108 Assessment Report

108 Assessment Report English 108 is a course provided by IC@P to serve undergraduates with an advanced knowledge of composition; it is an accelerated class that requires more writing than the 106 composition course. Our task is to assess 108; this document explores the possibilities for that assessment. Current Questions for the IC@P Committee: • What’s the end goal? • Who’s the end audience? • What resources can be provided to us in order to make this happen? Assessment Options Below is a chart of the various questions our assessment might answer. Along with the questions, the chart indicates corresponding elements—the instruments/data collected, the time and resources needed, and the outcomes the assessment might yield. Questions How does 108 content compare to 106 content? In what way is the course design different than the 106 class?

How do students select into 108? Do those students enter the classroom with a different skills set that the average 106 student?

Data/Instrument Syllabus/assign ment analysis; collect syllabi and assignments from 108 instructors and do a systematized (discourse) analysis of how instructors design course. Survey of students and advisors

Time Approximat ely 1 year

Outcomes This study potentially offers us an idea of how 108 differs in design from 106; it will yield numbers on how much writing and reading students are asked to do. It might also yield data on the difficulty level of assignments and reading.

2+ years, survey instrument must be created and tested.

This study potentially offers us numbers on the criterion by which students self-select into 108. Through surveying advisors, we might learn about the ways they guide students into 108. The survey might also yield data about the skills sets 108 students bring to the classroom.

Are students in 108 producing better/different products than those in 106?

Analysis of student work

2+years, survey instrument must be created, tested. Raters hired/found and training sessions established .

This study potentially offers us a sense of how the work 108 students do compare to 106 students. The assessment yields numbers about the quality of composition done by 108 students in comparison with 106 students.

Current Plan of Action In reviewing our options, we hope to address the most basic question of how 106 differs from 108 in its actual design. Our assessment would analyze the syllabi (assignments?) from 108 and 106 instructors to see how the content differs.