Placement Testing Services

Increase access to and revise administration of placement tests

Key Issues:

• Placement testing at one location on main campus with only three outreach centers providing limited services
• Service hours are convenient but other service to students department hours are not well coordinated with testing center
• Differentiation between practice and policy:
  policy: advising for students taking 6 or more credits and reading test only
  practice: advising for students taking 9 or more credits for their first term; reading test only, math & writing tests dependent on major
• Lane has not formalized a policy for the primary purposes of placement testing or how tests will be used
• Students are unable to identify distinction between testing for admission, placement in a course or program, or financial aid eligibility (i.e., ability to benefit)
• Placement test waiver procedures are not clearly communicated to services to students employees and instructional department employees
• Incompletely applied mechanisms for identifying high risk students and providing appropriate support
• Lane has not elected to use self-administered, non-proctored placement tests as a means for providing a self-service option

  CURRENT SITUATION:

  PEOPLE/ ORGANIZATION	CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORKFLOW	TECHNOLOGY	PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE	POLICIES/ PROCEDURES
  only a few individuals are authorized to administer placement tests information about placement testing requirements is not clearly communicated	admission application and placement test completion or waiver are needed for hold release prior to entry into class limited follow-through to ensure students receive advising or attend new student information session after testing results are received, particularly high-risk students	record of placement testing prior to completion of admission application not available on main student database paper and pencil testing, hand-scoring, and hand entering scores on database	service hours are not well coordinated with other services to students units	unclear policies and procedures concerning placement testing-releasing hold-registering sequence

  PROPOSED SOLUTION:

  PEOPLE/ ORGANIZATION	CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORKFLOW	TECHNOLOGY	PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE	POLICIES/ PROCEDURES
  identify more individuals who can administer placement tests regardless of location establish training program for all individuals who will administer placement tests establish a placement testing services team that is responsible for training and ensuring testing information (i.e. procedures, types of test available) is consistent	establish mechanism for identifying high-risk students and linking them with advisors	investigate providing an option on ClassLine to enable students to conditionally register for classes before testing with registration confirmation dependent on the test score build temporary file for students not on main student database develop program to support notification by testing to advising for follow-up, particularly for high-risk students place study guides on web explore feasibility of using computer and/or scanner to administer, score, or report results or transfer scores to database	expand service hours coordinate service hours with SF!Ctr. Team locate testing close to SF! Ctr. expand testing services at outreach centers and community learning centers	sponsors develop and create testing philosophy and present to Executive Leadership Team for endorsement adopt philosophy concerning purpose of testing establish and publicize clear and consistent procedures regarding testing requirements and waivers examine feasibility of providing self-administered tests and how they would be used