Making the Case for Revising the Placement Process: A Lit Review

Deborah L Harrington, Executive Director, 3CSN

Mandatory Assessment & Placement: A Path Strewn with Good Intentions?

Amending

California Ed Code Section 78213 to require colleges to use the new common assessment for course placement

Standardized Placement Tests

Over

92% of community colleges across the U.S. assess and place students in a remedial sequence using scores from a standardized test The most typically used testing instruments, Accuplacer & Complass, come from two of the largest for profit companies in the U. S.

We Dont Agree
On

who needs remediation On what standards & curriculum best move students to college-readiness On what even constitutes collegiate level work

Drawbacks of Mandatory Placement

Increased

pressure on open access Would students with varying educational goals, such as adults needing coursework for job enhancement, be best served by not being mandatorily assessed at all? No conclusive evidence these placement tests actually produce valid indicators of academic success

Multiple Measureswait, what multiple measures?

The

vast majority of students are not run through a multiple measures system. They have to go back to a counselor if they dont like their test score. Vice Chancellor Patrick Perry If multiple measures genuinely used, students more likely placed in higher levels

Diagnostic Testing Promising as Part of Multiple Measures Strategy

Testing

for attitudinal and behavioral strengths & weaknesses in such areas as self-regulation & self-confidence However, these strategies have yet to be systematically developed

Effectiveness of Traditional Dev Ed Sequence Unclear

Goldrick-Rab

(2010) notes for every study of Dev Ed sequences showing short-term positive effects on student persistence, there are studies finding no impacts on degree completion. Large-scale studies demonstrating ineffectiveness of Dev Ed sequences in both Texas & Florida predicated on remediation effects on students who barely fail the assessment test (think about barriers to students at lower levels)

Bailey, et al. (2010): Placement is Destiny

Between

33 & 46% of students ever complete the remedial sequence Between 60-70% of students who fail to complete the sequence did so while having passed all of the dev ed courses in which they enrolled 72% of students who ignored their placement succeeded in the collegelevel course compared to 27% who followed their referral by completing all the required dev ed courses

Bottom Line: As Burdman (2012) notes, the research is telling a new narrative

Placement exams are high-stakes tests The effectiveness of traditional developmental education is unclear Accelerating some students through or out of developmental courses seems promising Placement exams are weak predictors of success in gateway courses Math and English assessments provide at best a narrow picture of students readiness for college