General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
June 2004
Date Submitted
Expanded Statement of Institutional Purpose Linkage:
Institutional Mission/Goal(s) 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.
Administrative or Educational Support Unit Mission Statement:
“At Texas A&M International University, the Core curriculum
introduces students to academic disciplines which form the foundation
of human thought…Our Core is conceived to open new areas of learning
for our students and to foster skills necessary for success in higher
education. As they move through this course of study, students are
encouraged…to develop the capacity to articulate and support a thesis,
to think critically, to synthesize their observations and to perceive
analogies and relationships between seemingly diverse ideas and intellectual
pursuits.”
Intended Administrative Objectives:
1. Compose an essay concerning a current events topic or a literary topic
2. Read with understanding
3. Demonstrate basic mathematical skills
General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
June 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Administrative or Educational Support Objective:
Compose an essay concerning a current events topic or a literary topic
First Means of Assessment for Objective Identified Above:
1a. Means of Unit Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Upon completion of six hours of core-mandated English, students
must take the University Writing Assessment (UWA), a locally developed
and holistically scored writing assessment (Support Document 1). 70%
of students who have taken the six hour core at TAMIU and are taking
the UWA for the first time will pass on any given administration of
the examination.
1a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected
During the spring 2004 administration of the UWA, 39 students
who completed six hours of their Core at TAMIU took the assessment
for the first time. 22 students or 56% of these students passed the
UWA. (Support Document 2)
1a. Use of Results to Improve Unit Services:
The analytical analysis (Support Document 3) of 100 sample UWA
essays was conducted for the third semester to identify areas of student
weakness in writing that can be used to formulate suggestions for
alterations in curriculum and test administration. Of the five categories
(1) organization & focus, (2) development, (3) logic and coherence,
(4) syntax and style, (5) and mechanics, spring 2004 students are
most deficient in logic and coherence, development, and mechanics.
The analytical rubric data (Support Document 4) indicate that while
grammar and usage remains a dominant category for evaluating student
writing, the development of ideas and arguments appears to be the
most important analytical category in predicting student success on
the University Writing Assessment.
The summary data of 300 randomly selected essays from Spring 2003, Fall 2003, and Spring 2004 (Support Document 4) indicate that the critical area of instructional need in the English core is development and critical thinking followed by usage and mechanics. The Associate Provost, Language & Literature Dept. Chair, Ex. Director /PASE who conducts the UWA scoring sessions, and the Director of the Writing Center who chairs the Engl 1301 & 1302 pilot program met to discuss results. Two actions were taken: 1) the pilot program has incorporated curriculum that addresses these two critical areas of instructional need and 2) differences between the score results of holistic and analytical scored essays were reviewed and analyzed for possible errors in scoring and will continue to be conducted each semester to ensure the reliability of the UWA assessment.
General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
June 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Administrative or Educational Support Objective:
1a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected
128 students took the Spring 2004 administration of the CAAP. The
mean for TAMIU students was 58 while the national average was 62.6
(Support Document 5). The results are identical to Fall 2003 with only
a .5 difference in the local percentage.
1a. Use of Results to Improve Unit Services:
The University Assessment Committee (UAC) reviewed the results and requested a CAAP Linkage Report from 2002-2004 that would determine students' ACT reading mean upon entry compared to the national ACT reading mean. Results indicate that the pool of 190 students for whom ACT reading data was available scored five points lower than the national mean. The ACT reading mean for TAMIU students was 17.2 while the national ACT reading mean was 22.2. Discussion about how to improve students' reading skills is ongoing through the UAC.
General Education Program
Administrative or Educational Support Unit
Spring 2004
Assessment Period Covered
June 2004
Date Submitted
Intended Administrative or Educational Support Objective:
NOTE: There should be one form C for each intended objective
listed on form B. The intended unit objective should
be restated in the box immediately below and the intended objective
number entered in the blank space below
Demonstrate basic mathematical skills
First Means of Assessment for Objective Identified Above:
a. Means of Unit Assessment & Criteria for Success:
Students will take common course examination in College Algebra.
75% of students taking the examination will pass with a 60.
a. Summary of Assessment Data Collected
A total of 146 students completed the course and sat for the common
final examination. Of these, 98 students (67%) had a score of 60% or
above.
a. Use of Results to Improve Unit Services:
The results for the Fall 2003 administration of the common algebra
improved significantly. Some of the suggestions for improvement made
in unit services for the Spring semester have been implemented, particularly
in the areas of tutoring and early intervention. More emphasis needs
to be placed on traditional college algebra sections (including general
problem solving, inequalities, quadratic optimization problems, and
inverse functions) in order to meet or surpass the benchmark of 75%.
SUPPORT DOCUMENTATION
SOURCE |
LOCATION/Special Instructions |
1. Holistic UWA Rubric |
|
2. Focus report |
|
3. Analytical Rubric |
|
4.Analytical Summary Report- Spring 2003- Spring 2004 |
|
5.CAAP Institutional Summary 4/2004 |
Available at KL 318 |