Establishing a Basic Communication Skills Prerequisite for Social Science Courses: An Outcomes Assessment

• In Event: 31.092 - Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: 31.092-7 - Poster Session: College Student Learning and Development (1)

Abstract

Using a quasiexperimental design, the consequences of establishing a basic English composition and reading prerequisite for transferable courses in the social sciences at a public California community college were investigated. The policy was found to significantly increase the proportion of students who completed courses subject to the prerequisite with a grade of “C” or better from 64.2% to 68.0%, z = 3.98, p < .001. No significant change in this proportion for a control group was measured during the same period. In addition, changes in enrolment patterns among the affected courses were found to be statistically significant among several demographic groups. Effect sizes for these demographic variations, however, ranged from trivial to small in their magnitude.

Author

• Christian Anderson, College of the Sequoias