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NOVEMBER 2009

English Writing Sequence Cohort Study

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The PC English Writing Sequence

Level 4: English P083

Level 3: English P071

Level 2: English P050

Level 1: English P101A

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Food for thought question

How many levels do we have in our writing sequence?

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Food for thought question

How many levels do we have in our writing sequence?

The lack of a prerequisite on English P071 means any student can get into the class

Even if they test into level 4.Even if they skip the assessment test altogether.

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Research Question #1

Is there a difference in English P083 success rates between students who scored above 88 or below 88 on the Accuplacer/Companion Assessment test?

688 or above Below 88 No assessment score

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

53%

44%

48%

Success Rates in English P083 by recommended cut score

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Food for thought question

What percentage of students who began in English P083 in the 2004-05 academic year have completed English P101A by summer 2009

?

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Research Question #2

How do students who enter PC at the lowest level progress through the English writing sequence?

How many students make it all the way through the sequence (ending with passing P101A)?

Can we identify any one course as the “gatekeeper” course obstructing progression through the sequence?

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Research Question #2

The Cohort

All students who took English P083 in the 2004-05 academic year

Included summer, fall, and spring 2004-05Total of 158 students

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Research Question #2

Of the 158 students in the cohort

80 had passed ENGL P083 by summer 2009 (51%)

Of the remaining 78 students, 15 took P071 without passing P083Only 5 of those passed P071

The remaining students are lost to us

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Research Question #2

Of the 80 students who passed P083

68 had enrolled in ENGL P071 by summer 2009

Of those 68 students, 59 were successful (87%)

These 59 students comprise 37% of our original cohort

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Research Question #2

Of the 59 students who passed P071

48 had enrolled in ENGL P050 by summer 2009

Of those 48 students, 40 were successful (83%)

These 40 students comprise 25% of our original cohort

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Research Question #2

Of the 40 students who passed P050

30 had enrolled in ENGL P101A by summer 2009

Of those 30 students, 25 were successful (83%)

These 25 students comprise 16% of our original cohort

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Research Question #2

Of the 158 students who took English P083 in the 2004-05 academic year, 25 had passed English P101A by Summer 2009---for a progression rate of 16% in 5 years

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Took P083 in 2004-05

Successful in P083

Took P071 Successful in P071

Took P050 Successful in P050

Took P101A Successful in P101A

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

158

80

68

59

48

40

3025

Cohort Tracking of Students Who Took ENGL P083 in 2004-05 (through summer 2009)

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Research Question #3

Do success rates in English P071 differ depending on how students enter the class?

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Food for thought question

How many different ways are there to get into English P071?

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Research Question #3

Students can enter English P071 by: Assessing into level 3 via Accuplacer/Companion Assessing into level 4 and passing English P083 Assessing into level 4, ignoring the assessment result and

taking P071 anyway Having assessed into level 3 via the old Asset placement test Having no Accuplacer/Companion or Asset score and passing

English P083 Having no Accuplacer/Companion or Asset score and simply

choosing to enroll in P071

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Research Question #3

Number of students in each category (fall 2007 to summer 2009)

672 assessed into level 3 via Accuplacer/Companion 60 assessed into level 4 and passed English P083 146 assessed into level 4, ignored the assessment result and

took P071 anyway 338 assessed into level 3 via the old Asset placement test 1 had no Accuplacer/Companion or Asset score and passed

English P083 35 had no Accuplacer/Companion or Asset score and simply

chose to enroll in P071

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Assessed into level 3 with Accuplacer/

Companion

Assessed into level 4 and passed P083

Assessed into level 4, did not take/pass P083,

took P071 anyway

No Companion, Asset score level 3 or higher

No Companion/Asset score, did not pass

P083

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

62%

77%

51%

75%

69%

Success % in English P071 by method of entry into class

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Changes to Consider

Establish a prerequisite for English P071 (passage of P083 or level 3 placement)

Establish a level 5 course below English P083 Establish a prerequisite for English P083 (passage of the new

level 5 class or level 4 placement) Place a time limit on how long placement tests can be used if

the student does not take an English class (usually 2 years) Mandatory assessment for enrollment in any English class

(including lowest level)

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Additional Questions

Students who start at levels 1, 2, or 3 How do ESL/EFL students fare in English classes Effect of taking reading classes Multiple attempts to pass a class Effect of basic skills students in other classes (social science,

etc)

Others???