Summary Report of Admissions and Graduation Requirements of Selected Units and Programs at Western Washington University

Executive Summary: During Winter Quarter of 1990, all college department chairs and the deans of Huxley and Fairhaven Colleges were sent a questionnaire intended to delineate admission and graduation requirements. The questionnaire was followed by a telephone or in-person interview. For the purposes of readability, all respondents are referred to as departments. The survey results showed that nineteen departments have self-generated admission requirements, whose categories are as follows: 1) overall university GPA; 2) completion of foundation courses; 3) GPA within foundation courses; 4) credit completion; 5) audition, portfolio, or resume review. Sixteen of the above nineteen departments have multiple requirements. There are three departments that both collect baseline information and use it as a comparative tool. Twenty-seven departments have capstone experiences, whose categories are as follows: 1) overview courses; 2) senior theses, project, performance, or portfolio; 3) internships or student teaching. One department\u27s students take a state accrediting test. Six departments use two capstone experiences. Ten departments utilize standing committees to evaluate, to varying degrees, the quality or content of their programs. Fourteen departments have graduation requirements evaluated by more than one faculty member, or by outside professionals. Departments were asked about the number of courses with substantial production of written English , defined as having at least two of the following criteria: 1) mid-term and\or final essay exam; 2) one lengthy (10+ pages) term paper or report; 3) multiple short (1-10 page) papers or reports; 4) opportunities for students to revise papers written under either item 2 or 3. The number of such courses varied widely, from 1 to 27. Evaluation of these courses was based usually on the first three criteria; generally, the opportunity to revise was reserved for courses specifically designated as writing intensive. Two departments required a senior thesis; one required a summary report of all clinical experiences. Three were two departments that required unqualified passage of the Junior Writing Exam. All others required only that the student take the Junior Writing Exam

An Addendum to the Math Placement Tests: Relationships to Mathematics Course Performance, Mathematics Course Selection, and Other Predictors of Academic Achievement

The effectiveness of the Math Placement Test, Basic, is analyzed

The Math Placement Tests: Relationships to Mathematics Course Performance, Mathematics Course Selection, and Other Predictors of Academic Achievement

The effectiveness of the Math Placement Tests (Intermediate and Advanced) is anayzed

The Math Placement Tests: Relationships to Mathematics Course Performance, Mathematics course Selection, and Other Predictors of Academic Achievement

Executive Summary: The Math Placement Tests have been used by all four-year institutions in the state of Washington to aid in the placement of students into their first college-level mathematics course since 1984. This report was prepared in response to concerns of Western Washington University\u27s Mathematics Department regarding the usefulness of. the placement tests in correctly placing students in mathematics courses. The relationships of the math placement tests to final mathematics course grade and other indicators of academic achievement, including high school GPA, WPCT-Q score, and SAT-M score were evaluated. The math placement tests were found to be moderately positively related to final grade and each of the three indicator variables. The math placement tests were not, in most cases, superior to high school GPA andjor WPCT-Q score in prediction of final mathematics course grade. The percentage of students who passed (earned a grade of c¬ or better) their mathematics course varied depending on the course in which they enrolled, which placement test they took, and the score they received on the placement test. The probability of receiving a c- or better among those who took the Intermediate Algebra Test ranged from a low of 48.2 percent in Math 103 to a high of 72.4 percent in Math 155. The chance of passing a mathematics course for those who took the Pre-Calculus Test ranged from a low of 63.5 percent in Math 103 to a high of 90.9 in Math 104. In general, the probability of receiving a passing grade increased with higher Math Placement Test scores. For a number of courses, the current cut-off score on the Intermediate Algebra Test may be too low. students who enrolled with scores below, at, or slightly above these cut-offs had, in many cases, only a slim chance of passing the course. Conversely, cut-off scores on the Pre-Calculus Test for admission to many courses were too high. Students who had a reasonable chance of passing these courses would be denied admission based on the current cut-off points. It is suggested that the current cut-off scores be re-evaluated and when new cut-offs are decided upon, that they be more strictly adhered to