Assessment: ETS Area Test

1. The first class that took this test, the class of 1996, was probably one of the strongest classes in recent history.
2. The Computer Science area test is not a very appropriate test for Computer Information System majors. This is born out by the disparity in the average grades for CS majors versus CIS majors.
3. The test has not been consistently applied from year to year. The majority of students in a class took the test only in 1996, 1999, 2001, and 2003.

The table, below, presents the basic information obtained from the ETS area test.

				Percentile
Year	CS	CIS	Total	CS	CIS	Total
1996	9	9	18	99%	43%	91%
1997	4	2	6	-	-	77%
1998	2	7	9	-	-	31%
1999	13	7	20	84%	13%	61%
2000	4	1	5	-	-	43%
2001	11	9	20	43%	8%	25%
2003	10	8	18	79%	29%	46%

Instead of attempting to interpret the information directly, we present the following observations:

• The Class of '96 presents a paradigm which should viewed as a potential target for all other classes.
• The incomplete data makes it difficult to determine with any degree of certitude what issues should be addressed to improve the results.
• During the 2000-2001 academic year two changes were put into place that may improve the results:
  1. An object-oriented programming language was adopted for use in the core courses.
  2. Changes were made in the CIS curriculum with a focus towards accrediting CIS during during our next accreditation cycle (2005-2006).
• The results for the Class of '03 are heading in the right direction, but addition improvement would be desirable for CIS majors.
• Reasonable targets for the CS and CIS percentages should be 75% and 35%, respectively.