Professional Day, Manchester Community College, October 16, 2009

 Background  Implementation process  Activity levels  Lessons learned

 Admissions, Retention, and Counseling implemented the use of KeyTrain as a pre- Accuplacer tutorial last semester.  To launch KeyTrain, we introduced it at New Student Workshops and asked students for their interest in using KeyTrain.  More than 950 students requested access to KeyTrain.

 To heighten student awareness of the impact of the Accuplacer exams.  To assess student readiness in math, English.  To increase familiarity and comfort with testing.  To provide students with test-prep in math and English before taking Accuplacer.  (We all know students realize the significance of their scores – after the fact – when they learn of placements into MAT 075/095 or ENG 094/100.)

Top Five things you need to know: 1. It’s Free. 2. It’s mainly multiple choice, taken on a computer. 3. It’s not timed. 4. You can’t fail. 5. You can prepare for it.

 Free, self-paced, online assessment and tutorials for Math & Reading.  Spend as little or as much time as you want doing tutorials.  You get out of it what you put into it.  No risk, nothing to lose.

 KeyTrain is provided to the college through an allied health community college grant administered through central administration.  We have a total of three free years and unlimited student access.

 956 students received accounts.  422 Math Pretests taken.  297 Reading Pretests taken.  158 section quizzes attempted in math; 82 were passed.  159 section quizzes attempted in reading; 50 were passed.

Math Pretest # attempts422 Average score4.2 Math Activity Overview Total: 306 Students Hours Logged: 885/2.9av. Reading Pretest # attempts297 Average score4.2 Reading Activity Overview Total: 270 Students Hours Logged: 402/1.5av.

 Sampled ±20% of completed scores.  There is a correlation between KeyTrain scores and Accuplacer scores.  That correlation is not precise; but allows some predictive basis.  Students are motivated to prepare.  If we build it, they will come!