Date Received
Fall 2006 Semester Assessment Report Form
DUE March1, 2007
Directions: Please complete a form for each of the programs within your department. This
form was designed to provide a format for assessment reporting and should not be used to limit
the amount of information provided. Each box that is attached to each of the sections is designed
to adjust to varying lengths. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Bea Babbitt at x51506
or via email at: bea.babbitt@unlv.edu.
***Please submit the report electronically to bea.babbitt@unlv.edu
1. Program Information:
Program HIS 100, HIST 101, HIST 102 (Gen. Ed. Core Requirement)
Department History
College Liberal Arts
Program Elspeth Whitney
Assessment
Coordinator
Semester Data Fall 2006
Collected
Report Elspeth Whitney
Submitted by
Phone/email 895-3350 elspeth@unlv.nevada.edu
Date Submitted
2. According to the Assessment Plan for this program, what were the planned assessments to be
conducted during the Fall 2006 semester? You may want to copy and paste from this program’s
assessment plan.
Which outcomes for
this program were
measured?
How did you measure
the outcomes?
What results did you expect? If the
students performed well what would
their performance look like, i.e.
percentages, means, or comparisons to
a national standard?
___2_outcomes out of a total of ___3_ outcomes evaluated this semester.
1) demonstrate
In this expanded
We expected at least 80% of the
knowledge of the basic program, two sections
students to achieve a passing grade. If
content of the U.S. and of HIS 102 and one
students performed well, a higher
Nevada constitutions,
section of HIS101
percentage of students would achieve
such as the structure of were added to HIST100 at least a passing grade. A passing
the documents and the to be assessed. This
grade was defined as 12 or more
amending processes
allowed us for the first questions out of 20 answered
time to assess student
correctly.
2) demonstrate
outcomes with respect
knowledge of the basic
concepts of the U.S.
and Nevada
constitutions, such as
popular sovereignty,
representation, and
separation of powers
to the Nevada
Constitution. (HIST
100 and HIST101
fulfill the U.S.
Constitution
requirement but not the
Nevada Constitution
requirement. HIST102
fulfills the Nevada
Constitution
requirement but not the
U.S. Constitution
requirement.)
In preparation for the
expansion of the
program, faculty wrote
a departmental
document, ”The
Nevada Constitution in
Brief” as a guide for
students. The test bank
of 50 multiple choice
questions on the U.S.
Constitution and 20
questions on the
Nevada Constitution
previously created was
reviewed and some
minor changes made in
response to last
semester’s assessment
report. The questions
tested students’
knowledge of basic
content and concepts
(Outcomes 1 and 2).
Instructors incorporated
or embedded at least 20
of these questions into
a course quiz or
examination. Students
who did not pass the
exam on the first try
were allowed to retake
the exam with a
different set of
questions chosen from
the text bank.
Students were required
to answer 12 or more
(out of 20) questions
correctly in order to
pass the course.
3. Results. What are the results of the planned assessments listed above? Describe below or
attach to the form.
Results
In two sections of HIST 102, 66 out of 89 students, or 35%, passed the exam on the
Nevada Constitution on the first try with an average score of 62.5%. 20 students
retook the test and passed on the second try. Three students dropped the course.
In HIST 101, 35 out of 40 students, or 87.5%, passed the exam on the U.S.
Constitution on the first attempt with an average score of 71.5%. The remaining 5
students passed the exam on the second try.
In HIST 100, 160 students out of 213, or 79.8%, passed the exam on the U.S.
Constitution on the first attempt. Most of the remaining students passed the exam on a
second try and the remainder dropped the course.
4. Conclusions and Discoveries. What conclusions or discoveries were made from these
results? Describe below or attach to the form.
Conclusions and Discoveries
Students who are motivated can pass the exam and demonstrate competence in
learning outcomes 1 and 2. Students had more difficulty with the Nevada Constitution
than with the U.S. Constitution, probably due to a greater lack of prior knowledge.
The lower scores with respect to the Nevada Constitution suggests that instructors in
the future should budget more time for teaching the Nevada Constitution.
5. Use of Results. What program changes are indicated? How will they be implemented? If
none, describe why changes were not needed.
No program changes are indicated. Students performed better than expected. The results
so far indicate that the History Department is doing a good job in teaching learning
outcomes 1 and 2 with respect to both constitutions. In Spring 07, we will begin to
assess learning outcome 3 through assessment of a select group of essay exams. We will
also consider how to improve student preparation for the exam on the Nevada
Constitution. All faculty who teach courses with fulfill the U.S. and Nevada
Constitution requirements are encouraged to give input to the Assessment Committee on
how to improve our assessment.
6. Dissemination of Results, Conclusions, and Discoveries. How and with whom were the
results shared?
Results were shared with the Department as a whole with special attention to instructors
who teach courses with fulfill the U.S. and Nevada Constitution requirements.