wy INNOVATION ABSTRACTS *2° i
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AIA Published by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development
With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Sid W. Richardsan Foundation

 

 

 

 

ASSESSMENT AND ADVISEMENT: AN EFFECTIVENESS STUDY

The Colorado Assessment and Basic Skills Committee, a group of developmental educators representing
Colorado community colleges, has completed a two-year study on the effectiveness of basic skills assessment
and advising for new students at their schools. The study concentrated on:

1. the relationship between a group of demographic variables and student success and persistence;

2. the relationship between each of these variables separately and success and persistence; and

3. the relationship between each of the variables and following or not following assessment-related
advice.

The study was conducted to investigate in some depth the possible factors contributing to the success
(attainment of a 2.0 GPA in the first semester) and persistence (enrollment in the following term) of new
community college students, as well as those factors associated with following or not following assessment-
related advice. A random sample of 1300 students, half of whom had followed advice and half who had
not, was selected for study. The main statistical devices used to analyze data were stepwise procedures and
discriminant function analyses. These procedures are most useful in predicting group membership (is a
certain subgroup of students likely to follow advice?) and in associating variables with outcomes. In addition
to following or not following advice, the study included as variables:
marital status
ethnicity
age
sex
employment status
credit hour load
whether the student declared a major
whether English is the student's native language
the existence of a handicapping condition
10. number of dependents
11. level of financial aid
12. previous school experience.

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The Results
Results of the study indicate that a number of factors relate to the success and persistence of new
community college students. The most significant factor is whether the student follows assessment-related
advice and enrolls in courses deemed most appropriate in the counseling process.
The study also produced the following major findings, each of which is statistically significant at the .05
level or better.
1. More than 80% of the new students who follow assessment-related advice succeed academically and
are more likely to persist at least one additional term than those who do not follow such advice.
2. Students who follow advice for English courses are almost four times as likely to succeed than those
who disregard such advice.
3. In reading and mathematics, new students are more than twice as likely to succeed if they follow
assessment-related advice.
4. Students who score below the college level on assessment tests are much more likely to follow advice
than those who score at the college level.
© 5. Overall, women are more likely to follow advice, to achieve higher GPA’s and to persist longer than
men.
6. There is no statistical relationship between ethnicity, on the one hand, and following advice, academic
success or failure, or persistence, on the other.

 

 

 

 

O, Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712

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