SACS Reaffirmation
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Assessment : 2007 - 2008 : Educational Programs :
English BA
4 Goals 4 Objectives 3 Indicators 3 Criteria 3 Findings 4 Actions
GOAL: Literature And Literary Theory
| Objective | Reading Literature Critically | |
| Each upper-division literature class incorporates discussion of critical approaches and methodologies, and students will be able to use various of the approaches and methodologies presented in analyzing literary texts. Associated Goals: Literature And Literary Theory |
| Indicator | Writing Assessment We will collect writing samples of English majors from various upper-division courses each semester. |
| Criteria | Assessment of Writing Skills  Writing samples will be assessed by a holistic scoring done by Department of English faculty. At least 75 percent of the essays scored will be rated as acceptable or excellent. |
| Finding | Writing Skills Assessment The holistic scoring session was completed, with 89 percent of the essays read certified as being acceptable or excellent. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | Reading Critically Students improved their performance on the essay; thus, we will continue to discuss ways to improve teaching critical reading to students. |
GOAL: Prepared For Graduate Studies
| Objective | Graduate Study | |
| Students will be prepared to enter graduate studies after completing the BA in English. Associated Goals: Prepared For Graduate Studies |
| Indicator | Preparation For Graduate Study In English English majors who wish to pursue graduate study in English will be prepared to do so. |
| Criteria | Admission to Graduate Study At least one English student earning the B.A. at SHSU will be admitted to graduate study annually. |
| Finding | Admission to Graduate Study Sixteen of our English majors were admitted to graduate study in the SHSU English M.A. program; one of our English majors was admitted to doctoral study at Purdue University. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | Graduate Study in English Because we exceeded our goal and saw students admitted not only to our M.A. program but also to a Ph.D. program at Purdue University, we will continue our efforts at preparing our undergraduate majors for graduate study. |
GOAL: Secondary English Education Certification
| Objective | Secondary English Certification Validation | |
| Students seeking teacher certification will be able to pass the English content area portion of the TExES exam (a certification test administered by the Texas Education Agency). Associated Goals: Secondary English Education Certification |
| Indicator | English Content Area TExES Preparation Secondary English Education students will be prepared to pass the TExES English content area exam in their final semester or shortly after graduating. |
| Criteria | TExES Scores At least 75 percent of students taking the TExES English content area exam will pass. (Note: scoring of the TExES results in a “pass” or “not passed” designation.) |
| Finding | TExES Results 82.6 percent of students seeking certification in Secondary English Education passed the TExES English content area exam during AY 07-08. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | TExES Assessment We met our goal of a 75 percent pass rate. However, the pass rate for AY 07-08 fell to 82.6 percent (from 96 percent in AY 06-07). We will examine our preparation of students for this exam and seek to strengthen those efforts. |
GOAL: Writing In The Profession
| Objective | Writing About Literature | |
| Students will demonstrate the ability to interpret texts by communicating their understanding of those texts in analytical essays. Associated Goals: Writing In The Profession |
| Indicator | Writing Assessment We will collect writing samples of English majors from various upper-division courses each semester. |
| Criteria | Assessment of Writing Skills Writing samples will be assessed by a holistic scoring done by Department of English faculty. At least 75 percent of the essays scored will be rated as acceptable or excellent. |
| Finding | Writing Skills Assessment The holistic scoring session was completed, with 89 percent of the essays read certified as being acceptable or excellent. |
Actions for Objective:
| Action | Writing Skills Assessment We met our initial goal and saw an increase in the pass rate from 78.6 percent in AY 06-07 to 89 percent in AY 07-08. In the effort to increase the pass rate for next year, we will continue discussion of writing in literature classes. |