The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive validity of several variables to determine if the Florida Computerized Placement Test - Reading (CPT-R) score alone, or other variables, could determine whether or not a student would successfully pass the highest level college preparatory reading course. The study examined fall sessions 1997-2004 (n=276,079) reading scores for all forms of the CPT to determine at what standard deviation below the cutoff score of 83 a student could still successfully complete the highest level college preparatory reading course. According to the College Board, the 83 scaled score, which exempts a student from taking the reading course, equates to approximately a 70% on the paper/pencil version of the test, yet the study revealed that a scaled score of 64 was the average score for fall sessions 1997-2004, which according to previous studies equates to 9/10th reading grade level on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Napoli & Raymond, 1998). In addition, the most frequently obtained scaled score was 75 for fall sessions 1997-2004, which equates to an 11th grade reading level on the Nelson-Denny Reading Test; however, the results of this study showed only 61% (49, 281 out of 79,167) of the upper quartile of students (scaled scores >74) passed the highest level college preparatory reading course. Although a statistically significant relationship was found between the entry test and successful completion of the highest level college preparatory reading course, the relationship was small, and therefore does not provide very good predictive validity. Interestingly, the study revealed that students who were exempt from the reading course, and still enrolled in the course, did not have higher passing rates in the course. In addition, students with higher placement scores did not have significantly higher passing rates in the reading course than students with lower placement scores. In fact, students with the lowest scaled scores of 11-20 had the highest percentage of successfully completing the highest level college preparatory reading course.The placement test scores in reading indicate a large number of students entering Florida's community colleges are not prepared for college-level courses. In addition, the results of this study indicated that the placement test did very little to discriminate between levels of students' actual reading abilities and predict which students will ultimately pass required remedial/developmental reading classes. Although many first-time-in-college students are not recent high school graduates, high schools should be required to include reading as part of the core curriculum, separate and distinct from the language arts courses.Teachers, credentialed in reading, should be teaching reading courses in all four years of high school. Diagnostic testing and year-end testing should occur each year to chart a student's progress for all four years of high school. In addition, Florida's college entrance reading placement test should be revised so that it provides a comprehensive measurement of college-level reading skills.

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Il existe un nombre croissant de tests de langues sur le marché. Ces derniers se répartissent en plusieurs catégories selon leur forme et leur fonction: tests de positionnement, d’acquisition et de progrès, de compétence, de certification, tests diagnostiques et enfin tests d’aptitude. La conception du test de positionnement POSILANG, entièrement adossé au Cadre européen commun de référence pour les langues (CECRL), force à s’interroger sur le processus général d’évaluation des compétences en LVE, à définir ce que sont les bonnes pratiques, à explorer la compatibilité de l’approche communicative-actionnelle prônée par le Cadre avec le format automatisé. Les atouts visés par le dispositif sont la gratuité, la praticité, la fiabilité, l’accessibilité, l’interactivité ainsi que l’authenticité. L’élaboration des items doit tenir compte des usages situés de la langue dans des situations de communication réelles. Conçu localement, en intégrant la situation particulière du site universitaire bordelais, le test est prévu pour évaluer le niveau de compétences des bacheliers en anglais, accédant à l’Enseignement Supérieur. L’évaluation de la version pilote de POSILANG, menée dans le cadre de la présente recherche, montre que POSILANG permet bien de déterminer à la fois le niveau en langue global de candidats et leur niveau par domaine de compétence. Le test remplit aussi une fonction diagnostique, en pointant les lacunes des candidats. Le positionnement par domaines de compétences permet de créer différents groupes de niveaux aussi homogènes que possible pour les enseignements obligatoires d’anglais et pour remédier aux difficultés langagières repérées. / In education today, a great number of language tests are available. These tests can be divided into different categories according to their features and function: placement tests, acquisition and progress tests, certification tests and aptitude tests. The POSILANG placement test offers many advantages. The test is conceived in accordance with the Common European framework of reference for languages (CEFR). It therefore complies with the majority of the parameters laid down in this official document and adheres to an action-oriented approach. POSILANG also benefits from being free of charge, readily available, reliable, interactive and authentic. The latter is achieved by using language taken from real life situations for the conception of items. The test has been designed for local use on the campus of Bordeaux University and takes into account the specificities of this environment. Its aim is to assess the competence level of secondary school leavers as they enter the higher education system. POSILANG is able not only to assess the overall language level of participants, but also the level in three separate areas of competence. It has a diagnostic function centered on pinpointing the weaknesses of students. The placement of students according to the different areas of competence enables teachers to form student groups with similar language levels, so as to address the specific instructional needs identified by the test.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the academic outcomes of first-year academically underprepared TN Promise-eligible college freshmen who participated in a college bridge program. A comparative research design was applied to existing data, including first-semester GPA, first-semester credit completion rate, first college-level mathematics course GPA, first college-level English course GPA, and fall-to-fall persistence rates. A random sample of 412 first-time freshman college students from five cohorts was analyzed using descriptive statistics for eight research questions. These findings indicated that there were no significant differences among college bridge participants and non-bridge participants. Non-bridge program participants performed slightly better than bridge program participants for all research questions, including first-semester GPA, first-semester credit completion rate, first English course GPA, and first mathematics course GPA. Similar results were also found for research questions that analyzed underrepresented participants. However, despite finding that non-bridge participants achieved minor but consistently higher performance outcomes, the fall-to-fall persistence rates for bridge participants and non-bridge participants were nearly identical. Additional analyses indicated that low-income bridge participants slightly outperformed their low-income non-bridge peers in first-semester GPA and credit completion rate, and first-generation bridge program participants and first-generation non-bridge participants performed almost identically, though no statistical significance was found. This study documented the short-term academic effects that college bridge programs can have on academically underprepared college freshmen. These findings resemble similar findings from existing bridge program research that likewise did not find improvements in student performance or outcomes. Additionally, this study along with ambiguous findings from previous research, might indicate that bridge program efficacy is highly reliant on program design, purpose, and target populations, and the concept is not a universal approach to prepare students academically and socially for the curricular expectations of postsecondary education. Implications for future research and recommendations for policymakers are discussed.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Because most–if not all–intensive English programs (IEP) assign students to specific levels based on a placement test that does not involve any form of explicit vocabulary testing, some degree of variation in lexical knowledge of students within an individual class should not be surprising. However, very little research has ever quantified this variation. The current study fills the gap in this important area of TESOL research by investigating vocabulary variation among intermediate-level students at one IEP. Participants (N=79) were split into two main proficiency groups, high intermediate (N=28) and low intermediate (N=51). The 2K, 3K, and 5K levels from the Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) were used as a vocabulary measure. In this study, VLT scores were analyzed by proficiency level and by students' original individual classes (N=7). The results revealed considerable vocabulary variation. In some instances, vocabulary size varied by 900 word families per student. First language influence was also investigated by comparing the largest two language groups in the sample, Arabic (N= 28) and Spanish (N=12). Spanish-speaking students significantly outperformed the Arabic speaking students in all vocabulary measures (except for the 2K level). The study, therefore, raises questions about the approaches used in teaching a class that has both Spanish and Arabic speakers. Implications and suggestions for further studies are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to examine the . relationship and effects of New Jersey College Basic Skills Placement Test (NJCBSPT) scores and grades in basic skills reading, elementary algebra, and English/ writing courses with the students' success in selected college-level general education courses in an attempt to establish predictor variables. In addition, the study examines the possibility that predictions of success in general education courses can be made more accurately by using multiple prediction variables. The population for the study consisted of seven years of successful basic skill course grades, New Jersey College Basic Skill Placement Test (NJCBSPT) scores and successful general education course grades for students at one small, rural community college. Coefficients of determination, correlation coefficients, t-tests, and linear and multiple regression were some of the analysis techniques used. / Ed. D.