tasks to measure research/information literacy
skills in seven components: define information need, and access, evaluate, manage, integrate,
create, and communicate information. The test instrument also measures computer technology
skills.
The Office of Institutional Research will develop summaries of the data each year, which will be
reviewed by the Board of General Studies.
Benchmarking Performance of SJSU Students
An ideal assessment plan includes comparison of SJSU with comparable students at comparable
institutions. SJSU has been piloting two examples of national studies.
Collegiate Learning Assessment
The Collegiate Learning Assessment was administered to 59 freshmen and 49 seniors in fall
2005. The test is designed to assess critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and
written communication. The results are normalized using SAT or ACT scores of the participants.
The Institutional Report was received October 19, 2006. The report is under review by the AVP
of Undergraduate Studies, the AVP of Institutional research and the University Assessment
Committee. A summary report will be provided to the Board of General Studies.
Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education
San José State University is one of 19 institutions participating in a large scale quantitative and
qualitative longitudinal protocol designed to assess liberal education outcomes. In fall 2006,
GE Program Assessment Plan
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4500 college and university freshmen from around the country began a 4-year investigation of
their knowledge and skills across a variety of outcomes (among them are: integrating learning,
moral reasoning, and multicultural awareness). The SJSU campus recruited 288 freshmen to take
a 90 minute survey; of those, 46 have now participated in an on-campus 90 minute interview.
Institutional data will be available for the early phase of the study by fall 2007 and then for
follow up data for a minimum of two years thereafter. Data resulting from the Wabash National
Study of Liberal Education will provide the campus with a systematic approach to measuring
students’ understanding of liberal education outcomes.
Summary Table
Component
Course embedded assessment
Writing Skills Test (WST) –
Program Objectives
Writing Skills Test (WST) – Data
Analysis
Team SJSU Studies
Frequency
Every Semester a
course is offered
Once/year
Five times/year
Once/year
ETS ICT Literacy Assessment Test
Once/year
Benchmark Studies
Current study
(2006-2010)
GE Program Assessment Plan
Responsible Office/Committee
Office of Undergraduate Studies/
Board of General Studies
Office of Undergraduate Studies/
Board of General Studies
Office of Institutional Research/
Colleges and programs
Office of Undergraduate Studies/
Board of General Studies
SJSU Library/
Office of Institutional Research
Office of Institutional Research
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