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Assessing Community College Student Knowledge in the Liberal Arts.

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Title: Assessing Community College Student Knowledge in the Liberal Arts.
Language: English
Authors: Cohen, Arthur M., Schuetz, Pam, Chang, June C.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 28
Publication Date: 2002
Document Type: Reports - Research
Speeches/Meeting Papers
Tests/Questionnaires
Descriptors: Community Colleges, Educational Assessment, Individual Testing, Knowledge Level, Liberal Arts, Outcomes of Education, Student Evaluation, Two Year College Students, Two Year Colleges
Geographic Terms: U.S.; California
Abstract: This paper describes an assessment of community college student knowledge in the liberal arts at two-year colleges in Southern California. A survey instrument with multiple choice questions covering five liberal arts subject areas was distributed to 4,200 students in randomly selected classes at ten colleges. More than 2,500 questionnaires were returned, for a 60% response rate. Key findings include: (1) an association between age and performance in the content areas was observed--older students tended to score higher in English and lower on the mathematics section, which may indicate that living longer and having more exposure to cultural and written materials enhances scores in English; (2) there was a positive relationship between the number of units students had completed in a subject area and the scores obtained on the corresponding section of the test, a relationship that was especially strong in science classes but less significant for humanities classes; (3) students' self-assessments of their abilities in liberal arts subjects were remarkably accurate, showing that community college students are realistic about their academic skills. Appended are: student demographics survey items; a list of sub disciplines and sample questions; and a table illustrating discriminating power of subject area test sections. (Contains 10 references, 9 tables, and 2 figures.) (CB)
Notes: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (27th, Sacramento, CA, November 21-24, 2002).
Journal Code: RIEJUN2003
Entry Date: 2003
Accession Number: ED469896
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
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PubType: Report
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  Data: Assessing Community College Student Knowledge in the Liberal Arts.
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cohen%2C+Arthur+M%2E%22">Cohen, Arthur M.</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schuetz%2C+Pam%22">Schuetz, Pam</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chang%2C+June+C%2E%22">Chang, June C.</searchLink>
– Name: PeerReviewed
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  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 28
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2002
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
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  Data: Reports - Research<br />Speeches/Meeting Papers<br />Tests/Questionnaires
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Community+Colleges%22">Community Colleges</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Assessment%22">Educational Assessment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Individual+Testing%22">Individual Testing</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Knowledge+Level%22">Knowledge Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Liberal+Arts%22">Liberal Arts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Outcomes+of+Education%22">Outcomes of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Evaluation%22">Student Evaluation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Two+Year+College+Students%22">Two Year College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Two+Year+Colleges%22">Two Year Colleges</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22U%2ES%2E%3B+California%22">U.S.; California</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
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  Data: This paper describes an assessment of community college student knowledge in the liberal arts at two-year colleges in Southern California. A survey instrument with multiple choice questions covering five liberal arts subject areas was distributed to 4,200 students in randomly selected classes at ten colleges. More than 2,500 questionnaires were returned, for a 60% response rate. Key findings include: (1) an association between age and performance in the content areas was observed--older students tended to score higher in English and lower on the mathematics section, which may indicate that living longer and having more exposure to cultural and written materials enhances scores in English; (2) there was a positive relationship between the number of units students had completed in a subject area and the scores obtained on the corresponding section of the test, a relationship that was especially strong in science classes but less significant for humanities classes; (3) students' self-assessments of their abilities in liberal arts subjects were remarkably accurate, showing that community college students are realistic about their academic skills. Appended are: student demographics survey items; a list of sub disciplines and sample questions; and a table illustrating discriminating power of subject area test sections. (Contains 10 references, 9 tables, and 2 figures.) (CB)
– Name: Note
  Label: Notes
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  Data: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (27th, Sacramento, CA, November 21-24, 2002).
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      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 28
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Community Colleges
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Assessment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Individual Testing
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Knowledge Level
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Liberal Arts
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Outcomes of Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Student Evaluation
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      – SubjectFull: Two Year College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Two Year Colleges
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: U.S.; California
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Assessing Community College Student Knowledge in the Liberal Arts.
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            NameFull: Cohen, Arthur M.
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            NameFull: Schuetz, Pam
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            NameFull: Chang, June C.
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            – D: 01
              M: 11
              Type: published
              Y: 2002
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