The primary method of placement at Portland CC (PCC) is the Compass Placement test. For the most part, students are placed correctly, but there are cases when students feel that they have been placed too low. In such cases we use our newly created Placement Advisory Test (PAT) to help us place them appropriately. (Contains 2 figures.)

This study was designed to examine response rates and bias among a sample of community college students who received a district-wide survey by standard mail or e-mail. Findings suggest that predictors of response and types of responses are not appreciably different across paper and online mail-out samples when these samples are "matched" in terms…

Reviews the current literature concerning distance education and student assessment, including a focus on the unique circumstances found at the community college level. Topics include computer-based assessment; online computer-based testing; commercial testing agencies; and assessment styles. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/LRW)

Item banks and computer-generated tests in a Canadian community college's computerized testing system were evaluated and student and faculty attitudes surveyed. Item banks were found inadequate, tests addressed low-level learning outcomes, and the system's location in centralized administration gave instructional staff little ownership or…

Triton College, under the auspices of a National Science Foundation grant, has designed a team taught course combining an engineering and rhetoric course in which students are introduced to the engineering profession and its communication techniques. The instructional technique is multi-faceted, integrating simulation of the professional…

Laird studies the relationship between two computerized nursing tests and finds a relationship between the two sets of scores. (Contains 2 tables.)

Colleges and universities seeking to assess proficiencies in information and communications technology may wish to learn more about new assessment tools developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), in collaboration with higher education partners. This article describes the administration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)…

Describes two studies evaluating developmental reading instruction at Suffolk Community College, New York. One compared grade point averages (GPAs) for developmental reading students and two naturally occurring comparison groups. The other used pre- and posttest scores on the College Board's Computerized Placement Tests to document developmental…

The Computer-Assisted Job Skill Evaluation (CAJSE) project was conducted to develop an evaluation software instrument that could be used in career and technical education programs throughout Texas to provide immediate performance evaluations in vocational-technical and career education. Ten instructors selected from vocational-technical education…

Transcripts of 19,736 students who consecutively attended Florida high schools for four years and graduated in the spring of 1994 were analyzed to determine how course choice, grades, tenth grade standardized test score results, race, and gender affected performance on a computerized placement test (CPT) administered upon entry to community…

"Informed math self-placement," a program implemented at American River College in Sacramento, California, to determine students' readiness for college-level math, has been in place for three years. This case study describes the development and implementation of math self-placement at American River. Math self-placement consists of a…