ASSESSMENT REPORT
FOR
Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (BA)
Instructional Degree Program
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
July 21, 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 competent writing skills in
the Spanish language.
2. Graduates will demonstrate the ability to write a cogent literary
analysis applying sound theoretical principles to a work in Spanish
and Spanish-American literature.
3. Graduates will be successful in obtaining admission to Spanish
graduate programs.
ASSESSMENT REPORT
FOR
Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (BA)
Instructional Degree Program
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
July 21, 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
1. Graduates will demonstrate competent writing skills in the
Spanish language.
First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
1a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Research papers of Spanish majors classified as graduating seniors
will be sampled from 3000-4000-level classes initially and then later
exclusively from Spanish 4399, Senior Seminar. Using the Analytical
Rubric for Senior Spanish Papers (1) developed by the department, a
team of faculty members will evaluate the papers for the papers for
syntax and style, documentation of sources, and mechanics. At least
80% of the graduates will receive scores of “satisfactory” or higher.
1a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Two Spanish professors performed an analytical analysis of 3 research
papers (2) written by graduating Spanish majors for a 4000-level Spanish
class. They read and scored the paper at least twice. Using a 4-point
scale (with 4 being excellent, 3 satisfactory, 2 unacceptable, and 1
totally inadequate), they arrived at the following results:
Overall: The
students (100%) scored a score of 3 or over, with 3.2 average.
Analysis: In addition to the overall score, the paper was
evaluated for 3 qualities.
The average scores for the 3 qualities were as follows: 1) Organization
3.5, 2) Development 2.5, 3) Logic and Coherence 3.2, 1) Syntax and Style
3.3, 2) Mechanics 3.2, and 3) Documentation 3.2.
1a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Although our population is too small (N=3) to make any real generalizations,
these three students (100%) were able to demonstrate competent writing
skills in Spanish that exceeded our base point of 80%. Nevertheless,
it appears that our students could still improve in all aspects of writing.
The Spanish faculty met on April 21, 2004 and decided to revamp the
undergraduate curriculum by creating a sophomore-level introduction
to literature course that will be required of all of our majors. Furthermore,
we bumped up two of the 2000-level literature courses to the 3000-level
in order to create junior-level courses that will gradually increase
the skills of our students prior to them taking the 4000-level writing
and literature courses. The result is a true three-tiered system to
help students vigorously practice their writing skills at each level
of instruction. We will implement this new system fall 2004.
ASSESSMENT REPORT
FOR
Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (BA)
Instructional Degree Program
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
July 21, 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
2. Graduates will demonstrate the ability to write a cogent
literary analysis applying sound theoretical principles to a work in
Spanish and Spanish-American literature.
First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
2a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Research papers of Spanish majors classified as seniors will be
sampled from 3000-4000-level classes initially and then later exclusively
from Spanish 4399, Senior Seminar. Using a grading scale developed
by the department, a team of faculty members will evaluate the papers
for a cogent literary analysis. At least 80% of the seniors will receive
scores of "satisfactory" or higher
2a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Two Spanish professors performed an analytical analysis of 3 research
papers written by senior Spanish majors for 3000-4000-level Spanish
classes. They read and scored each paper at least twice. Using a 4
-point scale (with 4 being excellent, 3 satisfactory, 2 unacceptable,
and 1 totally inadequate), they arrived at the following results.
Overall: Three
(100%) of the students scored a 3 or higher with an average score of
3.1.
Analysis:
In addition to the overall score, papers were evaluated for 3 qualities.
The 3 qualities, followed parenthetically by the number and percent
of students scoring a 3 or higher for that quality, were as follows:
Organization & Focus (3 / 100%), Development (1/ 33%), and Logic
& Coherence (3 / 100%)
2a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Although our population is too small (N=3) to make any real generalizations,
these three students (100%) were able to write a cogent literary analysis
in Spanish. The weakest area is development of ideas, in which only
one of three students successfully developed his/her ideas. Nevertheless,
it appears that our students could still improve in all aspects of writing.
The Spanish faculty met on April 21, 2004 and decided to revamp the
undergraduate curriculum by creating a sophomore-level introduction
to literature course that will be required of all of our majors. Furthermore,
we bumped up two of the 2000-level literature courses to the 3000-level
in order to create junior-level courses that will gradually increase
the skills of our students prior to them taking the 4000-level writing
and literature courses. The result is a true three-tiered system to
help students vigorously practice their writing skills at each level
of instruction. We will implement this new system fall 2004. An increased
emphasis on student-faculty writing conferences during the writing process
will begin fall 2004 as well. Also, the faculty decided to revise the
Analytical Rubric for Senior Spanish Papers to replace the ‘yes/no’
section with a 4-point scale in order to discriminate student skills
more accurately. The revised Analytical Rubric for Senior Spanish Papers
will be used for the fall 2004 assessment.
ASSESSMENT REPORT
FOR
Bachelor of Arts in Spanish (BA)
Instructional Degree Program
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
July 21, 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
3. Graduates will be successful in obtaining admission to Spanish
graduate programs.
First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
3a. Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
60% of graduates who seek entrance into graduate programs in Spanish
will be admitted. A post-graduate survey conducted yearly will be conducted
to collect this information.
3a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
One (100 %) of the May 2004 graduates with a B.A. in Spanish has
applied for graduate school and has been admitted.
3a. Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
The faculty met on April 21, 2004 and are advising all graduating
seniors to consider continuing their education at the graduate level.