Multiple Measures: A Better Way to Assess Students and Increase College Success

By Dr. Barbara R. Dickerson, President, Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees

Today, shortening the time it takes to earn a college degree and improving college completion rates are shared objectives of colleges and universities throughout the nation.

One way of ensuring that more students complete their higher education goals sooner is to accurately place them in college courses. Until recently, colleges and universities have relied heavily on a single placement exam to determine if students should be placed in college-level or remedial courses. Numerous studies have shown, however, that placing students in remedial courses is a significant barrier to completion. Data from the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office show that only 40 percent of students placed in remedial courses go on to complete a degree or certificate or transfer to a four-year institution within six years. By contrast, of those students who enroll directly in college-level courses, 70 percent go on to complete their goals in the same six-year timeframe.

This spring, Citrus College joined more than 60 California community colleges in conducting pilot studies using multiple measures for assessment. Early Decision students from the college's high school feeder districts participated in the study. Rather than using a placement test alone, these students were placed using their overall high school GPA, the highest level math course they completed in high school and the results of an Accuplacer test.

The results were impressive. By using multiple measures for assessment, an additional 26.6 percent of students had the opportunity to start college in a transfer-level English course, and an additional 21.5 percent had the opportunity to start in transfer-level math.

The advantages of using multiple measures assessment and limiting remedial coursework are rapidly gaining recognition. Recently, the California State University System announced that, starting in fall 2018, it will no longer place students in remedial classes. In addition, the California State Legislature passed legislation that requires community colleges to use multiple measures assessment to maximize the probability that students will complete transfer-level coursework in math and English within a one-year timeframe. The bill also prohibits community colleges from requiring students to enroll in remedial coursework, unless it can be shown they are highly unlikely to succeed otherwise. It is estimated that by using placement strategies such as these, students could save, on average, one to two semesters of unnecessary remedial education.

I am very pleased that Citrus College is part of this national higher education movement to redesign the way students are assessed and placed in college courses. The college is already working with its local K-12 school district partners to better align curriculum and to prepare graduating seniors for college-level coursework. By using multiple measures to assess their abilities, they will be placed more accurately, save time and money that would have gone to unnecessary remedial courses, and ultimately graduate sooner to become productive members of the 21st century workforce.