REGENTS REPORT 

Proficiency Exam Results

In Spring 1998 rising juniors (second semester sophomores) at the six regental universities took the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) exam designed to measure gains in academic achievement. CAAP, developed by American College Testing Inc., is compatible with the high school ACT exam used by colleges and universities to assess readiness to perform college level work. The CAAP exam compares the achievement of students with similar ACT scores. The examination had four goals.

• To determine the value our public universities add to a student’s education.
• To compare the progress of South Dakota students to national norms.
• To provide individual students with an assessment of their progress.
• To compile information for faculty to use in analysis and improvement of curriculum.

Participation High in 1998

A total of 1,942 students were eligible to take the exam. The number tested during a two-week period in April was 1,848, which demonstrates a very high level of participation by students. Most of the students who did not take the exam indicated that they were transferring to non-regental institutions. Exceptions were granted to students who participated in the pilot exams in 1996 and 1997. Students granted deferments will take the exam in the fall.

SD Students Exceed National Norms

Exam results were compared to the national norms. In all four testing areas (writing, mathematics, reading and science reasoning) South Dakota students tested higher than the national norms. The norms were developed as a result of compiling scores for a three-year period using a reference group of more than 43,000 students attending over 100 universities nation-wide. So, in effect, the scores of South Dakota students were compared to over 120,000 scores.

The results of the CAAP exam do not compare institutions, but rather compare students who have similar initial ACT scores. To arrive at percentage gains in achievement by South Dakota students, the ACT scores of entering freshmen at each South Dakota university are compared to their scores on CAAP. The percentage gains in acheivement by South Dakota students are then compared to gains by students with similar ACT scores attending other universities. The CAAP exam included four academic areas: writing, reading, mathematics, and science reasoning. To interpret the value added to education, the student scores were differentiated into categories ranging from higher than expected gains to lower than expected gains.

As the chart shows, out of the 1,848 students taking the CAAP exam only 187 required remediation. These 187 students will receive additional instruction and be retested. Every student must receive a satisfactory score on each of the four parts of the proficiency exam before he or she will be allowed to graduate. Each campus has specified individuals to be responsible for coordinating remediation plans and activities. Of the students requiring remediation 139 required it in one subject area, 44 in two subject areas and three students required remediation in three subject areas. It should be noted that only one student requires remediation in all four subject areas.

The CAAP exam was initiated to determine the value added to the education of students through the general education curriculum. Results of the testing showed that the value added to education at South Dakota universities exceeded national averages.