Performance Assessment in the California Community College System

Community colleges have always been more accessible than the larger public and private universities. During the 1960s and 1970s, pressure on the community college system led to "open door" enrollment policies throughout the national community college system. Community college populations then became more diverse and required more specialized services.

Both funding and populations increased during these years, but that may not continue to be the case as a new more restrictive political environment developes both nationally and in California. This environment has placed a renewed emphasis cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and institutional accountability.

The community college movement has been aware of the public's demand for accountability for several years. In response to growing public pressure the American Association of Community Colleges adopted a policy statement in 1987 that emphasized the community college's responsibility to provide se

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omposition assessment of students and its relationship to appropriate course placement. In order to be placed in any of Saddleback College's three composition courses, students either had to take the College English Placement Test (CEPT) or complete a prerequisite course. In this study, Sworder took random samples from the 2,714 students who had taken the College English Placement Test (CEPT), from students who had provided a writing sample, and from students who were not placed using the CEPT in order to determine success rates in placement. Again, Sworder's results differ from some of the others described earlier in finding higher success rates than would be anticipated for students who ignored the recommendations of the CEPT. Study findings showed that students who enrolled in a course more advanced than that suggested by their CEPT score actually succeeded at a higher rate than the group that took the recommended course. The author suggested that this could be explained by the additional requirement they had to fulfill in completing a writing sample. For all students who took the writing sample itself, the success rate in English composition classes was at 94% - this compared to a general success rate for all students o
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Community College, Project MDTP, College District, Chanzo Nettles, Freshman Composition, Santiago College, Fredericksen Stark, CEPT Study, Community Colleges, College Data, community college, student success, success rates, placement tests, school english, placement test, community colleges, test scores, community college system, basic skills, california community, community college district, san jose/evergreen community, rancho santiago college, jose/evergreen community college,
Approximate Word count = 5090
Approximate Pages = 20 (250 words per page)

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