1995-96
ASSESSMENT
During the 1995-96 academic year, we administered standardized ACS exams in all courses
that count toward a major and minor unless said exams do not exist for a particular
course. At the October
departmental meeting there was considerable discussion pertinent to the scores on the
pre-test given to the students who enroll for Chemistry 160. While there was strong
sentiment in the Department to pro-actively advise students with low pre-test scores out
of the course, the decision was made to leave this to the discretion of individual
instructors for the 96-97 academic year. This decision will be reviewed in the Fall. There
was also strong sentiment to create an alternative for students who do very well on this
pre-test. While a number of alternatives were presented, which ranged from skip the course
to the creation of an honors section, no Departmental consensus emerged. This issue will
be revisited next Fall.
In general, it is important to note that
the scores have improved in several courses including general chemistry. The Department is
generally satisfied with the scores on the standardized ACS exams that are given in the
majority of courses in the Department. These scores in general validate what we are doing.
In Chemistry 160, a diagnostics test was
administered on the first day of class. Additionally, an information sheet was collected
for all students who take Chemistry 160. We hope to eventually match the pre-test scores
to student backgrounds in order to better advise students, and we hope to identify the
strengths and weaknesses of our entering students as they pertain to success in college
chemistry. |
