Abstract:

Over the last decade, the City University of New York (CUNY) has instituted new measures for assessing student learning with regard to basic skills. The first change occurred in the use of new entrance and exit examinations for all three basic skills-reading, writing, and mathematics. The second change occurred in the use of a mid-point examination, which determines whether or not students graduate with an Associate degree or go on to get their Bachelor's degree. This change is completley new to the University system. At the basic skills level, the Writing Assessment Test (WAT) and the Reading Assessment Test (RAT) were replaced by the CUNY/ACT Writing test and The Compass Reading and Mathematics tests. The new student assesment mid-point test is the College Proficiency Examination (CPE). The University College English Council members have expressed dissatisfaction with the skills levels of students who exit the CUNY/ACT Writing and Compass Reading and Mathematics tests. Based upon the faculty recommendations, the university plans to change the format of its basics skills tests, yet again. This presentation aims to examine data for the last decade on the trends seen in student performance on the different assessment tests and on Composition 1 and 11 examinations at one CUNY college.