This session will introduce the Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (see demo.daacs.net), an open source formative assessment developed as an alternative to tradition placement exams that measures self-regulated learning, reading, mathematics, and writing. Results from a pilot study conducted at two large online institutions will be discussed.
Supporting students’ success in college by identifying and addressing their academic preparedness is one of the biggest challenges facing higher education. Most institutions address this issue in two steps: (1) administer a placement exam that assesses only reading, writing, and mathematics; and (2) place students in a remediation program if they do poorly on the exams. This approach has been shown to be ineffective: Placement exams fail to accurately predict success, and remediation programs hinder progress toward a degree, since the majority of students drop out of non-credit courses that operate in isolation from the requirements of their programs of study (Belfield & Crosta, 2012; Scott-Clayton, 2012).
This paper reports research on an alternative approach to identifying and addressing academic preparedness: The Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills (DAACS). DAACS is a no-stakes, diagnostic assessment of students’ skills in self-regulated learning (SRL), reading, writing, and mathematics (see demo.daacs.net). In addition to assessing students’ writing abilities, the writing assessment serves as an intervention in SRL by having students reflect on their SRL results and identify strategies they will need to be successful in college.
Students who complete the DAACS receive immediate feedback, along with links to open educational resources (OERs). The OERs include an online writing lab, a new SRL lab, and online reading and mathematics tutorials. After taking the DAACS during the orientation, new students are invited to use the OERs to increase the likelihood of success in school.
A randomized control trial was conducted at two online educational colleges (n = 16,455) to address two research questions: 1) Are there effects of the DAACS on students’ credit acquisition, retention, and academic achievement? 2) Does the inclusion of DAACS in predictive models increases accuracy of the models? Approximately half of newly enrolled students completed the DAACS as part of their orientation. This paper will provide a brief overview of the evidence of validity and reliability for the SRL survey and writing assessment, and report on the results of statistical analyses. Regression analyses indicate that SRL scores are a statistically significant predictor of student completion of their first term. Moreover, the inclusion of DAACS in predictive models increases accuracy of the models by at least 5%. Although there was no statistically significant difference in academic performance between the treatment and control groups, analysis of the relationship between students’ use of the OERs, along with performance on the SRL assessment, provide opportunities for more tailored interventions. Because interviews suggest that students and academic advisors tend to value the DAACS, new interventions will be tested in the fall.
This study suggests there is benefit in including SRL assessments in the enrollment process in order to provide students and advisors with a more comprehensive view of college readiness, including students’ attitudes about and approaches to learning. The DAACS provides a free, open source assessment of SRL that can be used to not only diagnose but support the development of this neglected foundation for academic success.