Welcome
to The Report Card, a newsletter containing information on various
topics related to institutional effectiveness. Unlike previous years, the
2005-2006 Report Cards focus on institutional processes rather than
institutional data. They have been designed to inform the college
community about how Green River addresses each of its five Institutional
Goals. In doing so, The Report Cards also inform the college
community about each recent institutional effectiveness presentation to
the Board of Trustees – the Monitoring Report. This issue summarizes the
most recent Monitoring Report presentation to the Board of Trustees on
academically under-prepared students.
Background
Corresponding to Green River’s Vision and Mission statements, the Board of
Trustees adopted five Institutional Goals on May 25, 2005. In compliance
with Policy Governance procedures, the Monitoring Reports should report on
the college’s performance in achieving its goals, and thus ultimately in
fulfilling the Mission. However, because the college is devoting the
2005-2006 year to identifying and developing core indicators and related
quantitative measures to assess goal achievement, this is a transitional
year for the Monitoring Reports. More specifically, they have been
designed to better inform the Board about how the college addresses each
goal area. The intention is to provide the Board members with a clear
picture of the mission and functions of the germane instructional and
administrative areas, and a better sense of the kinds of core indicators
that should be used to evaluate performance.
Monitoring Report: Under-Prepared Students
The
Monitoring Report on under-prepared students was presented to the Board of
Trustees on October 20, 2005. The presenters were David Hyllegard,
Director of Research and Planning, Kim Nakano, Dean of Instruction, L.A.W.
and Library, Laura Moore-Mueller, Instructor, Mathematics, and Julie
Moore, Instructor, English.
The
institutional goal for under-prepared students states that “Under-prepared
students will demonstrate competency in reading, English, and math that
prepare them for success in college-level courses.” The goal is part of
the broader institutional goal for student learning, which states that
“Students will benefit from Green River’s commitment to learning as its
highest priority.”
Under-prepared students are students who either assess or self-identify
into pre-college courses in reading, writing, and /or mathematics.
Depending on their level of academic preparation, students are served in
two different instructional areas. One area is Basic Skills, which is
taught by faculty from the Language, Academic Skills and Wellness (LAW)
Division. The other area is Development Education, which is taught by
faculty in the Mathematics and the English Divisions, with the latter also
teaching both reading and writing.
Serving under-prepared students is a significant component of the
college’s mission to promote student learning. 80% of first-time students
in fall 2004, for example, needed assistance in one or more areas (math,
writing or reading). More specifically, 64% were placed in developmental
education, 16% in Basic Skills, and 20% were college-ready.
Basic Skills: ABE, GED, ESOL
The
LAW Division has three programs that serve under-prepared students. The
programs, which are jointly referred to as Basic Skills, are:
-
Adult Basic Education (ABE), with courses in math, reading and writing
(levels 2-4).
-
General Education Development (GED), which provides individualized
preparation for GED subject tests.
-
English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), with courses in reading,
writing, listening and speaking (levels 1-5).
In
2004-2005 these programs served 1,613 students, a 12% increase from the
prior year. 65% of the 2004-05 students were enrolled in ESOL classes,
29% were in ABE classes, and 6% received GED instruction. The students
enrolled in each program tend to have different profiles and educational
goals.
-
The large majority of ESOL students are prime working age, 25-44, and
come from every walk of life. Some have earned postsecondary
credentials and have worked in professional fields in their home
country, while others have very little formal education and are employed
in low-skilled jobs. Their common goal is to learn English well enough
to more fully participate in American life.
-
ABE students are generally between 19 and 24 years of age, single, and
employed. Many are referred to ABE classes through the college
placement exam process. They typically aspire to enter a college-level
program.
-
GED students tend to self-identify or are referred by partner social
service agencies. For the most part, they are somewhat older than ABE
students and are more apt to be raising children. The most salient
common characteristic among GED students is their unrewarding secondary
school experience. In many instances, they are seeking to earn their
GED in order to bring closure to that part of their lives, and to open
doors to new educational and employment possibilities.
As
a condition of state and federal funding, the Basic Skills program reports
pre- and post-test scores for students each quarter. The most recent
annual results reveal that Green River students’ scores substantially
exceed the system-wide average. For example, comparison data indicate that
58% of GRCC students made significant gains on standardized test in at
least one subject or earned a GED, compared to 47% system-wide. Indeed,
last year Basic Skills recorded the largest achievement gains in the
state, and was awarded a $15,000 incentive grant in recognition of its
students’ outstanding accomplishments.
Notwithstanding their successes, Basic Skills faces a number of
challenges. These include:
-
Creating
more viable pathways for student entry into academic transfer and
professional/technical programs.
-
Developing strategies and acquiring
resources to better meet the needs of students with learning challenges
and undiagnosed learning disabilities
-
Complying with extensive Federal and
State reporting mandates
Designed in part to meet these challenges, Basic Skills has launched a
number of promising initiatives. Among them are:
-
Demonstration
events to inform Basic Skills students about GRCC’s
Professional-Technical programs
-
Partnerships with Educational Planning
and The Career Center to introduce students to the various support
services that have been designed to help students navigate college
-
Increased community involvement, such
as providing assistance to El Centro D'Amistand De Latino, a community
group that is assisting local immigrants and refugees.
-
Hiring of bi-lingual evening office
staff
-
Combination of ABE and ESOL instruction
with an academic content area
Because of its early success and most importantly because it addresses
student learning, the combined course initiative is especially
noteworthy. Last year GRCC ran its first combined course (ESOL and Early
Childhood Education) and achieved 100% retention, a remarkable
achievement.
Developmental Mathematics
Developmental math addresses gaps in mathematical skills or knowledge
needed for success in college-level courses.
While the course content is usually similar to that taught at the high
school level or below, developmental courses address the content with
methods more appropriate to adult learners and in a timeframe that is
condensed from a half or full-year to one quarter.
The following are the developmental math course offerings and the number
of sections taught in 2004-05:
-
Math 62: Review of Arithmetic (41 sections)
-
Math 70: Pre-Algebra (45 sections)
-
Math 72: Elementary Algebra (52 sections)
-
Math 97: Intermediate Algebra (51 sections)
From the instructors’ perspective, it is clear that most students have
busy lives and limited resources, thereby making it difficult to keep up
with school assignments if unexpected emergencies or problems arise (e.g.,
childcare arrangements). With respect to their math background, there are
many recent high school graduates who last took math in their sophomore
year and either never really learned it or have forgotten what they
learned. The older, returning students tend to appreciate the importance
of learning the material and typically do well in the courses. By
contrast, some Worker Retraining students seem to dismiss math’s
significance, and consequently tend to lack the necessary motivation. For
most IESL/ESOL students, language is the problem, not symbols and
formulas.
Although manifested in students’ weak math skills, there are pressing
underlying challenges that require attention. These include:
-
K–12 transition: It would be beneficial if math were required in the
senior year. This would help address the all too real phenomenon of “If
you don’t use it, you lose it.”
-
Students working full-time: By its nature the course content is
cumulative, and if students are overextended and occasionally miss class
or fail to complete homework, they can fall hopelessly behind.
Moreover, they typically have little time for tutoring.
-
There is a cultural acceptance of quantitative illiteracy -- “it’s okay
to be bad in math.” Although instructors endeavor to make the subject
relevant and engaging, this is an especially difficult societal
challenge that requires a concerted effort on many fronts.
The primary support systems to assist developmental math students include:
-
Early registration to facilitate appropriate course placement
-
The TRIO program
-
State Transitions Math Project
-
Math Learning Center and its many resources
-
Alternate modes of learning via the math modules and Academic Systems
software
-
Placement initiatives: Math Advising Placement Sessions (MAPS) which
inform students of the prerequisite skills needed to succeed in each
math course, transcript placement for recent high school graduates, and
class flexibility allowing movement up or down to ensure correct
placement
-
Steps to Success, which offers a short seminar in math
Among the initiatives that should be undertaken to improve math
proficiency are:
-
Ongoing work and communication with K–12. Time and resources are needed
to organize meaningful workshops, seminars, and the like. The 2004 Math
Symposium is a notable example of the value of this type of activity.
-
Research to track student success rates and to identify difficult
transition points that tend to impede advancement.
-
More internal communication among divisions, such as the Math Across the
Community College Curriculum project that was undertaken by math, ABE,
and ESOL faculty.
Developmental English: Writing and Reading
Developmental English and reading courses are designed to prepare students
for college level writing and reading. The following are the developmental
English course offerings and the number of sections taught in 2004-05:
-
English 81: Fundamentals of Written Communication (11 sections)
-
English 90: Spelling Improvement (10 sections)
-
English 92: Composition Skills (2 sections)
-
Reading 94: Reading Improvement (23 sections)
Faculty experience a true diversity of students in their developmental
English and reading classes. The fall 2005 Coordinated Studies English
81/Reading 94 class is illustrative of this:
-
Over a third of the students are from other countries. Most are
immigrants, but some are International students on student visas.
-
More than half of the class is comprised of first-generation college
students.
-
Over half the class speaks English as a second or even third language.
-
There are currently two students with documented disabilities, though
this number is often greater.
-
Like students in developmental math, many struggle to make ends meet.
What are some of the key challenges in teaching developmental English?
-
More one-on-one time between student and instructor is typically needed
in developmental English classes than in the college-level courses.
-
Instructors must balance the course learning objectives with the need to
create an environment where students feel comfortable and are thus able
to learn. Without a supportive learning environment, students are apt
to drop or stop attending the course.
-
Life circumstances such as money issues, transportation, or childcare
tend to keep these students from finishing course work.
-
Students are not as familiar with the college environment and need to be
carefully introduced to it.
-
Students need clear and explicit directives concerning homework
assignments, study processes and techniques. In other words, they
appear to be less comfortable in independent learning situations than
transfer students.
Included among the support systems to help developmental English students
are:
-
The Writing Center
-
The Help Center
-
Steps to Success
-
Coordinated Studies that bridge developmental and college-level. For
example, English 81/Reading 94 (fall quarter) and English 100/Reading
104 (winter quarter)
Deserving special mention is the Writing Center. It is a supportive,
comfortable learning environment offering one-on-one instruction with a
variety of learning tools and resources, such as writing modules and
computers with writing skills software. The Center is currently open from
noon to 3:00 pm Monday-Friday.
Possible
Core Indicators of Effectiveness
The college is in the process of forming Working Groups to identify
appropriate core indicators and quantitative performance measures for each
of the college’s Institutional Goals. The Working Group on under-prepared
students, in addition to assisting on developing the Monitoring Report
presentation, is continuing its efforts to identify appropriate indicators
to assess our success in achieving this goal. Below are some examples of
core indicators that the group is considering:
-
Passing of developmental education courses with 2.0 or better
-
Completion of subsequent college-level courses with 2.0 or better
