Ivy Tech Adjunct Faculty Conference April 4, 2009

 ACT product  Use four modules college wide  Each region gives only 2 of the 4  Rotation schedule ensures that regions administer a different pair each academic year  Required of all associate degree graduates  Administered in capstone courses

 To measure 4 of the College’s 8 general education outcomes  Demonstrate critical and creative thinking.  Apply basic scientific concepts in a variety of settings.  Communicate effectively in written, oral and symbolic forms.  Exhibit quantitative literacy.

 To identify areas of strength and weakness as compared to graduates of other public community colleges  Results reviewed by curriculum committees, regional academic officers, central academic affairs staff  To inform changes designed to improve student learning

 Descriptive statistics  Mean scores by module  Mean scores by subcategory  Percentile ranks  Comparison of mean scores to national norms  Level of effort student reported giving the module  Mean scores and level of effort by region

 Enable analysis of specific content areas:  Writing Skills  Punctuation  Basic Grammar and Usage  Sentence Structure  Strategy  Organization  Style

 Mathematics  Prealgebra  Elementary Algebra  Intermediate Algebra  Coordinate Geometry  College Algebra  Trigonometry

 Science  Analysis  Generalization  Understanding  Critical Thinking  Analysis of Arguments  Evaluation of Arguments  Extension of Arguments

 Students (ITCC and nationally) are classified into proficiency groups  Top 25%  Middle 50%  Bottom 25%  For each student, percentage of items answered correctly is calculated  For each proficiency group, students’ percent- correct scores are averaged and displayed using bar graphs

 Reports differences in percentages between Ivy Tech and national groups  <5% difference considered negligible  5%-10% difference considered moderate  >10% difference considered substantial  Negative differences indicate areas where Ivy Tech students “had more difficulty with content category items than did the normative group”  Positive differences indicate that Ivy Tech students found items easier than did the norm

N=2627

 Divide into teams and identify a “reporter”  Take results of one module  Discuss and determine the following:  In relationship to students at other community colleges, where are our students’ strengths? ….where are their weaknesses?  What should the College do to improve students’ ability in the content area being assessed?  What can your program do to improve students’ ability in the content area being assessed?

 In relationship to students at other community colleges, where are our students’ strengths? ….where are their weaknesses?  What should the College do to improve students’ ability in the content area being assessed?  What can your program do to improve students’ ability in the content area being assessed?

Cherry Kay Smith Executive Director of Academic Policy and Assessment