Annual Assessment Reports by Colleges and Departments
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The Physics and Astronomy department 2015-16 annual assessment report to the College of Science and Mathematics for the Office of Academic Assessment and Program Review.
California State University, Northridge. Department of Physics and Astronomy
The department revised its PSLOs (included) and administered a national exit test in physics (ETS) to 15 seniors for direct assessment of revised SLOs 1 & 2.b. CSUN students scored above the national mean score (151.5/200 to 150.4/200), ranking in the 53rd percentile, an improvement over the 39th percentile in 2014-15. Thirteen of the same students also took the national gateway physics test in their junior year, ranking in the 44.7th percentile. Further analysis reveals that students who participated in a loop-closing Peer Learning Facilitators program (n=5) ranked in the 79th percentile on the national exit exam, while the remaining 10 scored in the 39th percentile, indicating that the PLF program is efficacious. A new research projects course designed to serve as a capstone course for the assessment of all PSLOs, PHYS 497, was developed and approved, closing the loop on past-years' assessment activities. In addition, a rubric (included) scored assessment of student presentations in PHYS 465 (experimental physics) is described, with results, generally scoring below 60% being described as "not satisfactory. New instruments for the assessment of PHYS are planned for development in AY 2016-17, as well as plans to make the ETS count towards student grades in PHYS 497 and the development of targets for the analysis of the ETS and junior-level gateway tests, are projected.
Description:
Describes the Physics and Astronomy department's assessment activities for academic year 2015-2016.