Placement and Assessment Committee

2005 Newsletter
2005 Newsletter | Home | AMATYC | Contact Us

Download a print version of this newsletter. (DOC, 154K) From the Chair of PAC Ed Gallo I'd like to extend my greetings to all of the Placement and Assessment Committee (PAC) members and AMATYC colleagues. We have many things going on in the math placement and assessment areas. We had a great themed session titled "Placement and Assessment: Here's How We're Doing It" at the Orlando 2004 national conference. And we just finished developing the PAC's themed session "Great ideas in Math Placement and Assessment" for the 2005 AMATYC Annual Conference in San Diego. I also had the pleasure of reviewing all of the proposals in the area of placement and assessment for the San Diego. I definitely feel that we will have some very excellent presentations on placement and assessment. And AMATYC is in the process of reviewing the "Beyond Crossroads". The writing team needs your comments and suggestions - you can provide your input by going to the AMATYC website (www.amatyc.org) and reviewing the "Beyond Crossroads" document. I would also encourage you to consider submitting a short article or other item on math placement or assessment to the PAC Newsletter. Just send it to me (ed.gallo@sinclair.edu) or to Jim Ham (jaham@delta.edu), our newsletter editor. We will also post such articles to our PAC website as part of our mission "…to serve as a resource or clearinghouse for the AMATYC membership on issues related to Placement and Assessment of students, courses, and programs in mathematics at two-year colleges". Featured Article The Need to Rethink Placement in Mathematics This article, sent to us by Shelly Gordon, is adapted from an article that will appear in A Fresh Start to Collegiate Mathematics: Rethinking the Courses below Calculus, Nancy Baxter Hastings, et al, editors, MAA Notes, Mathematical Association of America, 2005, Washington, DC. Click on the title to view the article.   From the Chair of the Placement Subcommittee of PAC Bill Coe One of the objectives of Placement Subcommittee, as noted in the AMATYC policy and Procedure Manual (July 2003) is to "gather information from other colleges on mathematical placement programs, successful and unsuccessful, in order to develop a resource list containing institutional placement programs, contact people, and placement processes." In an attempt to begin to satisfy this objective, the Placement Subcommittee is conducting a survey. The survey is a one-page form that is easy to fill out. (Download the survey!) The survey asks which, if any, placement programs you use, the cut off scores you use to determine placement, how you determine success of the placement program, and a few other items. Once the results are compiled, we will put an article in the PAC Newsletter as well as present the results at the Placement Subcommittee meeting to be held at the next AMATYC conference. We would very much appreciate your prompt response. If you have any questions about the survey, let me know (william.coe@montgomerycollege.edu). Beyond Crossroads 2006 Beyond Crossroads will be released in November, 2006. The writers and editors are looking for your input. Please take some time to review the placement and assessment sections of Beyond Crossroads (http://www.amatyc.org/Crossroads/CRRV6/BC_V6_Chapter_6.pdf). Send your informal comments or the completed review form (http://placement.amatyc.org/BC6review.doc) to Judy Marwick (Marwick@morainevalley.edu). 2005 AMATYC Conference in San Diego - A Preview The Placement and assessment Committee (PAC) is sponsoring a Themed Session at the San Diego 2005 AMATYC conference. The title of the session is "Great Ideas in Math Placement and Assessment". We have the following nine 15-minute presentations lined up. Does Color Matter in Assessment of Student Performance? Assessing Student Readiness As They Enter The Elementary Algebra Course Coming Soon - The "Mandatory" Part of MATC's Assessment & Placement into Mathematics Courses Developing and Evaluating Placement Test Cut-Off Scores Involving The Math Department in Placement Testing Using Intensive Review Courses to Improve Math Placement Assessing Student Understanding of Polynomials Using Physical Models Mathematics and Performance Based Assessment in General Education Using Classroom Assessment Techniques - A Life Style Change in the Classroom If you are not going to San Diego or do not have a chance to see these great presentations, you will be able to get information about them after the conference. Presenter contact information and handouts will be made available on our PAC website after the conference.   2004 AMATYC Conference in Orlando - A Summary The PAC committee meeting at the AMATYC 2004 conference in Orlando was held on Saturday, November 20, 2004. Ed Gallo, Chair of PAC, led the meeting. Attendees were asked to provide or update their contact information. The Beyond Crossroads document was discussed, and attendees were encouraged to review the document. The PAC subcommittees and their objectives were discussed; except for a minor name change, the subcommittee structure was unchanged. Ed encouraged members to submit items to be included on the PAC website and for the PAC newsletter. The three PAC subcommittees met to plan their work for the next year. Also, PAC sponsored a themed session for the second year in a row. The theme was "Mathematics Placement and Assessment: Here's How We're Doing It." To see details of the themed session, visit the web page http://placement.amatyc.org/orlando2004.html.

AMATYC Position Statements Under Review One of this year's PAC goals is to review two of AMATYC's position papers. Initial Placement of Two-Year College Students into the Mathematics Curriculum Academic Assessment of Mathematical Programs Please take a look at these two position statements. Are they still relevant today? What needs to be revised? What needs to be added? Please send your comments to Ed Gallo (ed.gallo@sinclair.edu).   Mission of the PAC The mission of the Placement and Assessment Committee (PAC) of AMATYC is to serve as resource or clearinghouse for the AMATYC membership on issues related to placement and assessment of students, courses, and programs in mathematics at two-year colleges. PAC Objectives, 2003-2005 Review the "Academic Assessment of Mathematical Programs (Nov., 1999)" position statement. Provide a recommendation to the AMATYC Board at their Spring 2005 meeting. Review the "Initial Placement of Two-Year College Students into the Mathematics Curriculum (Nov., 2002)" position statement. Provide a recommendation to the AMATYC Board at their Spring 2006 meeting. Maintain visibility on the need for all AMATYC members to review the "Beyond Crossroads" draft version 6.0. In particular, place special emphasis on the section on Placement (in Chapter 3), Classroom Assessment (page 42), Course Assessment (page 43), and Program Assessment (page 44). Continue this effort throughout the period leading up to the finalizing of the document that is scheduled for release at the November 2006 national conference in Cincinnati. Develop a Placement and Assessment Committee Newsletter. The goal is to publish a semi-annual newsletter. Expand the PAC website to include a list of resource materials in each of the areas of assessment of student learning, assessment of mathematical programs, and placement.   Conferences National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Annual Conference – Anaheim, CA, April 6-9, 2005 AMATYC - San Diego, CA, November 10-13, 2005 This year's AAHE Assessment Conference in Toronto has been cancelled. The 2005 Assessment Institute - Indianapolis, Indiana, October 23-25, 2005   Websites Check out the following web sites for information on issues related to placement and assessment. Supporting Assessment in Undergraduate Mathematics (SAUM) http://www.maa.org/saum/ An NCF grant was awarded to advance the assessment of mathematics and mathematical programs. This site serves an an excellent assessment resource for college and university faculty charged with assessing their students and programs. NC State University Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment http://www2.acs.ncsu.edu/UPA/assmt/resource.htm This site is a clearinghouse for all the best assessment web sites and resources. The Math Forum's mathedcc listserv archive http://mathforum.org/kb/forum.jspa?forumID=184&start=0 Use the keywords placement or assessment to Search the archives of AMATYC's listserv. ASSESS - Assessment in Higher Education listserv archive http://lsv.uky.edu/archives/assess.html Search the archives of this listserv to find out what colleagues around the world are saying about assessment.   Publications The League for Innovation in the Community College's An Assessment Framework for the Community College http://placement.amatyc.org/framework.pdf (PDF)   Questions? Contact Us. To join the AMATYC Placement and Assessment Committee or to update your contact information, complete the membership form or email jaham@delta.edu. To receive future PAC Newsletters send an email request to jaham@delta.edu. (Note: You will automatically receive future newsletters if you were on the 2005 distribution list.) To contact a PAC Officer: PAC Committee Chair: Ed Gallo (ed.gallo@sinclair.edu) PAC Committee Vice Chair: Connie Buller (cbuller@mccneb.edu) Secretary: Jim Ham (jaham@delta.edu) Assessment of Student Performance Subcommittee Chair: Kathleen Ebert (ebertkc@alfredstate.edu) Assessment of Mathematical Programs Subcommittee Chair: Steve Kifowit (skifowit@prairie.cc.il.us) Assessment of Mathematical Programs Subcommittee Assistant Chair: Lila Roberts (lila.roberts@gcsu.edu) Placement Subcommittee Chair: Bill Coe (william.coe@montgomerycollege.edu) Placement Subcommittee Assistant Chair: Bev Parnell (bparnell@yvcc.edu)

Disclaimer: Committee web sites may reflect committee work in progress, and may therefore contain opinions and statements which do not reflect the adopted policies and positions of AMATYC.