ASSESSMENT IN ACTION

Volume V, Number 1–Fall 2005 Lake Land College Mattoon, Illinois

Assessment Week It’s all about student learning! November 7-11, 2005

Task Force on Online Assessment Formed: In response to a directive of the Higher Learning Commission, LLC has formed a task force to study outcomes assessment in the online environment. The Final Team Report issued by the team of evaluators who visited Lake Land last October included a recommendation that the College prepare a monitoring report on this topic, due by December 15, 2008. Members of the task force include faculty from several academic divisions, representing both academic and career/technical programs. The committee will determine a course of action for collecting and analyzing data to compare student success in online courses with student success in the same courses when they are taught in the traditional classroom.

Did You Know . . . The following facts come from the 2004-5 Outcomes Assessment Report.

v LLC sophomores who took the Academic Profile test (measuring their achievement in areas within the Gen Ed curriculum) in Spring 2005 scored 444.98; this compares favorably with the 439.5 scored by freshmen tested in Fall 2003.

v LLC sophomores scored higher than community college sophomores nationally in reading, writing, and mathematics; they matched sophomores nationally in social science; and they scored lower than sophomores nationally in humanities, natural sciences, and critical thinking. Scores were lower by statistically insignificant margins, however: for example, 114.2 compared to 114.4 in the humanities.

v LLC students earned an average GPA of 2.99 after transferring to baccalaureate institutions within the state. This compares with an average GPA of 2.91 earned by other community college transfers, and an average GPA of 2.92 among native students (those who began their education at the four-year institution).

v Based on data submitted by faculty members in Spring 2005, 95% of programs at LLC have assessment plans ready, and 76% have recorded results.

Title III Study in Speech Communication Yields Valuable Feedback from Students Over a three-semester period, Salisa Hortenstine-Olmstead asked students in pilot sections of SPE111 to write “one-minute papers” at the end of each week discussing what they had learned that week in class or what they found particularly challenging. Salisa said “I noticed a definable change throughout the semester in their writing skills, willingness to open up and disclose as well as the length of their responses.” Sample comments from students:

v “Having seen [my] classmates’ speeches, I’ve learned from a listener status what works the best and gets the most reaction.”

v “After thinking about the evidence tests I’ve begun questioning the sources I hear things from. I’ve realized that not everyone is credible.”

v “I have become more ‘aware’ of my presence as a speaker and the importance of preparing for a speech.”

These pilot sections were part of a study of student success in SPE 111 funded by Title III monies.

Need additional information? The Outcomes Assessment website is located under “Academic Programs” on the Lake Land College homepage, or go directly to http://webclass.lakeland.cc.il.us/assessment/.

Assessment in Action This edition of Assessment in Action was brought to you by Nancy Caldwell, Kathleen Doehring, and Linda Parrish. If you have assessment questions or wish to share your assessment ideas, please contact us.