The English faculty this year chose to assess items from three of the stated Goals: Goal 1 (outcomes 1-4) dealing with knowledge of literary works and authors from both the Anglo-American tradition and works from other world traditions, Goal 4 (outcomes 1-2) dealing with classifying works by genre and identifying the elements of literature, and Goal 5 (Outcomes 1-4) dealing with the location and use of appropriate research resources.
In order to assess Outcome 1, the faculty administered the Educational Testing Service Major Field Examination: Literature in English to English majors nearing graduation. Nine seniors took the examination. The students as a cohort scored above the national average (65th percentile) for all seniors taking the examination nationally. Furthermore, the examination provides subscores in four areas which will allow faculty to make adjustments in curriculum or major requirements in response to these scores. Students scored at or above the national average on all four of the subscores.
To analyze Outcome 4 and Outcome 5, English faculty collected portfolios containing three papers from seven graduating seniors enrolled in the ENG-L495 Senior Seminar. Students supplied a paper reflecting primary literary analysis, one reflecting the combination of primary and secondary sources in literary analysis, and a third reflecting the use of literary theory to conduct literary analysis. These portfolios were evaluated by the English faculty. The student mean on the portfolios was 2.8 (on a scale of 1-3 with 3 being the highest.
