Raising the Bar: Changes in the Oral Assessment for Students in the Colleges of Science and Engineering and Architecture and Environmental Design

Abstract

Oral assessment of students participating in the Comprehensive English Oral Communication course for the Colleges of Science and Engineering and Architecture and Environmental Design has been on-going since the program\u27s inception. Students have spoken individually with a faculty member other than the one they experienced in the classroom. In order to alleviate passivity on the part of the students and the labor load on the part of the faculty members during the assessment process, the method of assessing the students was changed in the 2015 academic year. Part of the students enrolled in the program in the spring term and all of the students enrolled in the fall term in 2015 participated in student−student paired conversation assessments at the end of the term. A report of the changes are given herein