Child and Adolescent Development Annual Assessment Report to the College 2016-2017

Abstract

The Child and Adolescent Development department 2016-17 annual assessment report to the College of Health and Human Development for the Office of Academic Assessment and Program Review. The report includes descriptions of the assessment activities conducted in both 2015-16 (collection of data and measurement) and 2016-17 (analysis and interpretation of 2015-16 data). Three major activities, involving both program and College SLOs, are described: an assessment of student competence in 1. Understanding Citations and Guidelines in Written Communication; 2. competence in Evidence Based Practice; and 3. Cultural Competencies. Students in CADV 150, 381, 350, & 352 (n=393) were given an APA Knowledge Survey to assess the first competence; while faculty in five sections of CADV 470 (a capstone course) and the CADV internship director filled out an Assessment of Evidence-based Practice Questionnaire to evaluate the second. Results for these two assessments indicate that: "Seventy-five percent or more of our students answered the basics of APA formatting correctly including items on: what font to use, that references should be listed in alphabetical order by author last name, that paraphrasing requires a citation, that in-text citations must match reference page citations, what to do to avoid plagiarism, and what the meaning of a running head is. However, students had difficulty with the application questions, that is, knowing how to use these APA guidelines in context. Students reported poor understanding in applying APA to quoting long sections of material, what information to report when paraphrasing a source, what information to give when using a direct quote, what information to cite in an in-text citation, and what is appropriate paraphrasing in a short passage. The percentage of correct responses ranged from 28-55 for these items"; and "that students have more difficulty applying the information they find to address a particular problem compared to their ability to simply identify a problem or find relevant empirically-based literature," while the internship director's evaluation indicated student weakness with respect to evidence-based practices. Assessment of student cultural competencies was conducted by the internship director via an Assessment of Cultural Competencies Survey, with the resulting conclusion "that CADV interns demonstrate some knowledge and awareness about being culturally competent with the families and children they serve," which is consistent with past years' assessments. Detailed result tables for all assessments are included in the report. Plans for 2017-18 will focus on increasing student success in CADV 150, a high DFU class, via multiple measures and activities.