Introduction

Minutes

Members

Assessment Committee Minutes
Date: November 10, 1997

Members present: Debi Contoleon, Geoff Eroe, Jayni Flores, Marian Gibney, David Gorman, Mike Mitchell, Jesse Mireles, Pat Moyer, Marian Tadano

Minutes from October 13, 1997 meeting were discussed and accepted.

Assessment Newsletter-Draft of the newsletter was reviewed, corrections were made. Newsletter will be distributed in paper copy before end of November. The newsletter will also be on the assessment web page.

Developmental Education-There was discussion of preliminary data gathered for the Developmental Education committee. Average age of students in developmental and ESL classes was calculated. A small study of the outcome of students who scored in the "decision zone" on the ASSET test for ENG071 and ENG101was conducted. The preliminary data indicate that there is no difference in pass rates for students who scored in the decision zone on the ASSET test and took ENG101 or ENG071. Results of this study and further analysis will be reported in the next newsletter. Suggestions for further study were made, ie, find median ages of students, and find the success rates of people who took ENG071 and then took ENG101. The premise is that these students should have better success than those who just took ENG101. Developmental education is part of the governing board's "ends" statements.

Institutional effectiveness<-The meeting with governing board member, Gene Eastin focused on campus plans and institutional effectiveness activities. A report of this meeting will be included in the current newsletter. A sheet with a summary of PC's institutional effectiveness activities was distributed. There are 5 major categories of institutional effectiveness: learner centered services, instructional effectiveness, community outreach, professional development, and technology/facilities planning.

General Education Assessment Feedback Loop-There have been several rounds using the "checksheets" for the English and Reading assessments. Results from these were presented to the committee. It was recommended that the chair meet with the English and Reading departments to discuss these checksheets. The departments will then decide what, if any, program changes will result from this information.

Critical thinking-Debi Contoleon has been researching instruments in this area. She is developing a comprehensive list and will report to the committee at a later meeting. It was noted that there is a tremendous amount of information in this area, and it is important to take time to focus on the most appropriate instruments or procedures.

Standardized Intruments-The most recent information from ACT regarding CAAP, COMP, and ESS assessment instruments was presented to the group. It was agreed that members would circulate the materials and discuss them at the next meeting. Some issues that were discussed included the expense of such tests, the possibility of sampling students, the possibility of selecting a cohort of students to follow, pro's and con's of selecting a particular group of students (such as nursing or dental hygiene), pre- and post-test conditions, and the possibility of identifying an "average PC student."

Other-the next meeting is December 8. It may be a virtual meeting. Information from developmental education studies may be available by then. The next meeting after that is in February.