QEP Outcome Assessment
Psychology Department
Richland College
Spring, 2008
INTRODUCTION
Psychology instruction at Richland College is essentially a one freshman-level
curriculum with four optional follow-up sophomore classes that do not currently require
the introductory psychology class. Psychology 2301 is the introductory course with the
sophomore courses currently consisting of Human Sexuality (Psyc 2306),
Developmental Psychology (Psyc. 2314), Psychology of Personality (Psyc. 2316).
The primary objective of this QEP outcome assessment was to determine if two basic
concepts are retained after the completion of the Introductory Psychology course. As
these two concepts are also covered in some fashion in each of the sophomore courses,
the retention of these concepts should be consolidated by the completion of a
sophomore course in psychology. In addition to answering the permanence of these two
concepts, this assessment also compared the performance of students in sophomore
psychology who completed the introductory psychology course with those who did not.
These results may assist us in curriculum planning.
OUTCOME OBJECTIVES
Who did you assess?
The students completing sophomore level psychology courses at Richland College.
(Psyc. 2306, 2314, 2316).
When did you assess?
The assessment occurred during the last week of classes of the Spring 2008 semester.
What is the method of assessment?
The assessment consisted of four objective content questions covering two basic
concepts: (1) Freud’s personality structure of id, ego, and superego; and, (2) learning
theory concept of positive reinforcement.
Who analyzed the results?
The results were analyzed by an intern in clinical psychology provided by the University
of Texas Southwestern School of Medicine, Psychology Department.
What was used to evaluate the results?
Statistical analyses were conducted to determine: (1) the overall level of retention of
content; (2) a comparison between students who completed introductory psychology
before the completion of the sophomore course with those who did not complete
introductory psychology.
How well did the participants do?
Overall, it was hypothesized that the participants would score at or above the 70% level
on the content test. Further, it was hypothesized that the students who completed
introductory psychology would score significantly higher on the content test than those
who did not complete introductory psychology.
RESULTS
The following results of the assessment were analyzed
during the Summer of 2008:
Blue Group 1 represents the students enrolled in Psyc 2306, 2314, and 2316 who had
previously completed Psyc 2301. Red Group 2 represents the students enrolled in Psyc
2306, 2314, and 2316 who had not previously completed Psyc 2301. The QEP
assessment test was comprised of four items, therefore the Blue Group average of 2.9 is
equivalent to 72% correct, and the Red Group average of 2.7 is equivalent to 68%
correct.
CONCLUSIONS
The students enrolled in Psychology 2306, 2314,and 2316 scored above the 70% level
on the QEP content assessment test. Thus, the first hypothesis of this study was
confirmed.
The students enrolled in Psychology 2306, 2314, and 2316 who had previously
completed Introductory Psychology 2301 did not score significantly higher (P>.05) than
those who had not previously completed Introductory Psychology 2301. Therefore, the
second hypothesis of this study was rejected.