Lowest Level Reading Placement Policy 2016 January

Team Members Vikki Cooper – Director of Developmental Education Sophia Ward Brewer- Serials and Collection Development Librarian Jan Chapman-Associate Professor English Shanna Goff-Developmental Math Coordinator Andrea Hayes- Coordinator of MA 108 Domingo Hernandez-Gomez- Associate Director of the College Success Program Sandra Lancaster- Coordinator of PY 100 Tari Mattox-Assistant Professor Geology Christina McElwee- Reading Coordinator Sheryl York-Developmental English Coordinator

Issue There continues to be a downward trend in success rates for our lowest level developmental students. Students who take the Accuplacer Reading Assessment and score below our lowest level developmental courses are enrolling in courses and are not prepared to succeed.

Attempted Interventions InterventionBenefitsChallenges Literacy Empowerment: Students reading below required placement level were paired with a mentor who read with them once or twice a week. Students created meaningful relationships with faculty and staff college wide. Inconsistent attendance from students Focused only on fluency No intense reading remediation Difficult to manage student, faculty and staff scheduling. RD 095 Reading for College Success The purpose of this course is vocabulary building and strengthening the reading process. Students review and reinforce skills that are necessary for college reading success through a structured reading workshop approach. Students spent six hours a week on reading and writing. A Success Coach was assigned to each class. Students were able to practice challenging reading material in incremental stages. Small class size allowed individual instruction. Reading scores were extremely low with little chance of moving to college level in three semesters. Overall low student success rates in every section offered. Six credit hour course used a large portion of financial aid.

Benchmarking Community CollegeTesting Instrument Lowest Level Reading Score Cut Score?Referral Delta CollegeCompass35 (Accu-28)YesReferred to college Bridge Program for remediation Henry Ford Community College Compass51 (Accu-34)YesReferred to Literacy Center or Adult Basic Ed. Jackson CollegeAccuplacer32YesReferred to Center for Student Success Kalamazoo Valley Community College Compass52 (Accu-35)YesSee Counselor Lansing Community College Accuplacer36YesReferred to Center for Transitional Learning students retest, if no improvement, they take a Foundations for Success Course. There is a $25.00 fee. Washtenaw Community College Compass53 (Accu-36)YesReferred to Washtenaw Literacy Center Community College of Baltimore County Accuplacer38YesReferred to Director of Dev. Ed., take alternate assessment. If no improvement referred to ABE or area literacy center. Valencia College (Florida)PERT (State Assessment) 59 or LessNoStudents take lowest level developmental reading course.

Issues for AGC to Consider: We would like to seek an academic policy that will support our lower level readers. Consider implementing a policy that would require applicants to GRCC who are reading at less than 7.3 grade level, as measured by the reading placement test, will be referred to campus and/or community resources to remediate prior to being admitted to credit course work. Applicants with documented reading disabilities may be permitted to waive this requirement in conjunction with Disability Support Services.

Possible Solutions Create an Indicator for Secondary Assessment for this group of students. A 32 triggers multiple measures. If student’s reading level is below 32 refer them to the Literacy Center of West Michigan.

Next Steps: Present this information to your department. Contact Vikki Cooper by January 22 nd with clarifications, concerns or questions.