General Outcomes Testing

Current Status of TOP Team Recommendation: In the fall of 2005, the TOP Team recommended that all graduates be required to take General Outcomes Testing in the semester before they graduate. The recommendation is currently under consideration.

During Fall 2004, TOP restructured the traditional CAAP testing with a new process and structure and administered the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) tests as a measure of general outcomes. The following outlines the expansion of this testing to reach the widest range of students possible. Expanded testing will provide relevant statistical outcomes in the areas of Reading, Writing, Critical Thinking, Math and Science. The test results will be one of many methods that are used to measure outcomes.

Click on any of the following links for more information:

* History
* Results
* Course Selection
* Faculty Participation
* Testing Sessions
* Incentives
* Response

History of General Outcomes Testing
The Collegiate Assessment of Academic Performance (CAAP), an instrument provided by American College Testing (ACT), was implemented in the spring of 1999 after an earlier pilot that ran from the spring of 1992 to the spring of 1995. The CAAP instrument consists of five exams: Writing, Reading, Mathematics, Science Reasoning and Critical Thinking. For information about CAAP, visit ACT at http://www.act.org/caap/index.html.

The methodology was developed to take the greatest advantage of student resources available for assessment. Because Waubonsee’s mission includes delivering transfer education, it was a great concern that too many students would be lost to senior institutions before assessment could take place if assessment administration was postponed until a student had completed the entire 37 semester-hour IAI recommended general education core. These “core completers” were assessed in the earlier pilot. In addition, the CAAP battery of exams is lengthy, and could be a burden given the fact that 80% of Waubonsee students attend part-time, work and share in familial responsibilities. Finally, given the part-time nature of the learning force, it may take a student many years to complete the general education curriculum in its entirety, thus leaving the student far-removed from critical content.

To overcome these pitfalls, student selection was based on course sequence completion. That is, students were invited to voluntarily assess based on the fact that they were completing a general education requirement using a course that had a freshman level general education course as a prerequisite. These students were then administered the relevant portion of the CAAP battery. For example, students completing ENG102, Freshman English II, were invited to complete the Writing Skills portion of CAAP. ENG102 has ENG101, Freshman English I, as its prerequisite. Every effort was made to adhere to this process throughout the piloting of the CAAP instrument.

CAAP was administered on a semester basis until the academic year 2001-2002. On a pilot basis, the Assessment Advisory Committee recommended administration annually. The committee felt that sufficient numbers of students could be drawn annually to maintain consistency in outcomes assessment. The committee also considered human and fiscal resource and transitional issues in its recommendation.

Results
Fall 2004 Results - We tested a total of 414 students, which is the largest number of participants thus far. The test breakdown was as follows:

* Math - 21
* Writing - 55
* Critical Thinking - 86
* Reading - 72
* Science - 180

For more information on the results of this testing, please see the Related Materials at the bottom of this page.

The services of ACT were engaged to connect outcomes assessment with entering placement assessment. The college utilizes the ACT instrument, COMPASS, for placement purposes. This critical connection helps provide faculty with information regarding the value added by the general education curriculum. The CAAP Linkage Reports are include in the Related Materials section of this page.

In September 2004, TOP decided to again administer the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Performance (CAAP) tests. The first step was to decide on the courses that would be chosen to participate in the test administration. In previous years, approximately 40 classes were selected to participate, yielding about 250 students testing. One of the goals of the new General Outcomes Testing was to increase both the testing opportunities for students as well as the number of students who participate in the test administration. Obviously, the major reason for this was to ensure that the sample size is statistically significant in order to maximize our results.

Course Selection
We examined the Fall 2003 Course list for CAAP administration to be sure that the courses were selected under the same requirements as in previous years. Courses were selected based on the fact that they have a prerequisite of another freshman level course or can be used by students to complete general education requirements. Some courses were added to the list at the request of the associate dean or faculty member. There were 31 courses selected for Science, 29 courses for Critical Thinking, 26 courses for Reading, 29 courses for Writing and 35 courses for Math. This selection allowed for a total of 3,300 possible tests to be administered out of the approximately 9,400 students registered for classes at Waubonsee Community College in the fall of 2004.

Faculty Participation
Letters were sent to each individual faculty member listed explaining the purpose and process of the General Outcomes Testing. There were two possible methods of participation: 1) the test could be administered during class time by an assessment specialist; or 2) the students could take the test at designated times outside of class. Either option could also include a course incentive at the faculty’s discretion. Faculty who chose to participate were asked to allow the Outcomes Assessment Specialist to visit their class briefly. During this visit, the Outcomes Assessment Specialist discussed the reasons for outcomes testing, gave students a schedule of testing times and locations and discussed the incentives for testing (i.e. extra credit points, gift certificates, etc.).

Testing Sessions
Group testing sessions were scheduled beginning November 15, 2004 and continued through December 7, 2004. Testing was held in two hour blocks and moved out of the Center for Learning Assessment testing center. In previous years, the additional influx of students in the testing center during finals week had placed a strain on the departmental financial and physical resources. Therefore, the decision was made to move the testing out of the center and into the areas where students frequent, such as Bodie Hall, the location of many classrooms. The students were allowed to test at any time within the two hour session. Each test has a time limit of 40 minutes. Students were required to produce some form of photo identification in order to take the test. There were a total of 24 testing sessions scheduled throughout the three week period with times scheduled during the day, in the evening, on Saturday and at the Aurora Campus.

Incentives
The following incentives were incorporated into the test administration:

* Extra credit (at faculty discretion)
* Gift certificates for food and fuel
* Candy giveaway during testing session

Response
Faculty support was very strong in the first round of General Outcomes Testing. Stacey Randall, Outcomes Assessment Specialist, visited 20 classes to discuss the value of student participation in this project. Additionally, 20 other classes were given the CAAP test in class at the instructor's request.

Related Material

Executive Summary Spring 2000

Executive Summary Fall 2002

2004 Summary by Student Background Characteristics

2004 Summary by Student Background Characteristics

2004 Summary by Student Major (self-reported)

2004 Performance Effort by Test (self-reported)

2004 Performance Breakdown by Test Chance Score

2004 Test Score Frequency Distribution

2004 Test Sub-score Frequency Distribution

Institutional Effectiveness Measures Report, 2005

WCC Testing Results (courtesy of Tom Pulver, Mathematics Instructor)

2002-2003 CAAP Linkage Report

2001-2002 CAAP Linkage Report

2000-2001 CAAP Linkage Report

1998-2002 CAAP Linkage Report

1999-2003 CAAP Linkage Report