Reading Competencies: Practices & Issues

1. Reading Competencies: Practices & Issues Barbara Illowsky, De Anza College illowskybarbara@deanza.edu Dianne McKay, Mission College dianne_mckay@wvm.edu Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, Santa Monica College Tahvildaran_Richard@smc.edu

2. Resolution 9.08, Spring 2006 Resolved, That the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges research current practices and the need for reading competency systemwide to develop a position paper on this topic.

3. Outcomes:At the end of this session, we will: • know each other • understand various current practices across the state • grasp the issues involved in instituting a reading requirement • have developed survey questions

4. Agenda: • Introductory Questions (15 minutes) • Mission College Practices (10 minutes) • Santa Monica College Practices (10 minutes) • Issues discussion (15 minutes) • Issues report out (5 minutes) • Survey questions – develop (15 minutes) • Wrap up (5 minutes)

5. Introductory Questions • What is your interest in attending this session? • Does your college currently have a Reading Competency requirement for the associate degree? • Is your college thinking of adding a Reading Competency requirement for the associate degree?

6. Mission College Practices • Reading at Mission College is a separate department from English with its own courses. • Mission has a reading competency for graduation which can be achieved through either course work or proficiency testing.

7. Mission College Practices • Reading has a 3 course sequence to achieve the graduation competency: • READ 960: Reading Fundamentals: Instruction in word attack, vocabulary development and comprehension. • READ 961: Effective Reading: For students to correct or improve reading habits and skills including expanding vocabulary, improving comprehension and attaining an efficient reading rate.

8. Mission College Practices • READ 053: Speed and Critical Reading: (transferable to CSU) Enables students to reach their optimal reading speeds and to improve comprehension of collegiate and technical materials. • Completion of this course with a grade of “C” or better meets the graduation competency requirement.

9. Mission College Practices • Mission uses the Comprehensive Test of English Placement (Reading Comprehension) Test for placement with the following cut scores: • 6 – 12 correct: READ 960 • 13 – 19 correct: READ 961 (also ESL 970) • 20 – 26 correct: READ 053 • 27 – 35 correct: Reading Proficiency. Meets graduation requirement.

10. Santa Monica College Practices • Reading at SMC is embedded within a series of English course offerings. • SMC measures a student’s reading competency for graduation by her successful completion of English 1 (Reading & Compositions) paired with English 48 (Critical Study Reading, Speed Reading & Vocabulary)

11. Santa Monica College Practices • student access to an online Reading Lab • sequence of courses aimed at Reading Competency • courses are grouped as Levels C, B, & A • placement in a particular writing & reading class is based on the results of his/her English assessment

12. Santa Monica College Practices • SMC Reading Lab: http://homepage.smc.edu/reading_lab/

15. Issues discussion • What would be or were issues on your campus for instituting a reading competency requirement? • Break into groups

16. Issues report out • Pressure to eliminate reading competency • Faulty placement tools • Need tailored of curriculum for a variety of levels of students (rubrics) • Political issues/$$ • Lack of qualified Reading Specialists (esp. for adults) • Students’ unrealistic time frames for getting up to transfer level

17. (continued) • Prereqs. tend to lower class size • What classes to cancel • Student flight away • Attitudes regarding professional responsibility – ALL faculty teaching • Comfort level with status quo • May inhibit open access • Mission statement (not compatible)

18. Survey questions: • Does your college have a Reading Competency graduation requirement? Yes, subsumed in English writing course No Yes, separate from English writing course Not sure • If yes, what is the requirement? Reading Course Reading Placement/Proficiency Test Writing Course Writing Placement/Proficiency Test Other (describe)

19. Report out of survey questions: • Is reading a requirement at the transfer level or developmental level? • Do you have a Reading Across the Curric. Program? For transfer or for dev. Ed only? Are the courses taught by faculty or IA’s? • How many faculty teaching Reading have a reading specialty training?

20. (Continued) • How does the college comply with Title 5 requirements about Reading? How do you measure it? • Do you ADVISE or PLACE students? • Do you have a time by which they must take the class? • Do you have a reading test for matriculation?

21. (Continued) • How many reading/Eng levels do you have below English 1A? • Do you have reading pre-reqs for GE courses?

22. (Continued) • Does your college have an AA Reading requirement? • If yes, how many courses satisfy this req? • What are the courses? • Can students test out of the Reading req? • What test do you use? • What scores allow students to test out?

23. Next Steps • Basic Skills Committee of ASCCC will develop a survey. • Survey will, hopefully, be sent out in Spring 2009. • Results will be published. THANK YOU!!!