Students will be exposed to the works of representative writers of various cultures and to universal themes and common concerns of literature.
Objective
Demonstrating Knowledge In World And Multicultural Literature
Students will read and articulate their understanding of basic concepts and approaches to world and multicultural literature.
Indicator
Assessing 2000-level Writing
Reading and writing are part and parcel of each other. Essays written to analyze and/or apply literary texts suggest the depth and quality of the students' reading, as well as their understanding of the assignment. Thus, during the spring 2015 semester, we will collect writing samples of students enrolled in 2000-level (sophomore-level) classes and examine them to ascertain the effectiveness of reading that they evince. We anticipate collecting samples at random from approximately 15% of the students enrolled in ENGL 2332 and ENGL 2333.
Criterion
2000-level Holistic Scoring
50% of sophomore students in ENGL 2332 and ENGL 2333 will meet the departmental criteria for academic writing that reflects critical thinking and good editing.
To assess the effectiveness of student writing abilities, English faculty will conduct an annual holistic review of representative essays produced across all sections of ENGL 2332 (World Literature I: Before the Seventeenth Century) and ENGL 2333 (World Literature II: The Seventeenth-Century and After).
NOTE: These course numbers represent a renumbering to conform with Core requirements. Formerly, ENGL 2332 was ENGL 2331 and ENGL 2332 was ENGL 2342. We have combined our reading of student papers from these two courses because either will serve to meet Core requirements, and 2332 is not prerequisite for 2333.
Holistic Scoring Procedures
1. To assure that the assessment reviews a representative sampling of writing, teachers of ENGL 2332 and 2333 sections in Spring 2015 were asked to submit a final paper significant writing from 3-4 students in each section, with these students selected at random by the department’s secretarial staff. Submitted papers represent some 15% of students enrolled. (See attached memo to ENGL 2332 and 2333 instructors.)
2. Two primary readers from among the English faculty at all levels (tenure/tenure-track, lecturer, and Graduate Assistants) independently read and score each essay under review; in the case of an unreliable result, the essay is referred to a secondary (i.e., a third) reader, who reads the essay independently, without any knowledge of the previous results (see number 5, below).
3. Each primary reader scores each essay on a 4-point scale, with a score of 4 the highest possible. The two primary scores are added to yield a total, with the final scores ranging from 8 (highest possible) to 2 (lowest possible). A combined score of 5 or higher is passing. A score of 7 or 8 indicates an excellent essay; a score of 5 or 6 indicates an acceptable essay; a score of 4 or less indicates an unacceptable essay.
4. Reliability of the two scores is assumed when both scores from the primary readers are congruent, that is, when they are within 1 point of each other. For example, a score of 6 that would be seen as reliable would mean that both readers marked the essay as a 3. A reliable score of 5 would mean that one reader assessed the essay as a 3 while the other reader assessed it as a 2.
5. Should the primary scores for an essay not be reliable—for example, a 4 and a 1, a 3 and a 1, a 4 and a 2—the essay is referred to a secondary reader. If that reader agrees with the higher score, the essay is certified as acceptable or excellent; if the secondary reader agrees with the lower score, the essay is certified as unacceptable.
Finding
Results Of 2000-level Holistic Scoring
77% of the papers scored were assessed as having met the departmental criteria for critical thinking and good editing. Thus, we met our goal for this assessment. Below is a listing of the overall scoring of essays (N = 60, 13% of enrollment): 8 (excellent essay) = 3 7 (excellent essay) = 9 6 (competent essay) = 16 5 (competent essay) = 18 4 (unsatisfactory essay) = 11 3 (unsatisfactory essay) = 2 2 (unsatisfctory essay) = 1
Action
Number Of Essays Scored
We initially estimated that we would read a representative sampling of essays from the sections of ENGL 2332 and 2333 totaling 15% of students enrolled. We received 13%, which, while close to the 15% target, needs to be higher. To that end, our goal will be to collect essays from 20% of students enrolled in the Spring 2016 sections of these two courses so as to collect a sample large enough to ensure reliability.
Goal
Literature And Literary Theory (4000-Level)
Students majoring in English will acquire an appreciation of various critical approaches and methodologies in studying literature and literary theory.
Objective
Reading Literature Critically And Writing About It Analytically
Students will be able to use various approaches and methodologies to analyze literary texts and demonstrate the ability to interpret texts by communicating their understanding of those texts in analytic essays.
Indicator
Assessment Of Writing
Reading and writing are part and parcel of each other. Essays written to analyze and/or apply literary texts suggest the depth and quality of the students' reading, as well as their understanding of the assignment. Thus, during the spring 2015 semester, we will collect writing samples of English majors from 4000-level (senior-level) classes and examine them to ascertain the effectiveness of reading that they evince. Our goal is to read 25% of the essays, chosen at random, written by English majors in 4000-level literature courses. We anticipate an enrollment of some 105 students in any given long semester and so should expect to read 26 to 30 essays.
Criterion
4000-level Holistic Scoring
80% of English seniors in 4000-level writing-enhanced classes will meet the departmental criteria for academic writing that reflects critical thinking and good editing.
To assess the effectiveness of student writing abilities, English faculty will conduct an annual holistic review of representative essays produced across all sections of 4000-level (senior) classes.
Holistic Scoring Procedures
1. To assure that the assessment reviews a representative sampling of writing, teachers of 4000-level sections in Spring 2015 were asked to submit a final paper significant writing from 3-4 students in each section, with these students selected at random by the department’s secretarial staff. Submitted papers represent some 25% of students enrolled. (See attached memo to 4000-level instructors.)
2. Two primary readers from among the tenured/tenure-track English faculty independently read and score each essay under review; in the case of an unreliable result, the essay is referred to a secondary (i.e., a third) reader, who reads the essay independently, without any knowledge of the previous results (see number 5, below).
3. Each primary reader scores each essay on a 4-point scale, with a score of 4 the highest possible. The two primary scores are added to yield a total, with the final scores ranging from 8 (highest possible) to 2 (lowest possible). A combined score of 5 or higher is passing. A score of 7 or 8indicates an excellent essay; a score of 5 or 6 indicates an acceptable essay; a score of 4 or less indicates an unacceptable essay.
4. Reliability of the two scores is assumed when both scores from the primary readers are congruent, that is, when they are within 1 point of each other. For example, a score of 6 that would be seen as reliable would mean that both readers marked the essay as a 3. A reliable score of 5 would mean that one reader assessed the essay as a 3 while the other reader assessed it as a 2.
5. Should the primary scores for an essay not be reliable—for example, a 4 and a 1, a 3 and a 1, a 4 and a 2—the essay is referred to a secondary reader. If that reader agrees with the higher score, the essay is certified as acceptable or excellent; if the secondary reader agrees with the lower score, the essay is certified as unacceptable.
Finding
Results Of 4000-level Holistic Scoring
73% of the papers scored were assessed as having met the departmental criteria for critical thinking and editing. Thus, we did not meet our goal for this assessment. Below is a listing of the overall scoring of essays (N = 33, 33% of enrollment): 8 (excellent essay) = 3 7 (excellent essay) = 5 6 (competent essay) = 5 5 (competent essay) = 11 4 (unacceptable essay) = 3 3 (unacceptable essay) = 5 2 (unacceptable essay) = 1
Action
Holistic Scoring Rubric
We will distribute the holistic scoring rubric of 4000 level courses for faculty to consider as they teach writing in these courses, primarily through comments on student assignments.