OUTCOMES
ASSESSMENT PLAN
FOR THE CORE
CURRICULUM
OFFERED BY THE
DEPARTMENT OF
CHEMISTRY & BIOCHEMISTRY
Hypothesis 1. Placement exams can help determine the needs and strengths of incoming 100-level students.
Hypothesis 2. Placement exams
can help predict which students are going to experience difficulties in the
course and hence need special advising.
Hypothesis 3. Standardized exams may be used to verify student progress as they complete a 100-level sequence.
Rejection of Hypothesis 1. A standardized Chemistry
Diagnostic Test (such as the
We will reject hypothesis 1 if we are unable to observe categories where students have strengths or weaknesses. Results from a recent placement exam given for Chem 105X students in the fall 2003 semester, however, suggest that this hypothesis will not be rejected.
Action items for Hypothesis 1. The placement exam will give the instructor and the department an idea of incoming student’s strengths and weaknesses. We anticipate that these strengths and weaknesses will change over time and hence the manner in which we deliver our material will need to be modified.
Rejection of Hypothesis 2. At the conclusion of the Chem 105X semester, students scores on their placement exam at the beginning of the semester will be compared with student overall performance (including did the student complete the course). The hypothesis will be rejected (but see below action item) if no useful correlation between placement exam scores and student performance is seen.
Action items for Hypothesis 2. If Hypothesis 2 is rejected, we will consider using alternative placement exams or test if certain types of questions on the existing exam are better predictors of student performance. It should be noted that several book companies are developing diagnostic tests to place students and these may later be adopted in place of ACS standardized exams.
If Hypothesis 2 is confirmed, we will incorporate the results of placement exams as advising tools. In addition, students who perform poorly on the placement exam may be required to show they have the prerequisites for the course (Chem 103X or High School Chemistry). Finally, we will continue to refine our testing to improve the correlation between student progress and placement exam results.
Rejection of Hypothesis 3. Hypothesis 3 will be tested at three different levels: Chem 103X, Chem 105X, and Chem 106X. At the end of the chemistry 103X course, for instance, the standardized 105X chemistry placement exam (see above) will be provided as part of the students’ final. The student scores will be analyzed to determine if students doing well in Chem 103X are ready to enter Chem 105X (see hypothesis 2). This is an important assessment because Chem 103X is a course used by many student to prepare for Chem 105X.
The Chem 105X final exam will incorporate questions that reflect those that the student’s did poorly on in the placement exam. Students’ performance in areas where significant weaknesses were initially seen should show improvement, particularly with those students who perform well in the course.
Chem 106X students will be given an ACS standardized chemistry final exam and students’ final grades will be correlated with national distributions to determine if our expectations of students parallel national trends. We expect students who perform well in the course to generally perform well on the final exam compared to national norms.
Action Items. Determining students overall strengths and weaknesses at the start of a core sequence will be used to focus lectures towards areas students are expected to have most difficulty. Students will be explicitly informed that these areas will be emphasized on exams. Through this process, students will receive the mentorship required for them to overcome their deficiencies.
This process at first will be applied to the class as a group and not as individuals. It should be noted that software is being developed by some publishers to allow professors to track student’s progress and take corrective actions on an individual basis and that this software may eventually be adopted.
If strong correlations are observed between student success and placement exam results in the Chemistry 105 course, then the department will use the placement exam as part of its advising program to place 105 students. In addition, we will critically examine the records of students who perform poorly on the placement exam to ensure they have the proper prerequisites (Chem 103 or high school chemistry).
Finally, testing of hypothesis 3 will provide information relating students’ performance in a class and 1) their ability to compete on standardized national exams (Chem 106X students), 2) the degree to which they mastered “difficult” material (Chem 105X students), and 3) the level of preparedness to continue in subsequent courses (Chem 103X students).
|
|
Results
from the Fall 2003 Placement Exam |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Section 1 |
|
Section 2 |
|
Section 3 |
|
All
sections |
|
problem |
classification |
correct |
wrong |
correct |
wrong |
correct |
wrong |
% correct |
|
39 |
algebra;
word problem |
53 |
5 |
54 |
6 |
53 |
9 |
88.9 |
|
37 |
algebra;
word problem |
51 |
7 |
50 |
10 |
54 |
8 |
86.1 |
|
35 |
graph
interpretation (best line) |
49 |
9 |
52 |
8 |
53 |
9 |
85.6 |
|
38 |
algebra
(two equations-two unknowns) |
46 |
12 |
51 |
9 |
51 |
11 |
82.2 |
|
14 |
basic
chemistry (atomic structure) |
46 |
12 |
51 |
9 |
50 |
12 |
81.7 |
|
6 |
basic
chemistry (which are gases) |
47 |
11 |
45 |
15 |
50 |
12 |
78.9 |
|
1 |
basic
chemistry (chemical formula interpretation) |
44 |
14 |
47 |
13 |
49 |
13 |
77.8 |
|
26 |
basic chemistry
(evaporation of a sugar/water solution) |
37 |
21 |
45 |
15 |
43 |
19 |
69.4 |
|
7 |
gas laws
(partial pressures) |
36 |
22 |
42 |
18 |
46 |
16 |
68.9 |
|
42 |
numbers
(ppm, ppb, ppt…) |
44 |
14 |
41 |
19 |
36 |
26 |
67.2 |
|
27 |
basic chemistry
(like dissolves like) |
37 |
21 |
41 |
19 |
38 |
24 |
64.4 |
|
43 |
visual
(enantiomers) |
26 |
32 |
44 |
16 |
44 |
18 |
63.3 |
|
25 |
105
chemistry (common acids) |
38 |
20 |
28 |
32 |
45 |
17 |
61.7 |
|
41 |
105 algebra
(scientific notation, exponents, sig figs) |
34 |
24 |
38 |
22 |
39 |
23 |
61.7 |
|
40 |
105
algebra (scientific notation, exponents) |
27 |
31 |
35 |
25 |
42 |
20 |
57.8 |
|
3 |
105
chemistry (percent composition) |
31 |
27 |
40 |
20 |
32 |
30 |
57.2 |
|
16 |
105
chemistry (atomic structure) |
31 |
27 |
34 |
26 |
38 |
24 |
57.2 |
|
20 |
105
chemistry (periodic trends) |
34 |
24 |
37 |
23 |
30 |
32 |
56.1 |
|
15 |
105
chemistry (molecular geometry) |
29 |
29 |
30 |
30 |
41 |
21 |
55.6 |
|
22 |
105 chemistry
(periodic trends; metal vs nonmetal) |
31 |
27 |
33 |
27 |
36 |
26 |
55.6 |
|
32 |
106
chemistry (kinetics) |
33 |
25 |
31 |
29 |
36 |
26 |
55.6 |
|
11 |
105
chemistry (neutralization) |
20 |
38 |
33 |
27 |
34 |
28 |
48.3 |
|
36 |
105 chemistry
(density) |
29 |
29 |
26 |
34 |
31 |
31 |
47.8 |
|
12 |
105
chemistry (balancing chemical reactions) |
25 |
33 |
24 |
36 |
32 |
30 |
45.0 |
|
23 |
105
chemistry (atomic size of cations, atoms, anions) |
23 |
35 |
25 |
35 |
30 |
32 |
43.3 |
|
18 |
105
chemistry (atomic structure) |
26 |
32 |
22 |
38 |
29 |
33 |
42.8 |
|
5 |
105
chemistry (formula of aluminum sulfate) |
22 |
36 |
24 |
36 |
27 |
35 |
40.6 |
|
17 |
105
chemistry (molecular geometry) |
14 |
44 |
27 |
33 |
28 |
34 |
38.3 |
|
21 |
105 chemistry
(formula of Rb2Se) |
21 |
37 |
20 |
40 |
27 |
35 |
37.8 |
|
8 |
105
chemistry (phase diagram) |
21 |
37 |
26 |
34 |
19 |
43 |
36.7 |
|
10 |
stochiometry |
21 |
37 |
21 |
39 |
24 |
38 |
36.7 |
|
28 |
106
chemistry (pH) |
23 |
35 |
20 |
40 |
22 |
40 |
36.1 |
|
9 |
105
chemistry (balancing chemical reactions) |
21 |
37 |
23 |
37 |
18 |
44 |
34.4 |