Modern Languages Department
Assessment for Basic Communication Skills
As part of the Modern Languages Assessment Plan, we said that we would assess the basic communication skills of students who are working on a Bachelor of Arts degree, who wish to receive General Studies credit for study in a particular language or who are beginning a major or a minor in one of the programs of the Department of Modern Languages. (The higher level skills of Objective C are assessed through Speaking and Writing Proficiency exams.) You can see below (extracted from the Plan itself) the pertinent Objective A, how this area is to be assessed and how the scores are to be treated.
Objective A
The students will be able:
to use basic communication skills effectively in a language other than their own
All students in FREN/GERM/SPAN 200 will take the Brigham Young University (computerized) Examination to assess their entry level. All students completing FREN/GERM/SPAN 201 will take again the BYU Exam to show how much they have learned in these two intermediate-level courses (which are presently required for the B.A. degree and can count for the G.S. Program). This test, whose questions vary in accordance with the level of knowledge that the students demonstrate, scores itself automatically. It provides a rough score whose norm is adjusted to the ability of our students. (The reliability of this exam is limited to the beginning and intermediate levels.)
V. Rubrics and Interpretation of Data
#1. Assessment of the Brigham Young University Examination Scores
The two scores that the students receive on the Brigham Young University Examination (at the beginning of FREN/GERM/SPAN 200 and the end of FREN/GERM/SPAN 201) will be compared. Individual students are expected to improve their score by at least 10% and the average improvement should be 15%.
2007
plan developed: 06/06/05