(As you read, click on any active link to access related websites)
Initially, while exploring the effective practices prescribed through the California Basic Skills Initiative, the reading instructors wanted to know how much progress reading students were actually making while moving through English 162 and English 163. While there are course success and retention data available on the overall performance of the students in the reading programs, there is a lack of specifics. One area of specifics would be to look at is the increase in students' grade-level reading abilities. The overall success and retention rate data for the reading courses can be found here:
http://www.ohlone.edu/org/research/basicskills-english.html
The English Department has two reading courses below transfer that prepares students for college-level reading. Students take the Accuplacer Placement test and are placed into the two courses based on certain cut-off scores. While there are cut-off scores in place, anyone can take the English placement test and at the least be placed into English 162. Therefore, students entering English 162 are reading at a 2nd - 6th grade level. The way to determine this is by the proctoring of the Nelson-Denny diagnostic test at the beginning of the semester. The reading range of student who normally place in English 163 is from the 7th - 12+ grade levels. The eventual goal of the two reading courses is to prepare the students to read at the 13th+ grade level, which is college-level reading.
The question posed was:
How many grade levels do students' reading levels increase by upon completion of each reading course?
(Although not specifically a learning outcome, this is where you can identify and review the SLO you would like to assess)
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6UjYATW1Or2YTA3OTNlNzItY2RlOC00YzUzLTg0ZjgtZDMwM2IwMjE0NTdj
