English

Assessment by program:

Composition

Composition Assessment Findings 2017-2019
a. Procedure:
i. For both ENGL 1010 and 2010 a set of randomized artifacts was collected from between Fall 2017 to Spring 2019. The goal for each set was to assess 100 artifacts for each class, which we almost achieved for 2010 (95 were assessed) but not for 1010 (for which we assessed only 57 artifacts).
ii. Before the assessment, assessors (members of the Composition Committee) were assembled and led in a norming exercise meant to increase inter-rater reliability, which was a minor problem in our last assessment (Gen Ed, 2018). Not everyone was able to come to our norming session, so there is still potential for outliers.
iii. For the assessment itself, each assessor was given a set of 20-25 artifacts to assess according to course outcomes in ENGL 1010 and 2010, respectively. Dr. Gail Niklason and Dr. Barrett-Fox collaborated in the creation of an assessment tool that measured, for each outcome (six for ENGL 1010 and seven for ENGL 2010) whether students exceeded, met, did not meet said outcomes (or whether a particular outcome was not available for a particular assignment).

Creative Writing

Creative Writing Assesses Courses in Two Areas:
1. General Education Courses Carrying the CA Designation.
2. Creative Writing Courses in the Creative Writing Emphasis
CW learning outcomes are being assessed in all courses; while methods vary from class to class, each instructor of record collects writing exercises, portfolios, and final portfolios as well as keeping a running evaluation of engaged participation for each student; further, all instructors of record agree, by committee approval, that over two weeks of absence will result in an automatic mandate to retake the course at a later date.
The threshold for success across the Creative Writing Program is 70%, meaning that 70% of students will score at the level of “Meets” or “Exceeds” for each learning outcome.
 

Developmental English

The threshold for success in English 0900 and 0955 is 80%, meaning that 80% of students will score at the level of “Adequate” or “Proficient” for each learning outcome.
All Developmental English students enrolled in ENGL 0900 or ENGL 0955 are assessed using two different means: artifact collection and norming and a survey. All artifacts are submitted and normed in a Sandbox course on Canvas titled “Dev English Assessment”.

English 0900
One of Developmental English’s (DE) Intended Actions from the previous Assessment Report was to formally articulate outcomes and objectives for English 0900 and to implement an assessment strategy. The DE program developed outcomes and objectives specific to students enrolled in English 0900. The outcomes are:
• Students will demonstrate reading comprehension and retention of reading material.
• Students will write content with clarity, focus, creativity, and authenticity.
• Students will demonstrate understanding of grammar and mechanics in their writing.
A small population of students is required to enroll in English 0900 every academic year. Students placed in English 0900 received a 12 or below on the ACT or had an Accuplacer score of 40 or below in both Reading and Writing criteria. Therefore, the program’s outcomes were created with a fundamental approach and understanding of English 0900 students’ skills. Once the objectives were established, the DE program began assessing all English 0900 courses by collecting artifacts from each section and assessing student success and retention. Spring 2018 was the first semester an assessment plan was introduced and artifacts were collected. Prior to the assessment plan being instituted, all English 0900 instructors received training that focused on creating content that functioned within the English 0900 course parameters. All English 0900 participated in an assessment norming exercise that examined 0900 artifacts using a standardized rubric. The rubric evaluates and assesses the program’s goals and objectives and establishes a baseline for English 0900 students’ success and retention.

The first semester artifacts were collected (Spring 2018), all students demonstrated both “Proficient” and “Adequate” skills. No students were assessed as “Emerging”. In Fall 2018, however, while students mostly demonstrated both “Proficient” and “Adequate” skills, a small percentage of students demonstrated “Emerging” skills with approximately 39% percent of students demonstrated “Emerging” skills pertaining specifically to grammar and mechanics. In Spring 2019, the total number of artifacts assessed was 12 total which was significantly lower than the total artifacts assessed for Fall 2018 (36 total artifacts were assessed in Fall 18). Therefore, the percentages for student performance varied for Spring 19 as opposed to Fall 18. Although a smaller amount of artifacts were assessed, the majority of English 0900 students demonstrated “Adequate” skills and learning, and many students demonstrated “Proficient” scores (see graphs attached).
Establishing learning goals and objectives and engaging in an assessment procedure for English 0900 was a goal the DE program knew needed to be built and practiced, and it was a significant goal and was a large focus for the program, as stated in the previous Assessment Report. Successfully, objectives were created, artifacts have been gathered, and continued assessment of English 0900 students’ has led to a greater awareness of this unique student population.

In the prior Assessment Report, Developmental English had just undergone rigorous programmatic changes due largely in part to receiving NADE certification. The program had established student goals and objectives for all English 0955 courses, and they have not been altered since the last report. The English 0955 goals and objectives from the prior report still stand and serve as the outline for all assessment.
The DE faculty (full-time and part time) engaged in assessment training specifically designed for English 0955 courses. It was during this training that DE faculty members discussed the program’s goals and objectives and participated in assessment norming exercises. All DE faculty understand the value and importance of on-going assessment, and faculty have been trained in submitting the necessary artifacts in Canvas. Along with collecting artifacts, DE faculty norm their students’ performance each semester using a standardized rubric.
Since the last report, the most significant points have been identified through the assessment process regarding all English 0955 courses:
• A large percentage of students are reaching an “Adequate” level in their coursework. The numbers change semester to semester (see graphs), but tendency is students are performing at an acceptable rate.
• A percentage of students performed at an “Emerging” level, but the percentages improve from Fall 17 to Spring 19.
• The assessment numbers indicate that students are struggling in the “Sources and Citation” skill each semester.
• English 0955 students perform well in the “Content” area of the course each semester.
• The number of artifacts submitted has declined each semester although faculty are receiving more assessment training.
The current assessment does not take into account the implementation of the Wildcat Scholars program. Eric Amsel, Associate Provost, introduced a co-requisite course where students enrolled in the program can complete both English 0955 and English 1010 in the same semester. The program is growing exponentially with additional funding that has been awarded through a grant. The numbers currently submitted in this assessment report do not include students enrolled in the Wildcat Scholar program.

English Teaching

The WSU English Teaching Major Program consists of 39 credit hours of English classes and a 12-credit hour block of English methods courses taken the semester prior to student teaching. The English education faculty assesses the program’s effectiveness through the following procedures:

I. Students are evaluated and assessed according to 6 Learning Outcomes in the coordinated English Methods Block. The courses are English 3400, The Teaching of Literature, English 3410, The Teaching of Writing, English 3020, Introduction to the Study of Language for Teachers, and English 3420, Teaching with Young Adult Literature. Each of the English Education faculty states these 6 Learning Outcomes in their course syllabi and incorporates them into all their teaching and learning activities during the semester. These outcomes provide the basis of assessment in all of the English methods courses:

II. After the English Methods Block, the English Education faculty continues to monitor and assess the progress of its English teaching majors by providing content-area supervision during their student teaching experience. During those 12 weeks of student teaching the faculty continue to monitor and assess the student’s development. The English Education faculty visits the teacher candidate several times during the student teaching experience, observing and assessing the student teacher’s progress. An observation and evaluation form provided by the WSU Education Department is completed after each meeting that measures how well the student teacher is progressing.
a. Copies of these forms are turned over to the WSU Education Department for their final assessment and provide evidence to the Utah State Department of Education that the teacher candidate has fulfilled all the student teaching requirements in order to be licensed to teach English in the secondary schools of Utah. (See Appendix 7 for the WSU Education Form, “Utah Preservice Teacher Final Evaluation Form.”)

III. At the end of each student’s practice teaching experience in the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018, the English Education supervisors assessed the student’s success according to 6 Program Learning Outcomes listed below. A threshold of 70% success rate was established meaning that each learning outcome was successfully met by more than 70% of the students in the program.
 

Linguistics

The Linguistics Department seeks a threshold of 70%, meaning that 70% of the students will meet LOs with a score of a 4, “Meets Expectations”, or 5, “Exceeds Expectations”.

Literacry and Textual Studies

LTS is the largest of the department’s subdivisions in terms of the number of courses. We have two areas within LTS that are assessed:
1. General Education courses carrying HU or HU/DV credit
2. Courses for our major and minor; some are also General Education.
Our threshold for success is 75% will meet or exceed standards.