Student Growth In Reading Rate, Comprehension, And Vocabulary
Students will demonstrate growth over the semester in reading rate, comprehension, and vocabulary.
Objective
Increased Reading Rate, Comprehension, And Vocabulary
The reading rate, comprehension, and vocabulary will increase from the pre-test to the post-test.
Indicator
Performance On The Nelson Denny Reading Test
Form G of the Nelson Denny Reading Test will be given as a pre-test and Form H will be given as the post-test in all SAM 136 classes.
Criterion
Growth Over The National Mean
The reading rate, comprehension, and vocabulary will increase from the pre-test to the post-test. The national mean will be used until SHSU can establish a benchmark for the future.
Comprehension mean score will meet or exceed 48.50, the national mean score for college freshmen. Vocabulary mean score will meet or exceed 49.40, the national mean score for college freshmen.
Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Reading Rate did increase significantly (at the .0001 level) from the pre-test to the post-test. Comprehension and Vocabulary scores for the post-test were above the national mean score for college freshmen.
Action
Nelson Denny Reading Test Actions
The NDRT will be administered again in 2010-2011 using the past year as a benchmark for scores. It appeared that the criteria used to benchmark were reasonable and will therefore be used again in 2010-2011.
Goal
Participation & Involvement
Participation and involvement of students, faculty, and staff in the program.
Objective
Participation In Author's Forum
University community will attend the Author’s Forum at similar participation rates as the past.
Indicator
Individual Participation In Author's Forum
Head counts taken at each session of the Author’s Forum.
Criterion
Participation In Author's Forum
Headcount for the two-day event will be over 700.
Finding
Participation In Author's Forum
740 participants – 2009; 880 participants - 2008
Indicator
Class Participation In Author's Forum
Counts of the number of classes attending Author’s Forum sessions.
Criterion
Class Participation In Author's Forum Will Increase
This year will be used as a benchmark year for class participation.
Finding
Class Participation In Author's Forum List
18 courses were represented at the BRTS Author's Forum.
Action
Participation In Author's Forum
The number of participants had a decrease from 2008, but the number of sessions that students could attend was decreased from 2008. The time of the morning keynote address was also changed from 11 am to 9:30 am and attendance was not at the same rate as it had been in 2008. Committee has decided to move back to an 11 am keynote address for 2010. Committee has also decided to leave this objective active because it does help indicate student engagement through interest in the book topic and class participation (see Class Participation objective).
Action
Class Participation In Author's Forum List
This was a benchmarking year, but overall 18 classes is a good number to have for the first year of collecting this information.
Objective
Students Will Demonstrate Participation By The Amount Of Reading They Complete Of The Common Reader.
The percentage of students who read 2/3 or more of the book will increase from last year.
Indicator
FOCUS Exit Interview
FOCUS will indicate a student’s self-reported results for SAM 136 learning objectives. The FOCUS Entrance and Exit Interviews are published by the textbook publisher, but there are no national norms for the interviews at this time.
Criterion
Percentage For FOCUS Exit Interview Question 14.
The percentage of students reporting that they read 2/3 or more of the book will increase from the previous year. This year will be used to set the benchmark.
Finding
Results For FOCUS Exit Interview Question 14
67.7% of students responding to the FOCUS Exit Interview read 2/3 or more of the common reader.
Action
FOCUS Exit Interview Question 14
The results received this year will serve as a benchmark for future years of assessment. For the most part, it is encouraging that 2/3 of the students reported that they had read at least 2/3 of the book.
Objective
Bearkats Read To Succeed Committee Involvement
The Bearkats Read to Succeed Committee will be represented by faculty, staff, and students from across university divisions and departments.
Indicator
Committee Membership
List of Bearkats Read to Succeed committee members with campus classification and division or department will show that a wide array of the campus community is represented in the selection of the common reader, the planning of the Author’s Forum and other events, and the curriculum infusion.
Criterion
Committee Membership
List of committee members will show that all five colleges and the library are represented, as well as the divisions of Student Services, Enrollment Management, and Finance and Operations.
Finding
Committee Membership List
The College of Criminal Justice is not represented on the committee, but is represented by a college liaison. We also do not have active student participation on the committee.
Action
More Representative Active Committee Membership
The BRTS committee will more actively seek to find committee members who are dedicated to the project and will actively participate on the committee.
Objective
Distribution & Use Of Common Readers
To increase in the number of freshmen, faculty, staff, and administration who received common readers from year to year. Books will be distributed to incoming freshmen, faculty who request an examination copy, staff, and administration who request a copy to discuss with students.
Indicator
Distribution Lists
Counts will be taken for each group (freshmen, faculty, staff, and administration) from the distribution lists.
Criterion
Exceed Academic Year 2009's Numbers Distributed
Counts will be taken for each group (freshmen, faculty, staff, and administration) from the distribution lists.
Academic Year 2009: Freshmen – 2,081; Faculty/Staff/Administration - 175
This year will be used as a benchmark for future years. In previous years, the numbers distributed were not broken down into groups of faculty, staff, and administration
Indicator
Class Usage
University classes will use the common reader. Faculty members who have received copies of the common reader will be surveyed to see if and how the common reader was integrated into classes and in what classes.
Criterion
Faculty Survey
A majority of the faculty members who requested an examination copy of the common reader will use the book in at least one class.
Finding
Class Participation By Faculty Survey
2008 – 175 books were distributed to faculty/staff/administration; 2009 – 118 books were distributed to faculty/staff/administration. Of these, 20 were distributed to administrators who do not teach classes. Only 51 individuals responded to the survey. Twenty-one faculty members used the book in their classes and 10 assessed their students in some manner.
Action
Distribution Of Common Readers
The book had a science focus and the number of faculty members who used the book was more focused on those who had classes with a science foundation. This may continue to be a trend as the committee chooses books with specific themes that cannot be used in all classes. Over the course of several years, the goal will be to target all university academic departments in a theme of a common reader.
Action
Class Participation
The response rate from the faculty members was disappointing. It is the general feeling that more were using the common reader than reported using it. In future years, we will be more persistent in getting feedback from the faculty members. Follow-up emails and phone calls would be a good possibility to get a better response rate.