1. COMET 2007

2. Overall ● Overall test performance is on par with last year ● Grammar and vocabulary performance as measured by the mean dropped slightly ● Essays were marked with a modified rubric, year-to-year means are not comparable ● Overall math mean remained the same

3. COMET purposes ● Not a diagnostic instrument ● Not intended as a summative measure of academic achievement in high school ● Narrow in focus: essay, grammar, math ● No such thing as “pass” - only admission to a particular program level or non-admission status

4. Admission parameters College takes top 400 students in rank order based on a combined score using three tests: ● Essay (50%) ● Grammar and vocabulary (25%) ● Mathematics (25%) Next year: a reading section returns Why 400? Based on college resources: facilities, faculty, budget limits.

5. COMET score distributions 2006 Essay right tail problematic

6. COMET score distributions 2007 Essay right tail descends smoothly Left tail: 144 scores of zero (9%) Key point: test is altered to meet college needs, not to provide year-to-year data on HS's

7. State admission distribution

8. Associate's admissions by state

9. COMET mean by high schools

10. Essay means by high school

11. Math means by high school

12. High school section and elementary school sources ● High school section is more important that elementary school source at PICS ● Not all sections have a collegiate goal, nor should they.

13. Contact information For an electronic copy of this presentation or the written COMET Admissions Examination Statistical Summaries Spring 2007 please send an email to: dleeling@comfsm.fm