DIANNA CHIABOTTI, NAPA VALLEY COLLEGE

1
Current Movement Regarding Assessment for
Placement

• DIANNA CHIABOTTI, NAPA VALLEY COLLEGE
• MARK WADE LIEU, CHANCELLORS OFFICE

2
Context for Student Success

• Assessment as an instrument vs. assessment as a
  process that includes policies and practices
• Variation of assessment instruments and processes
  across California
• The limitations of validation studies
• Chronic underfunding for matriculation services
  and severe cuts recently

3
Two Recent Publications

• One-Shot Deal? Students Perceptions of
  Assessment and Course Placement in Californias
  Community Colleges
• WestEd (2010)
• Andrea Venezia, Kathy Reeves Bracco, Thad Nodine
• http//www.wested.org/online_pubs/OneShotDeal.pdf
• Assessing Developmental Assessment in Community
  Colleges
• Community College Research Center (CCRC) at
  Teachers College, Columbia University (February
  2011)
• Katherine L. Hughes and Judith Scott-Clayton
• http//ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Publication.asp?UID85
  6

4
One Shot Deal?

• Study of Students Perceptions of Assessment and
  Course Placement in CCC
• Study Purpose
• Methods and Data

5
Assessing Developmental Assessment

• National review of the role of assessment,
  evidence of its effectiveness, and potential
  alternatives
• Former debate over how strictly to impose
  assessment and placement procedures supplanted by
  the view of mandatory assessment and placement as
  a best practice
• On-going debate as to who should determine the
  process the local institution or the state
  national trend towards standardization

6
Findings Assessment Instruments

• Mathematics (CA)
• 49 use Accuplacer
• 35 use MDTP
• 13 use COMPASS
• 7 use a locally developed test
• 4 use self-assessment
• ESL (CA)
• 48 use CELSA
• 21 use COMPASS
• 18 use Accuplacer
• 16 use a locally developed test

• English (CA)
• 49 use Accuplacer
• 21 use CTEP
• 17 use COMPASS
• 20 use a locally developed test
• Nationwide
• 62 use Accuplacer
• 46 use COMPASS
• 92 use an exam for placement

7
Findings Policy Practice Variation

• Uneven transparency about the tests
• Cut score variation
• Uneven enforcement of rules
• Inconsistent policies across colleges
• Lack of clarity about retake policies
• Confusion about multiple measures

8
Findings Common Ground

• Counseling
• High student-counselor ratios
• Long wait lines and limited attention
• More satisfaction with dedicated programs

9
Findings Common Ground

• Student Success Courses
• Summer Prep Courses
• Counselors, faculty, matriculation officers
  working against the odds with large numbers of
  students in need

10
Two Additional Recent Publications

• MAPPING THE TERRAIN Language Testing and
  Placement for US-Educated Language Minority
  Students in Californias Community Colleges
• University of California Santa Cruz, Education
  Department (January 2011)
• George Bunch, Ann Endris, Dora Panayotova,
  Michelle Romero, and Lorena Llosa
• WHATS IN A TEST? ESL and English Placement Tests
  in Californias Community Colleges and
  Implications for US-Educated Language Minority
  Students
• University of California Santa Cruz, Education
  Department (January 2011)
• George Bunch and Lorena Llosa
• http//www.escholarship.org/uc/search?creatorBunc
  h, George

11
The English/ESL Issue

• Should the student take the English placement
  test or the ESL placement test?
• Information
• Curriculum
• Multiple Measures

12
Common Core

• Common Core State Standards
• Adopted by 41 states
• Federal funding to develop K12 assessments
  aligned with Common Core
• Implications for community colleges
• http//www.corestandards.org/

13
CCCAssess

• What is CCCAssess
• Feasibility Study
• Next Steps
• Budget
• ESL/English Issue
• Common Core State Standards
• http//cccassess.org/

14
A Big Question

• What are the implications of moving to a common
  set of assessment tests for
• Local matriculation policies and practices?
• Curriculum?