ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR

Bachelor of Arts in English with Grades 8-12 Certificate
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

July 20, 2004_
Date Submitted


Expanded Statement of Institutional Purpose Linkage:
Institutional Mission Reference:
Texas A&M International University, a Member of The Texas A&M University System, is committed to the preparation of students for leadership roles in their chosen profession and in increasingly complex, culturally diverse state, national, and global society … Through instruction, faculty and student research, and public service, Texas A&M International University is a strategic point of delivery for well-defined programs and services that improve the quality of life for citizens of the border region, the State of Texas, and national and international communities.

College/University Goal(s) Supported:
To increase “(1) students’ ability to communicate through the use of the written and spoken word; (2) their knowledge and appreciation of culture, fine arts, social integration; and (3) self realization.  The College [COAS] also prepares students for a variety of professions and roles by providing a broad-based liberal arts education.”

Intended Educational (Student) Outcomes:
1.  Graduates will demonstrate a knowledge of literature that compares favorably to that of graduates from similar programs in the nation.

2. Graduates will be successful in passing state certification exams for secondary teachers of English.

3. Graduates of the educator preparation program will demonstrate adequate knowledge of instructional design and assessment to promote student learning.

4. Graduates completing the educator preparation program will demonstrate the skills related to implementing effective, responsive instruction and assessment.



ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR



Bachelor of Arts in English with Grades 8-12 Certificate
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

July 20, 2004_
Date Submitted

Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
1.  Graduates will demonstrate a knowledge of literature that compares favorably to that of graduates from similar programs in the nation.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
1a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Graduates will score at the 50th percentile or above overall on a norm-referenced subject test of literature, namely the Major Field Assessment Exam (MFAT).

1a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
There were no graduating seniors with a Bachelor of Arts with a Grades 8-12 Certificate for spring 2004. Assessment will continue fall 2004.

1a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:



ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR



Bachelor of Arts in English with Grades 8-12 Certificate
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

July 20, 2004_
Date Submitted

Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
2. Graduates will be successful in passing state certification exams for secondary teachers of English.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
2a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Within one year of graduation, 80% or higher of graduates will pass the Texas Examination of Educator Standards 131 (TExES) Exam for English Language Arts and Reading for Secondary School Certification by the State of Texas.

2a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Because the TEXES is offered several times throughout the spring semester, data was collected on seniors and recent (within one year) graduates for all of the Spring, 2004 test dates. Students who took the exam multiple times are counted for the last time they took the exam, through the May 22, 2004 test date.

Of the 2 qualifying students who tested, 2 passed, yielding a rate of 100%. (1)

2a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
The department of Language and Literature has adopted a multifaceted approach based on the results. The first of these intends to fine-tune the criteria and assessment techniques. The latter two are programmatic—one curricular, one extra-curricular.

1.  Because the percentage above would be more useful to us if it were to reflect 1) the total number of seniors who took the exam and passed during the Fall, 2003 semester; 2) the number of times students took the exam before passing (when students took it more than once); and, 3) how students scored on specific subject domains within the test framework, we have decided to expand the original criteria for success, above, to:

Within one year of graduation, including the two semesters preceding graduation, 80% or higher of graduates will, on their first or second attempt, pass the Texas Examination of Educator Standards (TExES) for English Language Arts and Reading for Secondary School Certification by the State of Texas with scores above 235 in all domains of the exam.

2.  English 4390 (Problems in Teaching English), a course dedicated to addressing the challenges of integrating content and pedagogy for students preparing to apply for secondary certification, has a flexible, evolving syllabus based partly on weaknesses identified by TExES score reports. In the Spring, 2004 semester, for example, a new text—Teaching Reading in High School English Classes—was added to the course reading list when TExES score reports suggested that some of our students were testing poorly in areas related to reading instruction.

Spring, 2004 results show slightly stronger performance on questions pertaining to reading instruction, but weaknesses on the written component of the exam. The Spring, 2005 section of English 4390 will, therefore, integrate more practice in timed literary explication and writing exercises.

3.  During the Spring, 2004 semester, several members of the Department of Language and Literature, meeting as a committee addressing TExES performance shortcomings—and working with the University's TExES coordinator, began implementing a program in which members of the department would themselves peruse pedagogical texts recommended for students preparing for secondary certification.

This plan has two stated goals: 1) involved professors might be able to help majors more clearly to see the connections between literature and pedagogy, especially those connections stressed by current scholarship in the field; and, 2) involved professors might begin actually to integrate relevant pedagogical approaches into their own courses, enabling students to absorb effective models for such integration.



ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR



Bachelor of Arts in English with Grades 8-12 Certificate
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

July 20, 2004_
Date Submitted

Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
3. Graduates of the educator preparation program will demonstrate adequate knowledge of instructional design and assessment to promote student learning.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
3a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Graduates of the educator preparation program will score at or near 70% on the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) exam for Pedagogy and Professional Responsibilities, Domain I.

3a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Enter text here

3a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Enter text here.



ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR



Bachelor of Arts in English with Grades 8-12 Certificate
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

July 20, 2004_
Date Submitted

Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
4. Graduates completing the educator preparation program will demonstrate the skills related to implementing effective, responsive instruction and assessment.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
4a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Ninety percent (90%) of students completing the educator preparation program on the Field Performance Evaluations will be at or near 85% with no score lower than 65%.

4a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Enter text here

4a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Enter text here

Second Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
4b. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
At the Portfolio Defense, the students completing the educator preparation program will provide evidence of knowledge and performance of instructional design and assessment with a score of 80% or better, as determined by a team of Field Supervisors using a common rubric.

4b. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Enter text here

4b. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Enter text here



SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION

SOURCE

LOCATION/Special Instructions

(1) TExES 131-Eng. L.A. & Rdg.

Link (electronically submitted)

Field Performance Evaluations

 

common rubric (need proper name)