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DOCUMENT RUNE
ED 099 076 JC 750 016
AUTHOR Bohr, Dorothy H.; And OthersTITLE The Effects of Prescribed Testing and Personalized
Counseling on Enrollment, Attrition, and Success ofNew Students Enrolled in Reading Courses atSacramento City College.
PUB DATE Jul 73NOTE 26p.; Practicum presented to Nov? University in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for theDoctor of Education degree
EDRS PRICE HF-S0.75 HC-$1.85 PLUS POSTAGEDESCRIPTORS College Entrance Examinations; *Counseling
Effectiveness; *Junior Colleges; Practicums; *ReadingSkills; Remedial Reading Programs; *StudentParticipation
IDENTIFIERS California
ABSTRACTThis study is aimed at determining whether
personalized pre-enrollment cennseling based on the results of astandardized English skills test has a positive effect on new studentenrollment, attrition (withdrawal), and success in reading skillscourses. By comparing pertinent data for spring 1972 students whowere not counseled with data for counseled students in spring 1973,it was found that counseled students had a lower attrition rate thanother students in the reading skills classes. Counseling did not tendto increase the rate of enrollment in reading skills courses, nor didcounseled reading skills students experience a higher rate ofsuccess. (NJK)
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THE EFFECTS OF PRESCRIBED TESTING AND PERSONALIZED
COUNSELING ON ENROLLMENT, ATTRITION, AND SUCCESS OF
NEW STUDENTS ENROLLED IN READING COURSES
AT SACRAMENTO CITY COLLEGE
by
Dorothy H. BohrGerald W. CiasBerneice L. Clayton
PRACTICUM PRESENTED TO NOVA UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
Nova University
July 2, 1973
PAGE(S) /- Z. WAe (WERE) WON* (REMOVED) FROM
THIS DOCUMENT PRIOR TO ITS BEING SUBMITTED TO THE
ERIC DOCUMENT REPRODUCTION SERVICE.
-3.
PREFACE
The place of pre-enrollment testing in an "open-door" public community
college needs to'be examined closely. In fact, policies requiring the ACT or
SAT prior to enrollment have already been eliminated in many two year colleges.
The elimination of these tests has led to a void of pre-enrollment test infor-
mation suitable for use by professional counselors in conjunction with new
student orientation programs. More important, the place of a personal inter-
view based on test results with in-coming students needs to be researched.
In spring 1973, the orientation program for in-coming students to Sacra-
mento City College included for the first time a standardized English skills
placement test (Educational Skills Test - College edition, McCraw-Hill, 1971).
The students were told that the test was not being used to screen their
admission to the college, but to give counselors some basis for making scheduling
recommendations to students, particularly for English courses, prior to regis-
tration. Since the test was standardized and had established two year college
norms, counselors could advise students whether they were ready or :eshman
English or whether they should take one of the remedial English courses. Be-
sides the test itself, another new aspect was that the testing procedure re-
quired of each new student a personal planning interview with a counselor - a
practice not used for some time by the counseling staff. Since the studenOs
performance on the test was to be rated in his presence by the counselor at
the time of the interview, the opportunity for quick "feedback" was presented.
Because we were convinced that the personal counseling interview based
on test results would positively affect enrollment, attrition, and achievement,
4
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it was decided to do this study. Furthermore, there is evidence that al-
though two year colleges are quick to innovate, they are lax in follow-up
studies.
I
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THE EFFECTS OF PRESCRIBED TESTING AND PERSONALIZEDCOUNSELING ON ENRCLLMENT, ATTRITION, AND SUCCESS OF
NEW STUDENTS ENROLLED IN READING COURSESAT SACRAMENTO CITY COLLEGE
This study is aimed at determining whether personal-ized counseling based on test results following thecompletion of a placement test has a positive effecton new student enrollment. attrition and success inreading skills courses. The primary finding 2f thisstudy is the significant p< .02 chi-square (X ) valuefor attrition. This finding strongly'supports thepositive effect of personalized counseling based ontest results given to new students who enrolled inreading skills courses in spring 1973 (Hypothesis B).Hypothesis A, that students who enrolled in readingskills courses as a result,of personalized counsel-ing based on test results would enroll in readingskills courses at a higher rate than students notgiven such treatment, was rejected. Using a chi-
square (X ) 2 x 2 contingency table, the hypothesiswas null. Hypothesis C, that students who enrolledin reading skills courses as a result of personal-ized counseling based on test results would exper-ience a higher rate of success than students notgiven such treatment was also rejected - on the ba-sis of a t-test. However, even though hypothesis CWAR null, there was a positive grade difference of
.41 on a 4.0 scale (a low B grade for students,spring 1973; a C grade for students, spring 1972).
INTRODUCTION
AContext of the Problem
In spring 1973, the orientation program for in-coming students to
Sacramento City College included two new aspects: (1) a Standardized
English skills placement test (Educational Skills Test - Form A, College
Edition, McCraw-Bill. 1971); and (2) a personal planning interview with a
counselor at which the results of the test were interpreted.
6
The test was used to provide counselors with some basis for making
scheduling recommendations to students, particularly for English courses.
Since the test was standardized and had established two year college norms,
counselors could advise students whether they were ready for Freshman English
or whether they should take one of the remedial English courses. Further-
more, since each student's performance on the test was rated and interpreted
by a counselor during a personal interview immediately following the test,
the student received "feedback" prior to registration, at a time when he
could make some sound decisions about courses.
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study is to determine whether the pre-enrollment
personalized counseling based on the results of the Educational Skills Test
given tc new students had a positive effect on the enrollment, attrition,
and successful completion of reading skills courses when compared with pre-
enrollment group counseling with no test basis given to new students.
Review of Literature
A review of related literature showed that intensified counseling has
an effect on student's performance in public junior colleges. A study by
Moughamean (1969), for example, revealed that intensified counseling did
significantly increase toe graduation rate of students in public junior
colleges. Brown (1955) also found significant differences when counseled
and uncounseled students were compared. That students complain about lack
of assistance from counselors in working through their academic motivational
problems was substantiated by a study done by Kneoll and Medsker (1965).
7
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Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated:
(a) Ss who enrolled in reading skills courses as a result of
personalizedcounseling based on test results will enroll in reading skills
courses at a higher rate than Ss not given th treatment;
(b) Ss who enrolled in reading _lls courses as a result of
personalized counseling based on test results will experience a lower rate
of attrition than Ss not given such treatment;
(c) Ss who enrolled in reading skills courses as a result of
personalized counseling based on test results will experience a higher rate
of success than Ss not given such treatment.
RationaltLatatittERVIREM
The rationale was that students, having evidence of reading deficiency
(test results) and having been made aware of it in a personal interview with
a counselor where their tests were scored, interpreted, and compared with
national junior college norms, would want to remedy this deficiency in order
to succeed in English and other college courses. Therefore, it was expected
that they would enroll in the reading skills courses in greater numbers.
Furthermore, if they took the reading skills courses of their own volition,
they would stay in the courses and would complete them successfully (grade of
C or higher). Tuckman (Interchange, 1973) cited Pascal's study showing that
student attitudes were more positive when the choice was left to them and it
was substantiated for this study that there was little or no effort on the
part of the counselors to pressure students into reading skills courses.
01.22Iiisisnal Definitions of the Variables
Educational Skills Test - Form A, College Edition, McCraw-Hill, 1971 with
two-year college norms.
--8-
Personalied Counseling - The process in which a new student was even the
opportunity to see a counselor on a one-to-one basis to discuss his goals and
to plan his semester program.
Croup Co - The process in which new students met with one counselor
in groups of ten for orientation purposes.
New Students - students who had not attended college previously and who were
enrolling in Sacramento City College for the first time.
Enrollment - The students identified from college records and instructors'
grade sheets as new students enrolled in the reading skills courses.
Attrition - withdrawal prior to the final examination period in accordance
with college regulations.
Success - a final grade of "C" or better in a reading skills course.
ReaditillsCourse - English B (Basic Reading Skills) and English 71
(Developmental Reading).
Operational Re-Statement of the Hypotheses
Since the new students who enrolled in the reading skills courses in
spring 1973 had a personal interview prior to registration with a counselor
who interpreted the test results immediately following its completion, it was
expected that there would be an increase In the number of new students enrolled
in the reading skills courses when compared with spring 1972. It was also ex-
pected that attrition would he lower and the success rate would be higher when
compared with spring 1972.
Significance of the Study
It was hoped that this study would answer some of the questions which
teachers and counselors have about prescribed placement testing and the value
of a prescribed personal counseling session for new students during orientation.
Sacramento City College has committed its staff and resources to placement test-
inR and personal counseling. Have the results, therefore, merited the continuance
of the process? 9
-9-
METHOD
Subjects - Ss here two groups of new students attending a public "open door"
comprehensive community college who enrolled in the reading skills courses.
The group which enrolled in spring 1973 had taken a proscribed Educational
Skills Test and had a prescribed personal interview with a counselor imme-
diately following the completion of the test, for purposes of interpretation
and advising, prior to registration. The group which enrolled in spring 1972
had no prescribed test and no personal interview with a counselor prior to
enrollment. Both groups were searched out from college and instructors'
records and identified for this study as new students. Although the basis
for selection of the reading skills courses vas not the same for both groups,
it was known that both groups, once enrolled in the reading skills courses,
were given the Nelson-Denny Reading Test. Those scoring below the 35th per-
centile were assigned by the reading instructors to English B and those
scoring above the 35th percentile were assigned by the reading instructors
to English 71. Both groups then experienced the same reading program, the
same battery of pre and post progress tests, the same grading standards, the
same instructors, the same classroom environment (the reading laboratory)
and the same final examination.
Independent
Prescribed Placement Test with Prescribed Personal Interview with
Counselor. The experimental group enrolled in the reading skills courses
after the subjects had taken the prescribed Educational Skills Test and
10
-1.0-
after they had a prescribed personal interview with a counselor immediately
following the test. All of this group scored below the 50th percentile on
the Educational Skills Test (50th being the cut-off for college transfer
English courses as based on the national junior college norms for the test.)
Those scoring at the 25th percentile or below were advised to take English B
(Basic Reading Skills) and those scoring above the 25th percentile were ad-
vised to take English 71 (Developmental Reading), if they chose to take an
English course. The control group enroll, in the reading skills courses with
no test basis and no personal interview with a counselor. This group had
group counseling only, prior to registration.
Dependent Variable9
Enrollment - The dependent variable, higher rate of enrollment, was
determined by examining instructors' and college records to find out which
of the new students enrolled in the reading skills courses in spring 1972
and 1973. It was expected that the enrollment of the experimental group
would be hither.
Attrition - After final grade sheets were submitted by the instructors,
the attrition of the experimental group was compared with that of the control
group. It was expected that the attrition (withdrawal) of the experimental
group would be lower.
Success - After final grades were computed, the mean grade point of the
experimental group was determined and compared with the moan grade point of
the control group. It was expected that the mean C.P.A. of the experimental
group would be higher.
51.
Procedures
In spring 1973, the orientation program for in-coming students to
Sacramento City College included for the first time a standardized English
skills placement test. The students were told that the test was not to be
used to screen their admission to the college, but to give counselors some
basis for making scheduling recommendations, particularly for English courses,
prior to registration. Since the test was standardized and had established
two-year college norms, counselors would be in a position to advise students
whether they were ready for Freshman English or whether they should take one
of the remedial English courses. The test was given on five separate days
during the week set aside for orientation, the week prior to registrations,
and was administered to 726 students. It was conducted by one counselor, a
specialist in testing, assisted by four to five proctors, members of the
English department or the counseling staff. The test took one bout and fif-
teen minutes and consisted of five parts: three parts tested reading com-
prehension: one part tested understanding of mechanics of writing: one part
tested ability to organize and outline. On completion of the test, the
materials were collected by proctors and sent to the counseling center. The
students were then directed to the counseling center where appointments were
scheduled on an individual basis with counselors for scoring and interpretation.
Due to the "ex post fact" nature of this study, a true experimental
design was not possible. The design was rather a criterion design, C being
the type of counseling and X being the test and the interpretation of the
test, while 0 represented the dependent variables: enrollment, attrition,
and success.
4"1.?.1-A0
-12-
The study relied only on a criterion group design and it was obviously
limited. The procedural design of the study did not attempt to deal with
the cause and effect relationships in any great detail.
C X0,0,01 1 3 5
C 0 , 0 , 02 2 4 6
Data Analysis
A Chi-Square (X2) Test was used to analyze the variance between the
experiemental and the control groups on attrition and enrollment.
A t test was used to analyze the comparative success of the experimental
and the control groups.
1.3
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SUMMARY OF RESULTS
Hypothesis A
The hypothesis that Ss who enrolled in reading skills courses as a
result of personalized counseling based on test results will enroll in
reading skills courses at a higher rate than Ss not given such treatment
was tested using a chi square (X1), 2 x 2 contingency table (two independent
samples). The X2value 1.11 (two-tailed test) led to the conclusion that
there was little or no relationship between counseling based on test results
and increased enrollment of new students in the reading skills courses when
compared with a group not given personalized counseling based on test results.
The analysis is shown in Table A1.
Spring 197
Spring 197
TABLE Al
Hypothesis A
Total Enrollment in Enrollment of New StudentsReading Skills Courses in Reading Skills Courses
520 B 69
498 D 55
A + C = 1018 B + D m 124
A + B = 589
C + D = 553
N = 1142
1.11, 0.20 (df=1) - No Statistical Significance
Steps to determine X2
(Chi Square):
1. (A+B) (C+D) (A+C) (B+D) = 41, 115, 908, 344
2. A x D = 28,600
3. B x C = 34,362
4. Step 2 - Step 3 = -5762
5. Step 4 N = 6333
5)26. (Step 5) = 40,106,889
7. N x Step 6 = 45,802,067,238
8. Step 7-:- Step 1 = X2 = 1.11
df =1
p .20 . (Tuckman, Appendix B, Table VII, p. 370).
1.5
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ENROLLMENT IN READING SKILLS-CLASSES.--1--- 1--4---;-L : 4 1. ,
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Hypothesis B
The hypothesis that Sswho enrolled in reading skills courses as a
result of personalized counseling based on test results will ,experience a lower
rate of attrition than.Ssnot given such treatment was tested using a chi-
square (X?), 2 x 2 contingency table (two independent samples). The YF
value of 5.62 and its corresponding p value<.02, df=1 (two-tailed test)
leads to the conclusion that students who enrolled in reading skills courses
as a result of personalized counsling based on test results did experience a
significantly lower rate of attrition than students who were not given such
treatment. The analysis is shown in Table B1.
1.7
TABLE B1
Hypothesis B
New Student Enrollment New Student Attrition
Spring 1973A
Spring 197
69 C 6
55 D 14
A + B = 124
= 5.62, p<.02 (df=1)
Steps to determineX2
(Chi Square):
C + D = 20
1. (A+B) C+D) (A+C) (B+D) = 12,834;000
2. A x D = 966
3. B x C = 330
4. Step 2 - Step 3 = 636
5. Step 4 - N = 564
5)26. (Step 5)i = 501,264
7. N x Step 6 = 72,193,616
8. Step Step 1 = X.2 = 5.62
df = 1
p = G02 (Tuckman, Appendix B, Table VII, p. 378)
1.8
A+ B = 75
C + D = 69
N12144
,.. Jr- TABLE ...82 ! - 1-1
-7 HYPOTHES I S B ..ATTRITIODT . -4 --L.' 1. ,
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-15
Hypothesis C
The hypothesis that Ss who enrolled in reading skills courses as a
result of personalized counseling based on test results will experience a
higher rate of success than Ss not given such treatment proved to have no
statistical significance when a t-test was run. The analysis is shown on
Table C1, followed by a graph, Table C2.
Steps to determine t-Test value:
Crou
NS 63
E 201
11x2= 40401
41
114
12996
3.19 2.78
t = .09, df = 102 - No Statistical Significance
1. Group Variances
S2= 641.28
S2
= 316.97
2. t- -value
1.
2.
3. (Step 1 x Step 2) = 20.56
(N1-1) S
2 + (N2-1)-1)1
S2 = 514.09
N1+ N
2-2
N + N.1 4 .04
N1N2
.20
-16- Ii
ii
4. %/Step 3 = 4.34
5. X1 - X2 = .41
6. t = It...9.2.1 = .09Step 4
df = N1 + N2 - 2 = 102
TABLE Cl
Spring 1972 A(55 newstudents)
D F Withdrawal X
23 14 2.78
Spring 1973ABCD Withdrawal X
(69 newstudents) 28 23 6 319
Although the reading program, grading procedures, and instructors were
the same, it is interesting to note the difference in the number of A grades
when spring 73 is compared with spring 72. (See Table C1) Furthermore, the
rate of achievement for new students in Spring 1973, although it is not
significantly different in terms of the t-value, the,,41.mean difference is
one grade higher than in 1972, B for 1973 and C for 1972. (See Table C2),
A s
F3's
. C's
D's
F's
.
1
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TABLE g2
4 DISTRY" JT ION OF GRADES
.1 . - ; ;
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The fact that Hypotheses A and C--the enrollment and achievement of
new students in the reading skills courses as a result of personalized
counseling based on test results--proved to be of no significance statistically
may be attributed to: (a) the majority of the students tested who were not
eligible for English lA (73.29 percent) did not take an English course; (b)
many of these students did not enroll in any course.
Since Hypothesis B--that the rate of attrition of new students who en-
rolled in the reading st-111 courses as a result of personalized counseling
based on test results--proved true statistically may be evidence enough to
support the continuance of placement testing followed by a personal interview
with a counselor based on test results, at least until further studies are/11.done using either the same design witl2212Lrket:Emi over a longer period
of time or using a true experimental design and randomization.10
The study, besides providing information to the writers who represent
instruction, Administration, and counseling, as well as to the English depart-
ment and counseling staff, is one of the very few follow-up studies done at
Sacramento City College addressing the problem of placement testing and
counseling and its subsequent effects on students.
Discussion
The findings in this experiment have led to the following conclusions:
1. Contrary to what was hypothesized, personalized counseling based on
test results had little or no effect on the total student enrolment in the
reading, skills courses.
2. As hypothesized, personalized counseling based on test results had
a significant positive effect on the attrition of new students enrolled in
the reading skills courses.
3. Contrary to what was hypothesized, personalized counseling based
on test results had no significant statistical effect on the achieviment
(grade point average) of new studenteenrolled In the reading skills courses.
Despite the fact that hypothesis A and C proved to be null, the study con-
tradicted the report by Bossone (1966) that 40-60 percent of those students
who enrolled in remedial English classes in California public junior colleges
earned a grade of D or F. Of the 69 new students who enrolled in the reading
skills courses in spring 1973 only 2 received a grade of D and only 1 re-
ceived a grade of F. In like manner, of the 55 new students who enrolled in
the reading skills courses in spring 1972, only 1 received a grade of D and 3
received a grade of F. (See Table 5.)
4. The study of prescribed uew student orientation based on test results
should be continued and conducted over a longer period of time. The design
of this study will be continued with new students in fall 1973, and spring
1974. These two groups will provide a much larger group and the basis for
conclusions will have a broader implication.
Bibliography
Bossone, Richard N. "Remedial English Instruction in California Public
Junior Colleges: An Analysis and Evaluation of Current Practices".(Sacramento: California State Department of Education, 1966), 22.
Brown, William F. "Student To Student Counseling for Academic Adjustment".Personnel and Cuidance Journal (1955), 17.
Clark, Robert M. "California Community College Testing Survey". (State
Center Community College District, Reedley College, May 1, 1973), 1.
Knoell, Dorothy M. and Leland L. Medsker. "From Junior College To Senior
College". A National Study of the Transfer Student. (American Council
on Education, 1965), 42.
Moughamean, Henry. "The Effects of an Intensified Counseling Program onSophomore Junior College Students". (U. S. Department of Health, Educa-
tion, and Welfare, Office of Education, Bureau of Research, 1969), 3.
Tuckman, Bruce W. "Personality Structure, Instructional Outcomes, and Pre-
ferences". Incnolimm (1973), 1.
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