Evaluating Freshman Composition [electronic resource] : A Multimethod Approach. AIR 1998 Annual Forum Paper / Cathrine Wambach and Robert delMas.
A study evaluated a new freshman writing course offered to students at the University of Minnesota who were underprepared for study at a major research university. In the fall of 1997 it was proposed that all freshmen be placed in for-credit, strengthened, basic writing courses rather than placing c...
Saved in:
| Online Access: |
Full Text (via ERIC) |
|---|---|
| Main Author: | |
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Electronic eBook |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[S.l.] :
Distributed by ERIC Clearinghouse,
1998.
|
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | A study evaluated a new freshman writing course offered to students at the University of Minnesota who were underprepared for study at a major research university. In the fall of 1997 it was proposed that all freshmen be placed in for-credit, strengthened, basic writing courses rather than placing certain students in non-credit, pre-college-level remediation courses. The study then examined course completion rates, students' attitudes toward the courses, students' performance in future courses, and growth in student writing. At the end of the first year, 87 percent of students had successfully completed the basic writing course. Additionally, when students were asked to compare the basic writing course with similar high school courses, the results showed that they were completing the basic writing course because they felt challenged and not because the course was easy. A review of students' grades in other writing courses found that students taking the basic writing course were well prepared for future composition courses. And student papers rated by trained raters showed that students were performing important writing tasks at the expected level. The study concluded that the new writing program was achieving its goal of preparing all freshmen for basic writing at the college level. (CH) |
|---|---|
| Item Description: | ERIC Document Number: ED422815. ERIC Note: Paper presented at the Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research (38th, Minneapolis, MN, May 17-20, 1998). |
| Physical Description: | 19 p. |