2015-2016 Assessment Plan
COMM 10123: Basic Speech Communication
Texas Christian University
The COMM 10123: Basic Speech Communication Assessment Plan aligns with the
Communication Studies Mission Statement, OCO Essential Competency, and the OCO Course
Learning Outcomes.
Communication Studies Mission Statement: To educate students to think and
communicate in ethical and effective ways so as to enrich their personal and professional
lives.
OCO Essential Competency: TCU graduates will articulate thoughts clearly using
appropriate verbal and nonverbal communication.
OCO Course Learning Outcomes:
 Students will demonstrate the ability to construct and deliver effective messages,
adapted to the audience, purpose, and context of the situation.
 Students will demonstrate the ability to facilitate interpersonal and group
communication.
ASSESSMENT CYCLE (2015-2016)
Starting in Fall 2015, under the direction of the Associate Basic Course Director, a new
comprehensive assessment plan will be put into action in COMM 10123: Basic Speech
Communication. The new assessment plan will include macro and micro assessment of the
course learning outcomes.
Macro-Assessment of Communication Competence
Measures
The macro assessment of communication competence functions as a broad evaluation of overall
achievement of the course learning outcomes (i.e. knowledge, motivation, and skills) in various
communication contexts (i.e. public speaking, interpersonal, and small groups). In order to
measure the extent to which the course learning outcomes are being achieved, IMPACCT
(Interactive Media Package for Assessing Communication & Critical Thinking) will be used as
an assessment measure of students’ overall communication competence. IMPACCT is an online
assessment program designed to meet the assessment and learning objectives for communication
programs in higher education. It consists of pre- and post-test surveys that examine selfperceived communication competence (including cognitive, affective, and behavioral
competencies) in four different contexts (public-speaking, interpersonal, small group, and
computer-mediated communication), as well as a peer-assessment of communication competence
(Spitzberg, 2011).
IMPACCT was selected as the primary tool for broad assessment of communication competence
in this course because of its validity, reliability, and utility (Spitzberg, 2011).
 The program’s focus aligns with the primary course competencies and contexts.
 The vocabulary and terminology used in the survey questions is consistent with the
instructional materials (i.e. textbook) due to overlap in authorship.
 The survey is comprehensive, operationalizing 40 communication competencies of
motivation, knowledge, and skills common in communication curricula.
 The program provides Time 1 and Time 2 data, which can evidence the effect(s) of
intervening educational experiences.
 The program includes a peer assessment component in order to overcome the
limitation of purely self-report assessment.
 The program was developed by an award-winning scholar in the field with a record of
achievement in developing measures of communication competence.
 The program is standardized and provides normative data in which to compare
students’ results against a larger pool of participants (locally and nationally).
 The survey has been empirically tested and has met the standards for acceptable
reliability and validity (Spitzberg, 2011).
Action Plan (Spring 2015)
Students enrolled in the blended large lecture/lab sections of COMM 10123: Basic Speech
Communication will complete the IMPACCT assessment. At the beginning of the semester, each
student will take the pre-test at Time 1 (week #2-3). In addition, the student will nominate two
“peers” who know the student well to complete an abbreviated, but parallel, survey asking about
the student’s communication competence. Then, at the end of the semester the student will
complete a post-test at Time 2 (week #14-15).
Students will have access to their personal profiles throughout the semester, enabling them to
track their own personal changes in communication competence throughout the course and
devise goals for continual improvement beyond the course. Following the completion of all
three components, the system will produce three assessment profiles for each student:
 T1 Self - how the student perceived his/her own communication knowledge,
motivation, and skill in interpersonal, group, public speaking, and computer-mediated
contexts at Time 1
 T2 Self - how the student perceived his/her own communication knowledge,
motivation, and skill in interpersonal, group, public speaking, and computer-mediated
contexts at Time 2
 Peer - how the student’s peers perceived the student’s communication competence in
interpersonal, group, public speaking, and computer-mediated context. (average
ratings of the two peers nominated by the student)
While students will receive points for completing the assessment measures, they will not be
graded on the accuracy of their self-assessment, the amount of improvement, or their level of
communication competence. Their scores will be solely used for course evaluation and
assessment purposes at the end of each semester.
Data Analysis and Improvement Plans
At the end of the semester, the Associate Course Director will retrieve systematic course-wide
data of the enrolled students in order to measure changes (T1 to T2) in knowledge, motivation,
and skills in interpersonal, group, public speaking, and computer-mediated communication
contexts due to instruction. The learned information will be used to do the following in
preparation for fall 2015:

Evaluate the effectiveness of the current pedagogical course methods and
instruction and identify practices in need of change and adjustment. The primary of
outcome of the course is for students to become more competent communicators across a
number of contexts. Certain activities, assignments, and assessments are utilized in the
course to reach this outcome. It is anticipated that the macro assessment measure will
highlight shortcomings in student competencies and corresponding educational
intervention. Necessary adjustments to the course materials and instruction will be made
accordingly.

Identify specific competencies for next semester’s micro assessment of
communication competence. In accordance with the current assessment plan, the
Associate Course Director will collect additional assessment data targeting specific
communication competencies each semester. The focus of the subsequent micro
assessment (Fall 2015) will be determined based on the deficiencies indicated by the
macro assessment measure (i.e. IMPACCT). If it is unclear whether or not students are
attaining the desired learning outcome, a micro assessment measure will be developed to
hone in on the specific competencies attributing to the deficiency.

Determine if the assessment tool (IMPACCT) is the best method for macro
assessment. IMPACCT will be evaluated in terms of whether or not it provided accurate
and meaningful results. It may be necessary to develop a more customized survey tailored
to this specific course that would give more precise feedback regarding student progress
and instructional effectiveness.

Compare students’ self-reported results against a larger pool of current and past
IMPACCT participants. It will be possible to compare various groups of participants
(e.g. course format, instructor, major, demographic composition, etc.) against the
aggregate results. Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of participants will result
in appropriate course changes so as to ensure all students achieve the desired learning
outcomes.
Micro Assessment of Communication Competence
Measures
Micro assessment measures will be used to corroborate and sharpen the results of the macro
assessment. In addition to the general communication competencies (i.e., affective, cognitive,
and behavioral) measured by the macro assessment tool, there are specific competencies (e.g.,
constructing an outline) that are essential for students to demonstrate as part of satisfying the
desired learning outcomes for the course. Due to its comprehensive scope, the macro assessment
tool may prove to be insufficiently detailed and precise in measuring certain competencies. Thus,
IMPACCT will not only serve as a broad assessment measure of student learning outcomes, but
it will also serve as a diagnostic tool in identifying micro assessment needs. Once IMPACCT
highlights a weakness in learning outcomes, the micro assessment will function as a microscope
to more specifically target and evaluate the deficient competencies within a given context (i.e.
public-speaking, interpersonal, group, CMC). Because public-speaking is the primary focus of
the OCO learning outcomes, a micro assessment of public speaking will be administered in
spring 2015 until the IMPACCT results indicate another area in need of closer attention.
Action Plan (Spring 2015)
Targeted Competency: Students will construct an organized and effective persuasive outline,
adapted to the audience, purpose, and context of the situation. Note: This targeted competency is
associated with OCO Learning Outcome #1: Students will demonstrate the ability to construct
and deliver effective messages adapted to audience, purpose, and context of the situation. While
we have assessed message construction and delivery in previous assessment plans, we have not
focused exclusively on construction.
A sample of students will complete a pre-test outline and post-test outline. The pre-test will be
administered during the first class meeting of the semester. Students will be asked to construct an
outline in response to the following prompt: “You have been asked to deliver a 5-minute
persuasive speech about TCU to a group of prospective TCU students. Prepare an outline for the
speech.” For the post-test, students will submit a persuasive outline as part of their preparation
for a persuasive presentation to be delivered during the semester. The outline will be submitted
for a formal grade in the course; however, separate assessment rubrics will be used for evaluating
the pre-test and post-test outlines for assessment purposes.
Data Analysis and Improvement Plans
The Associate Course Director will analyze the data yielded from the pre-test and post-test
outline rubrics to measure changes in students’ ability to construct an organized and effective
outline adapted to the audience, purpose, and context of the situation as a result of instruction.
The learned information will be used to do the following in preparation for fall 2015:

Evaluate the effectiveness of the current instruction practices and make necessary
changes and adjustment. The targeted assessment method will indicate whether or not
the current instructional methods are effective in achieving the desired competency. If the
results show that students are not obtaining the targeted skill, new lectures, assignments,
and activities will be developed reinforce the desired competency.

Determine if the micro assessment measure used was the best method for targeted
assessment of this competency. The micro assessment method will be evaluated in
terms of whether or not it provided valid and reliable results. It may be necessary to make
adjustments to the rubrics in order to gain more accurate feedback regarding student
learning and instructional effectiveness.
ONGOING ACTION PLANS
1. Reevaluate course learning outcomes. Our goal is not only to assess the achievement of
learning outcomes, but also to assess the appropriateness and usefulness of the course
learning outcomes themselves. The mere process of developing an assessment plan raises
important questions regarding what constitutes communication competence and what
specific competencies students should possess upon completion of the course. For
instance, IMPACCT introduces CMC (computer-mediated communication) as another
context in which communication competence is necessary. However, is desired
proficiency in four different contexts a realistic outcome for this course? These types of
questions will be continually discussed as assessment results are used to inform and guide
revision and necessary changes to the course.
2. Incorporate assessment plans into stand-alone sections. The current action plan calls
for students enrolled in the blended large lecture/lab sections of COMM 10123 to
participate in the macro and micro assessment of communication competence. However,
it is important to ensure students enrolled in both versions of COMM 10123 (blended
large lecture/lab and stand-alone) are achieving the course learning outcomes. Once the
macro and micro assessment measures have proven to be sufficiently valid and reliable,
assessment procedures will be gradually incorporated into stand-alone sections of the
course.
REFERENCES
Spitzberg, B. H. (2011). The Interactive Media Package for Assessment of Communication and
Critical Thinking (IMPACCT©): Testing a programmatic online communication
competence assessment system. Communication Education, 60, 145-173.