Should Communication Students Take a Departmental Skills Assessment? A Comparison of Student Results on a Departmental Assessment with Student Success Rates

Author:

• Jennifer Gaughan (Long Island Univ)

Abstract:

The problem for this study was that faculty in the department of Communications were reporting that many students enrolled in the program seem to be under-prepared for the coursework involved with the Communication Arts major. Efforts to alleviate this problem included the design of a minimum standards skills assessment for incoming majors to determine entry levels of preparation. Prior to this exam, there had been no departmental standard of measuring basic skill requirements necessary for the major. However, it was not known what effect administering the exam would have on student success rates and retention. The purpose of this study was to test the notion that students considering the Communication major might be better served by a departmental performance requirement to enter the major, similar to the entrance requirement of other performing arts majors such as art, theater or music. To test that notion, a study was conducted that compared student success rates in the Communication major, as evidenced by student GPAs in the major, between students who achieved the cutoff score or higher on a minimum standards departmental assessment exam with students who did not achieve the cutoff score on the departmental assessment exam. If students who achieved a cutoff score on a minimum standards departmental assessment exam perform better in the program (as measured by their GPA within the major) than students who do not meet the cutoff score, then the exam might be considered as a new departmental tool in helping to predict student success in the program, and consequently perhaps, graduation rates.