German Discipline Assessment 2006-2007

Scope of assessment activities

___√__Course-embedded assessment

___√___ Pre- and post-testing

______ Outside the classroom

______ Across the discipline

Direct measures of student learning

______ Capstone experience

______ Portfolio assessment

___√__ Standardized tests

___√__ Performance on national licensure, certification or

preprofessional exams

______ Qualitative internal and external juried review

of comprehensive senior projects

______ Externally reviewed exhibitions and performances in

the arts

______ External evaluation of performance during internships

Discussion and Description

Discipline goals, direct measures, and improved student learning

1. German discipline learning objectives

· Comprehension and speaking in the target language.

· Reading skills.

· Reasoning and writing skills (includes word processing).

· Cultural immersion through study abroad programs.

The assessment plan lists expected outcomes for each objective.

2. Course-embedded assessment. Pre-test/post-test.

Beginning German. A placement test is administered to students who have had previous experience with German and wish to enroll in German at UMM. It is administered again at the end of second semester of beginning German. Results for the second administration are used for two purposes:

i. to gauge student learning during the year of beginning German.

ii. to gauge student readiness for advanced work in German.

The first purpose is undermined to some degree because not all students who enroll in beginning German take the placement test, some because they have had no previous experience with the language, and some for reasons that are not clear. However, all who take the pre-test show improvement on the post-test.

The results of the first adminstration of the placement test are used to recommend whether the student should enroll in first-, second- or third-year courses. Hence, the results of the second administration can also be interpreted as a measure of the student’s readiness for advanced work. For students finishing beginning German in the springs of 2005 and 2006, 34.3% tested at the first-, 51.4 % at the second-, and 14.3 % at the third-year level.

3. Other

Additional information about assessment in German may be found in the German assessment report in the appendices.

General education categories spanned by the discipline

German courses carry one of the following general education designators: FL, foreign language; IP, international perspective; ArtP, artistic performance; or Hum, communication, language, literature, and philosophy. Directed study and the senior project carry no general education designator.