ASSESSMENT RECORD

ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Grades 4th - 8th Certification (BS)
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

June 17, 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:
The faculty and administrators of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department
of Mathematical and Physical Sciences are committed to providing a scholarly environment
in which students prepare for productive lives in a dynamic world and in a changing global
and technologically advancing environment.

Intended Educational (Student) Outcomes:
1. Students will demonstrate their mastery of formulating and solving problems in various areas of mathematics.

2. Students will be able to communicate mathematics in well-structured sentences.

3. Students will be able to develop a variety of examples to illustrate mathematical concepts, to present several ways of solving a problem, and to illustrate applications of mathematical ideas to real situations.

ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Grades 4th - 8th Certification (BS)
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

June 17, 2004
Date Submitted

Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
NOTE: There should be one form for each intended outcome listed. The intended outcome should be restated in the box immediately below and the intended outcome number entered in the blank spaces.

__1__ Students will demonstrate their mastery of formulating and solving problems in various areas of mathematics.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_1a._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Graduating students will be required to take part in a pilot study program towards the end of their final semester of studies by taking the Major Fields Test in mathematics by ETS; 50% of the students taking the standardized examination will score at or above the National 50^th percentile.

_1a._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
No student graduated this semester.

_1a._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Program faculty could not make recommendations for this means of assessment at this time.

Second Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_1b._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Exit survey will be conducted with graduating seniors. The survey will include questions asking the students’ perception of their own achievement pertaining to the intended outcomes; each response will be in a scale of 0 to 4, and average of 3.0 points or better for the responses to the relevant questions will be considered satisfactory.

_1b._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
No student graduated this semester.

_1b._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Program faculty could not make recommendations for this means of assessment at this time.

Third Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_1c._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Final exams of each of the 3000-4000 level courses will be reviewed by the instructor in regard to the students’ problem solving skill, and each exam paper will be given a point in a scale of 0 to 4. The class average of 2.5 point is considered satisfactory. Instructor will look at students’ ability (1) to find a correct strategy to solve the problem, and (2) to carry out the strategy and solve the problem correctly.

_1c._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
The average point was 2.1.

_1c._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
To develop students’ problem solving ability, we recommend that each mathematics instructor incorporates some problem solving projects in the courses. We will create a database for such projects to facilitate exchange of ideas and information among instructors. We also recommend that some of the projects have an element of experiment and/or exploration.

ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Grades 4th - 8th Certification (BS)
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

__2__ Students will be able to communicate mathematics in well-structured sentences.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_2a._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Graduating students will be required to take part in a pilot study program towards the end of their final semester of studies by taking the Major Fields Test in mathematics by ETS; 50% of the students taking the standardized examination will score at or above the National 50^th percentile.

_2a._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
No student graduated this semester.

_2a._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Program faculty could not make recommendations for this means of assessment at this time..

Second Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_2b._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Exit survey will be conducted with graduating seniors. The survey will include questions asking the students’ perception of their own achievement pertaining to the intended outcomes; each response will be in a scale of 0 to 4, and average of 3.0 points or better for the responses to the relevant questions will be considered satisfactory.

_2b._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
No student graduated this semester.

_2b._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Because there were no graduates in the program during this assessment period, the program faculty members cannot make a recommendation at this time.

Third Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_2c._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Final exams of each of the 3000-4000 level courses will be reviewed by the instructor in regard to the students’ writing skill, and each exam paper will be given a point in a scale of 0 to 4. The class average of 2.5 point is considered satisfactory. Instructor will look at students’ ability to present solutions or proofs in a coherent and readable manner.

_2c._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
The average point was 2.3.

_2c._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
We will specify some courses as “Writing Intensive Courses” that specifically address students’ writing, and we will reorganize the degree plans and move some of the writing intensive courses to earlier years in the degree plans so that students will have more time to develop their writing skills. We also recommend that each mathematics instructor incorporates some writing projects in the courses, and we will create a database for such projects to facilitate exchange of ideas and information among instructors.

ASSESSMENT REPORT

FOR

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Grades 4th - 8th Certification (BS)
Instructional Degree Program

Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered

June 17, 2004
Date Submitted

Intended Educational (Student) Outcome:
NOTE: There should be one form for each intended outcome listed. The intended outcome should be restated in the box immediately below and the intended outcome number entered in the blank spaces.

__3__ Students will be able to develop a variety of examples to illustrate mathematical concepts, to present several ways of solving a problem, and to illustrate applications of mathematical ideas to real situations.

First Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:

_3a._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Preservice teachers (students) will take the Texas Examinations of Educator Standards (TExES) in mathematics for grades 8–12. A pass rate of 70% for a cohort of students in a particular semester on TExES Mathematics 8–12 (test 135) will be considered satisfactory.

_3a._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
One student took TExES, and passed (100% pass rate).

_3a._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Because of the small data sample, program faculty could not make recommendations for this means of assessment at this time.

Second Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_3b._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Exit survey will be conducted with graduating seniors. The survey will include questions asking the students’ perception of their own achievement pertaining to the intended outcomes; each response will be in a scale of 0 to 4, and average of 3.0 points or better for the responses to the relevant questions will be considered satisfactory.

_3b._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Some questions were not included in the survey. They will be included in the survey for the Fall 2004 semester.

_3b._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
Program faculty members could not make recommendations for this means of assessment at this time.

Third Means of Assessment for Outcome Identified Above:
_3c._ Means of Program Assessment & Criteria for Success:
The students will be required to complete the mathematics capstone course (MATH 4390) in the final year of their program of study. The mathematics faculty will review jointly the evaluations of the student performance (including the final classroom presentation) received from the course instructor, to determine whether the students have achieved the intended outcome. An average of 2.5 on a 4-point scale will be considered satisfactory.

_3c._ Summary of Assessment Data Collected:
Average point was 1.7 in 4-point scale.

_3c._ Use of Results to Improve Instructional Program:
(1) To develop students’ ability to apply mathematical ideas to real situations, we recommend that each mathematics instructor incorporates some modeling problems or projects in the courses.

(2)To enhance students’ ability to develop a variety of examples to illustrate mathematical concepts, we recommend that each mathematics instructor presents a variety of examples to illustrate mathematical concepts within the instruction of the courses. In Math 4390 we recommend that students be required to complete a project in which they develop a particular mathematical concept using verbal, numerical, graphical, and symbolic representations, along with a variety of examples. This project should include a class presentation.

(3) To develop students’ ability to present several ways of solving a problem, we recommend that each mathematics instructor incorporates the presentation in several ways of solving a problem within the instruction of the courses. In Math 4390 we recommend that students be required to complete a problem solving project which includes a class presentation in several ways of solving a particular problem.

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