Assessment

Classroom Evaluation: The Director of Writing or a designated full-time faculty member will visit each instructor's class one time during the first semester of teaching between the 3rd and 10th week of classes. This process reflects the Department’s continued desire for self-assessment and improvement. The Director of Writing will distribute to all instructors a form explaining the evaluation process and identifying the faculty member appointed to evaluate the class. The instructor must then make arrangements with the appointed faculty member for a class visit. 

Course Evaluation Forms: During Dead Week of each semester, instructors will direct students to the online course evaluation forms for students to fill out.  An example of this form can be found in Appendix C.  Once during the year, adjunct staff will meet with the Director of Writing or Chair to review student tabulations and comments.  Instructors should look over these forms in advance of the class in order to familiarize themselves with the standards by which they will be judged at the end of the semester. 

Portfolio Assessment: As a part of the program's yearly review, the Department assesses first-year students' portfolios against the criteria established by the Department for English 130 and English 131.  The purpose of collecting student portfolios is to assist the Department's internal assessment of writing instruction. Our assessment goals include:

• Understanding how instructors are teaching writing
• Understanding how students are responding to writing instruction
• Determining the effectiveness of current writing instruction
• Maintaining successful writing instruction
• Improving writing instruction

There are five areas of review for portfolio assessment: Assignments, Instructor's Comments, Student Writing, Self-Reflection Essay, and Overall Rating. The Writing Program Director will distribute to all full-time and adjunct faculty portfolio folders containing instructions for the collection and maintenance of the portfolio.  Three students are selected at random in each Fall semester composition course, and instructors have the obligation of photocopying/printing prompts, worksheets, drafts, and final essays for each of these three students.  The three portfolios should be turned in to the Director of Writing during finals week of that semester.

Strengths (2005/2006): Many respondents felt the instructors’ comments supported the criteria listed in Section 3 of the evaluation form. Many respondents felt the essays demonstrated clear theses and focuses. Almost all English 131 portfolios included both the prompts and the instructors’ comments. Most English 131 portfolios were deemed to show evidence of pre-writing strategies. A high percentage of evaluators felt that the grades for essays in the portfolios were appropriate.

Weaknesses (2005/2006):  About half of the English 130 portfolios did not include instructor prompts.  Also, prewriting materials were not submitted for a number of English 130  portfolios. For English 130, more portfolios need to show the author has employed self- analysis and the responses of others in the revision process (Question 11). Several respondents felt that the English 131 portfolios under review did not demonstrate a strong ability to integrate sources (Question 15).