2008 Woodie Awards
Test called waste of time; university says reason exists behind four-hour long exam
In Spring '07, 95 percent of students passed proficiency tests.
Ruth Brown
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: News
Students see Proficiency Exams as a waste of their time and a pain in the behind, but a purpose behind them does exist.
SDSU's Proficiency Exams include five areas of testing. The exam includes testing in Writing Skills, Mathematics, Reading and Science Reasoning. Each of these tests is administered to students in 40-minute blocks. An additional Technology Literacy test has a 20-minute limit.
"The exam is administered when students have completed about half of their credits for a degree, typically second semester of the sophomore year," wrote Mary Kay Helling, the associate vice president for SDSU's academic affairs.
A student who is in the process of getting their baccalaureate degree must have at least 48 credits completed and passed by the time of the test date. Students who are in the process of getting their associate degree must complete and pass at least 32 credits. Testing is offered in both the spring and fall semesters.
"We use the tests to help lead to improvement for the university's academic plans," said Joann Sckerl, the director of academic evaluation and assessment. "They help to provide feedback to the departments that appear to need improvement."
The exam that is currently used by SDSU and other South Dakota public universities for measuring the students' learning skills is the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) Exam. The required score to pass each test is based upon a national average for Proficiency Exams.
The SDSU Web site said the Writing Skills test is a 72-item test that measures students' understanding of standard written English. The tested areas include punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, strategy, organization and style.
The Mathematics test is a 35-item test designed to measure students' mathematical reasoning ability. It tests students' understanding of pre-elementary, intermediate and advanced algebra, as well as coordinate geometry, trigonometry and introductory calculus.
SDSU's Proficiency Exams include five areas of testing. The exam includes testing in Writing Skills, Mathematics, Reading and Science Reasoning. Each of these tests is administered to students in 40-minute blocks. An additional Technology Literacy test has a 20-minute limit.
"The exam is administered when students have completed about half of their credits for a degree, typically second semester of the sophomore year," wrote Mary Kay Helling, the associate vice president for SDSU's academic affairs.
A student who is in the process of getting their baccalaureate degree must have at least 48 credits completed and passed by the time of the test date. Students who are in the process of getting their associate degree must complete and pass at least 32 credits. Testing is offered in both the spring and fall semesters.
"We use the tests to help lead to improvement for the university's academic plans," said Joann Sckerl, the director of academic evaluation and assessment. "They help to provide feedback to the departments that appear to need improvement."
The exam that is currently used by SDSU and other South Dakota public universities for measuring the students' learning skills is the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) Exam. The required score to pass each test is based upon a national average for Proficiency Exams.
The SDSU Web site said the Writing Skills test is a 72-item test that measures students' understanding of standard written English. The tested areas include punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, strategy, organization and style.
The Mathematics test is a 35-item test designed to measure students' mathematical reasoning ability. It tests students' understanding of pre-elementary, intermediate and advanced algebra, as well as coordinate geometry, trigonometry and introductory calculus.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Chris E.
posted 4/09/08 @ 8:48 PM CST
Man, if students think the proficiency exams are a waste of time, just wait until you have to take a departmental exit exam. These exams are supposed to be a culmination of everything you've learned in all of your major-specific classes. (Continued…)
Definately Waste of Time
posted 4/10/08 @ 11:51 AM CST
I would agree, the exams are a waste of time and do not give them the information that they want. Instead of showing what we know and have learned, I think it is a better measure of the lack of teaching ability by professors. (Continued…)
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