Are there ways to improve student performance on ACAT?

• Here are some suggestions that might contribute to improved scores.

  • Make sure the students understand what the test is for and why they are being asked to take it. We recommend the following published study for detailed information.

    • Huffman, L., Adamopoulos, A., Murdock, M., Cole, A, and McDermid, R. Strategies to Motivate Students for Program Assessment. Educational Assessment, 2011, 16(2), 90-103. (Link to study)

  • Some departments make departmental recognition of their top scoring students part of their individual honors day ceremony. Others make it part of the requirement to earn a special honors ribbon to wear on their regalia at graduation.

  • Anecdotal data suggests that when students understand that their professors recognize an exit test to be important and their performance to matter, scores improve.

  • Provide students with feedback on their performance. There are a number of ways to accomplish this with ACAT.

    • Departments can post scores using the report page listing them by student ID.

    • Using ACAT Online or ACAT-N, students can see their scores at the time they finish the test.

  • Evaluate the sequence in which students take courses. Often, materials studied early in the major are forgotten by graduation. If the material is critical to the discipline, are there other courses in which it can be referred to or related to the new material being presented? Would a senior project or capstone course help your students to refresh and consolidate their knowledge of the discipline?

  • Convey to students the importance of transferring knowledge and skills from one course to another within the department. This potentially can improve their retention of it to the end of the course of study.

Is a study guide available to help us prepare our students to take ACAT?

• The intent of ACAT is to determine how well students learn and recall the information taught in courses in the major prior to graduation. For that reason, we don’t offer any ancillary materials to help students prepare as we feel that would contaminate the measure and reduce its utility to departments using it for curriculum evaluation.