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University of Houston: Online Writing Assessment Enables Effective, Efficient Testing
12/30/2002
In keeping with the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP)—an instructional program designed to ensure that students attending public institutions in Texas have the academic skills necessary to perform effectively in college-level work—Texas universities must evaluate the reading, mathematics, and writing skills of each student entering public colleges and universities. With over 4,000 incoming freshman each year, many of whom have never taken the SATs, the University of Houston faced a daunting task.
The University of Houston needed to assess each student's writing ability for proper placement in English classes. This required students sit for a five-hour test, which included an essay portion, and then wait six weeks to receive their scores because the tests were sent to a central scoring office, and the results mailed back. The slowness of the entire process resulted in the University of Houston counselors meeting several times with each student. This was time-consuming and left the counselors with less time to address other academic needs of the incoming students.
"We clearly needed a faster way to conduct the writing assessments, as well as immediate feedback on each [test]," explains Gary Greer, director of academic counseling at the University of Houston.
Even more important, the University of Houston needed a way not just to assess incoming students' writing abilities at the beginning of their freshman year, but also later in their academic careers. To meet requirements for graduation at the university, students must be able to pass the Junior Writing Proficiency Exam, in which they must demonstrate they can write at the level of a college junior or senior. With an emphasis on focus, clarity, and grammar, this test ensures that students cannot move on academically until they have mastered the appropriate writing skills for their current class year. At the University of Houston's University College, which Greer calls "the home of all undeclared majors," students must take and pass the exam before they are allowed to officially declare a major and move forward in their studies.
Efficiency with AI
The University of Houston found a solution in ACCUPLACER's WritePlacer Plus
Online tool. Based on Vantage Learning's IntelliMetric engine, it uses a rich
blend of artificial intelligence (AI) and the digitization of human expertise
to accurately score and assess a student's competency in subjects ranging from
reading and writing, to science and social studies.
WritePlacer Plus Online provides a direct measure of a student's writing skills and is offered as part of the ACCUPLACER Program. With this test, a student writes an essay in response to a specific prompt. WriterPlacer Plus Online features electronic scoring, which allows the college staffers to administer a writing assessment using any modern Web-browser-equipped computer connected to the Internet—with no software to load. The student's response is scored electronically using the IntelliMetric System, a platform that utilizes AI to score writing samples and open-ended responses. Scores are returned within seconds, allowing the university to incorporate WritePlacer Plus Online scores into branching profiles and placement rules.
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