Curriculum evaluation

The purpose of the study was to measure the effects of a Community Language Learning/Comprehension Processing Strategies Model of reading instruction on the acquisition of English reading comprehension skills in Level 1 limited English-proficient students. The study was conducted in a high school English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program in Palm Beach County, Florida. A total of 58 students took part. The study compared the English language reading comprehension skills of students taught by traditional ESOL strategies with those taught by a Community Language Learning/Comprehension Processing Strategies Model. Results were measured by the IDEA IPT Reading/Writing Test, Level 3. A summary of the data gathered in the study indicated that Level 1 LEP students could significantly increase their English language reading comprehension through the use of the same comprehension processing strategies taught to native English-speaking students. A slightly better result was obtained when these comprehension processing strategies were taught in conjunction with Community Language Learning strategies. The results of the study suggest the need for further investigation in this area in order to determine the best path of English reading instruction for LEP students.

Throughout the nation, many community college students arrive at the doors of public higher education without college-level skills. As the need for remediation over the years has grown, the controversy over who should be responsible for it---and whether it should be provided at all---has also grown. In Florida, more than 60 percent of all incoming college students must enroll in one or more remediation courses in the areas of reading, writing, or mathematics. Florida law requires students to take non-credit "College-Preparatory" classes if they score below mandated cut-off scores on state-approved placement tests. The central theory of this study is that ongoing, comprehensive and systematic evaluation that is effectively communicated and utilized in Florida's colleges can make a significant contribution to the College Preparatory program. While this study examines budgetary factors and student achievement rates, it focuses particularly on evaluation, the extent to which evaluation is being performed in the College Preparatory program, and how that evaluation throughout the state has changed over a five-year period. The study identifies four general areas of evaluation: (1) student-level evaluation, (2) program-level evaluation, (3) evaluation via communication in the organization and (4) utilization of evaluation in the organization. It analyzes the relationship between each area and the perceptions that faculty, administrators and staff have of remedial program success, and it distinguishes among faculty, administrator and staff perceptions of evaluation and preparatory program success. In the end, it is the synthesis of the four general areas of evaluation, along with input from its various stakeholders, which result in effects on remedial education.