Evolving Writing Placement Processes in Higher Education
In the presentation for CSUSB advisors, SOAR staff, and Writing faculty, the transition from traditional placement exams to self-placement models for first-year writing courses at CSUSB is highlighted. The shift aims to empower students to assess their own literacy practices, contrasting high-stakes exams with the self-reflective nature of self-placement. Research suggests that timed writing tests may not accurately gauge student ability, prompting institutions to reevaluate their approaches. Comparisons are drawn to Harvard's writing test procedures and the implications of not meeting English Placement Test (EPT) requirements at CSU.
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A presentation for CSUSB advisors, SOAR staff, Writing faculty, and anyone else who might be interested
Beginning with the incoming class of Fall 2012, students will place themselves into their first year writing courses by means of a directed self placement process. This replaces the use of the EPT to determine what writing sequences students will enroll in. Students will still take the EPT in accordance with the current CSU requirement, but the test will no longer determine placement in first year writing at CSUSB.
Placement exams place assessment models at the center of students educational experiences, by judging literacy practices and competencies in relation to a set of abstract criteria that students are usually unaware of. Self-placement models situate students at the center of their educational experiences by asking them to evaluate their literacy practices and competencies in relation to a reading and writing activity or some other reflective self-assessment process.
Research shows that high stakes timed writing tests are not especially accurate measures of student ability. The EPT has become associated with the idea of remediation. Students report that the stigmatizing label remedial is damaging. They lose confidence and motivation as a result. Labeling students remedial makes no sense at schools like CSUSB, which no longer offer remedial courses.
Harvard says: The Writing Test measures the preparation in analytical writing that students have received before enrolling at Harvard. The test allows the Writing Program faculty to determine the appropriate beginning course for each student: Expository Writing 20 (the course required of all students) or Expository Writing 10, designed for students who will benefit from an introductory course before Expos 20. For information about both courses, please see the About Expos and Courses pages on our website. Harvard says: CSU says: New California State University students must show they are ready for college English by meeting the English Placement Test (EPT) requirement. Warning: Failure to Meet the EPT Requirement Costs Time and Money You cannot enroll in for-credit CSU college English classes until you meet the requirement. You must spend time taking remedial English classes during your freshman year until you meet the requirement. You will graduate later because you get no degree credit for remedial English classes. You may have to pay additional charges for the remedial classes. If you do not pass the remedial classes by the end of your first year, you may be disenrolled from the university. CSU says: Warning: Failure to Meet the EPT Requirement Costs Time and Money
The stretch program at CSUSB proceeds from 3 understandings: students who are admitted to CSUSB have successfully met expectations for high school writing; they are college-ready students. the nature of college level writing and intellectual work is different from that of high school. students benefit from supported immersion into the kinds of thinking, reading, and writing that mark college level work.
Provides students with four paths by which to become acquainted with these new literacy demands. Each sequence, regardless of length, is designed as one coherent course. Students in the 2 and 3 quarter sequences stay together as a cohort, along with their instructor. The difference among the courses is the amount of time students have to explore and practice their newly emerging college literacies, and the amount of scaffolded support they receive in this process.
One quarter long; Our most aggressively paced first year writing option; Intended for students who are confident, flexible readers and writers, have familiarity with academic conventions and habits of mind, and are self-directed and self-motivated; 26 students per class; Successful completion of 107 earns 4 credits and satisfies the general education written communication requirement (GE A.1).
Two quarter sequence; Our accelerated option; Intended for students who have some confidence as academic readers and writers, but may want to develop more familiarity with academic conventions and habits of mind. Should appeal to students who like the idea of more extended relationships with colleagues and some support in managing extended intellectual projects; 23 students per class; Successful completion of 105A-106A earns 4 elective credits and 4 GE writing credits (GE A.1).
Two quarter sequence, similar in pacing and purpose to the A sequence; Our accelerated option; Similar to the 105-106 A sequence, but intended for students who speak another language in addition to English and who have some confidence as academic readers and writers, but may want to develop more familiarity with academic conventions and habits of mind. Should appeal to those who like the idea of more extended relationships with colleagues and some support in managing extended intellectual writing projects. 23 students per class; Successful completion of 105B-106B earns 4 elective credits and 4 GE writing credits (GE A.1).
Three quarter sequence Our most moderately paced option Intended for students who may feel somewhat nervous about reading & writing in college and/or whose writing experiences have primarily focused on more rigid forms for writing, like 5 paragraph format. Should appeal to those who like the idea of more extended relationships with colleagues and those who would appreciate more support and time for writing projects. 22 students per class Successful completion of 102A-103A-104A will earn 8 credits: 4 elective units and 4 credits to satisfy GE writing (GE A.1). (Enrollment in the102A-103A-104A sequence counts as 12 units for financial aid purposes).
Three quarter sequence, similar in pacing and purpose to the A sequence; Intended for multilingual students (those who speak another language in addition to English, i.e. international students, students who immigrated to the U.S. during elementary, middle, or high school, and U.S.-born bilingual students); B instructors have training and experience in working with multilingual students; 22 students per class; Successful completion of 102B-103B-104B will earn 8 credits: 4 elective units and 4 credits to satisfy GE writing (GE A.1). (Enrollment in the102B-103B-104B sequence counts as 12 units for financial aid purposes).
Campuses with Fully Implemented Stretch Programs Campuses with Fully Implemented Stretch Programs Campuses with Approved Stretch Programs in Pilot Phase Sacramento Los Angeles Stanislaus Long Beach Humboldt Campuses with Approved Stretch Programs in Pilot Phase San Francisco San Bernardino SLO Northridge Channel Islands Fresno Sonoma Chico* where all students go directly into first-year composition courses with supplemental support for students with EPT scores below the cutoff for First-Year Composition. Like campuses with stretch programs, Chico offers no remedial English classes. Campuses with Stretch Program Proposals in Development Pomona East Bay San Jose Bakersfield Campuses with Stretch Program Proposals in Development *Chico has a longstanding mainstreaming program
Fresno Channel Islands San Francisco Humboldt (pilot DSP to begin in Fall 2013) San Bernardino (DSP pilot to begin Fall 2012) Stanislaus (implementing DSP in Fall 2012) Sacramento (DSP Proposal in Committee) Chico ((DSP pilot to begin Fall 2012) Los Angeles (DSP pilot to begin Fall 2012, may or may not be linked to Stretch)
95% of the 2 semester sequence students passed FYC, as did 100% of the 1 semester students. 88% of the stretch students were satisfied with their placement, as were 96% of the 1 semester students. Those who chose the 2 semester sequence had a 96% retention rate at the university.
Students' placements are consistent with their approach to writing, with STRETCH students employing a Surface Writing approach while STANDARD students more often employ a Deep Writing approach Students' placements are consistent with their levels of writing self-efficacy and writing apprehension Students' placements are consistent with their levels of ego- resiliency (Confident optimism, productive and autonomous activity, interpersonal insight, and skilled expressiveness)
Whats to stop students from simply choosing the quickest route?
Channel Islands: Students regularly choose 2 semesters over 1, with 68 % enrolling in the longer sequence and 32% selecting the shorter option. Fresno: On average, 75% of the students select 2 semesters; 25% select the 1 semester option. (Note: Due to budget cuts only 60% of the students can actually get the longer sequence!)
Students should complete DSP before they go to SOAR and register for classes. Early Start students should complete DSP at the end of their Early Start course because the course will prepare them to do DSP but still before SOAR. Thus, Early Start students should complete their Early Start course before SOAR.
Email to all first-year and lower-division transfer students about DSP and doing DSP before they come to SOAR. Announcements about DSP on MyCoyote. Reminder emails about what students should bring with them to SOAR (including their DSP print-out sheet with their chosen course).
ESE 99, Introduction to Academic Literacies, is designed to work hand in hand with DSP, for those ES students who will matriculate at CSUSB. Students who place below 147 on the EPT are required to take ES in the summer, before they register for SOAR. The ESE 99 course involves students and trained instructors in classrooms for 15 hours together, and engaged in a range of self-reflective reading and writing activities and activities that ask them to investigate the nature an expectations of writing in college. ES culminates with CSUSB-bound students doing guided DSP activities in class in a supportive environment. ES thus prepares students to do DSP and should ensure that the ES subset makes serious and well-considered choices about their placements.
First-day of SOAR at 4 pmtime to go to computer labs, do DSP and do DSP print-out with their course choice. Second day of SOAR DSP overview included in morning presentation. Second day of SOAR Faculty advisors in the afternoon will have a one-page handout on the four course options that they can give to students who still have not decided.
Make it clear that all CSUSB FY writing classes are college level. Avoid language that smacks of references to remediation or otherwise suggests deficit models of literacy. (Words like skills, needs, and improvement can be replaced with words like abilities, interests, and growth , for instance. Let students know that the EPT is not the most useful instrument for placement purposes. Students can factor their EPT score into their decision, if they wish (and the DSP website discusses one way of thinking about this), but it should not replace their own assessment of their experiences and interests as readers, writers, and learners. Encourage students to do self-placement thoughtfully and to base their selection on what will best support their best interests as a writer, reader, and learner. For those just out of high school, encourage them to see their self- placement as an act of self-efficacy -- one of the many, many times in college they will be called upon to act self-responsibly as an adult.
Ask why the student is uncertain. Is the uncertainty about him- or herself as a writer? OR about institutional concerns (the lack of units for 102; a perception that a longer sequence = remedial; a misguided belief that taking 107 and retaking it if necessary would be an equivalent experience to stretch composition)? Address institutional concerns with data about success rates, information about financial aid, and information about the stretch program. Offer reasons why the student s learning and literacy interests should trump all other concerns in the decision process. Address other uncertainties by asking questions about the student s writing, reading, and learning experiences. Have the student describe these aloud. Use the DSP website and the advising handouts to help you frame questions and discuss course sequence features. Look together at course sequences and discuss the features in relation to the student s self-perceptions. Ask the student what seems most useful and supportive to his or her learning styles and growth as a writer, reader, and analytic thinker. If a student asks what option to take, avoid overtly telling him/her what to do. Ask what advice the student would give you if roles were reversed. Or, talk the student through the way you would REASON about the choice, rather than saying, Do this. Ultimately, leave the decision in the student s hands. The student has the right to make his or her own choice, even if it is not the one you hope the student will make. If you feel you MUST say something about the choice, suggest to the student that s/he sign up for the course in Fall, so that s/he will have more time to try a different sequence if the first choice isn t a good fit, after all.
