Recommendations of the Pilot Assessment Committee
Spring, 1992

With respect to the assessment program in general, we recommend that ~ ~

• the assessment program become a permanent feature of instruction in the English Department;
• a set of introductory materials explaining the program, its objectives and procedures, be developed and provided to each faculty member, especially those new to the department;
• students be informed about the purpose of assessment in the Guide to English Composition.

With respect to faculty participation, we recommend that ~ ~

• all full-time faculty in the department and all part-time faculty teaching composition take part in assessment day each semester;
• full-time faculty continue to receive a reduction in advising hours equal to the amount of time spent at assessment day activities;
• part-time faculty continue to be compensated for their attendance at assessment day activities;
•  all faculty teaching English 101 each semester assess the writing achievement of their students using one of the four designated options;
• all faculty document their participation in the assessment program as part of their regular evaluation procedure;
• faculty evaluation forms be revised to include a space for a summary of that participation; no distinctions in participation requirements be made between full-time and part-time faculty.

With respect to the Committee on Assessment, we recommend that ~ ~

• the committee (composed of three faculty members) continue to manage the assessment program and that each member receive three credit hours of reassigned time each semester;
• the committee membership rotate (one new member joining each year) with both part-time and full-time faculty participating;
• new members be selected (jointly by the department chair and the committee) from faculty who express an interest in and commitment to assessment;
• the committee continue to report formally to the department every four years.

With respect to assessment day meetings, we recommend that ~ ~

• holistic scoring activities be retained as an important means of assessing writing;
• additional training by an outside expert in holistic scoring be provided as part of a future assessment meeting;
• additional methods of analyzing student essays be explored;
• additional attention be focused on department-wide variations in the level of difficulty of writing assignments;
• time during the assessment day be provided for all option groups to establish activities, timelines and procedures;
• faculty from other disciplines, campuses, and institutions be invited to participate in assessment day activities

With respect to the assessment options, we recommend that ~ ~

• the committee consider adjustments in the portfolio option that makes it more equitable in its effect on student grades and faculty time;
• the common assignment be encouraged, especially for faculty doing the same kinds of independent options;
• timelines for each of the options and a mechanism for reminding faculty be developed;
• a list of faculty choosing each of the options be distributed each semester so that faculty can communicate with each other.

With respect to expansion, we recommend that ~ ~

• faculty review the competencies paying specific attention to the example essay and consider replacing it with a persuasive essay;
• faculty teaching courses that feed into, parallel, and follow from English 101 be encouraged to develop assessment programs that coordinate with the assessment of English 101;
• expansion of assessment to other courses in the department be voluntary.