COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ALGEBRA Select California campus Select faculty and staff Select academic departments Select mathematics Select Carnegie Projects Select AMATYC Conference 2005 Student Learning Outcomes: November 10, :45 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. All information can be found online: Supported by the Carnegie Foundation

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Motivation Not evaluation of instructors Not to measure SLO’s Initial motivation was to measure grade discrepancies between instructors.

Problems to Overcome Instructors teaching to the test Interfering with the academic freedom of the instructors Logistics

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Problems to Overcome Fairness in composing and administration of test Fairness in grading Flexibility –Early/Late tests –How instructors use results in course grading –Disabled Students

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Exam Composition Fairness Security Topics Instructor Input

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Administering Time and day of Exam –Friday 4:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Early/Late Tests –Accommodations made on a case- by-case basis by the Division Chair Disabled Students –Start early so finish by 7:00 p.m.

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Administering Shuffle professors and rooms –Each student is in a new classroom with a different instructor Seating chart –Desks rearranged –Names taped on door –Two versions Photo ID required –Students must present an ID or their test is not graded Check calculators –Non-graphing scientific calculators are OK

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Exam Grading Stats –2.5 hours testing time –25 questions per test –4 points per problem –≈4 hours grading time

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Exam Grading Availability of past tests One or two problems per grader Slow graders versus fast Extra graders Scoring problems Test valuation Compensation Food

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Elementary Algebra Instructor Data Spring 2005

Intermediate Algebra Instructor Data Spring 2005

Elementary Algebra Item Analysis Spring 2005

Outcomes Intended –Narrowing of deviation Unintended –FT faculty attrition –SLO’s –Success Rate Decline

COMMON FINAL EXAMS IN ELEMENTARY AND INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA Contact Information Peter Stathis, Division Chair (818) x 5658 Larry Newberry (818) x 5656 Yvette Hassakoursian (818) x 3130