How Are Writing Intensive Courses Affecting Students?:
What the Grade Records Have to Say
General College
Office of Research and Evaluation Report
October 5, 2000
Send any comments or questions to: hatf0016@tc.umn.edu
There has been some discussion in General College regarding whether or not the number of Writing Intensive courses taken in a term is negatively related to students' GPA in that term. Should students be recommended away from taking several writing intensive courses within one term? What follows are results from analyses conducted in order to address this question.
In order to shed some light on this question, the relationship between term grades and the number of Writing Intensive (WI) courses taken in the term was examined from a variety of angles. Registration data were pulled for General College (GC) students in Fall 1999 and Spring 2000 semesters, and for all other Twin Cities undergraduate students in the Fall 1999 semester. For each student the following information was obtained for use in the analyses: term GPA, term credits, class (i.e. freshman, sophomore.), ACT English score, and total number of WI courses taken for the term. Because most of the analyses were focused on Freshman, grades in High School English classes were sought out for the Fall 1999 NHS students, but were not available for that particular cohort (due to the transition from one University reporting database to another which occurred that year in conjunction with the University's conversion to the Peoplesoft system.). For the GC group, it was also determined whether students had taken 1421/1421, and this information (along w/ 1421-22 grade) was used in some analyses. A WI GPA and non WI GPA were also created so that performance in WI courses could be compared with performance in non WI courses. These "GPA's" were calculated in the same manner as term GPA (i.e. total number of grade points divided by total number of credits), but are different than an official term GPA in that courses taken on the S/N grading basis and 0-level math courses were also included in the calculations. All 'S' grades were hence recoded into C's and all 'N' grades recoded into F's. Some may find fault with this, in that one cannot know the true caliber of work represented by an 'S', and hence recoding all S's and C's could introduce some degree of "error" into these bifurcated GPA's. However, I felt that it was important to factor in all work that students had done in the term. The rate at which students took courses on the S/N grading basis was very small and so the "error" introduced would seem to be negligible. For the scope of data included in the analyses, only approximately 1% of WI courses and 2% of non-WI courses were taken on the S/N grading basis.
Unless otherwise noted in the results, analyses focused on GC and CLA Freshman and Sophomore level students who were taking over 10 credits for the term. Analyses were very exploratory in nature, and due to the large number of tabulations, as well as problems with very unbalanced sample sizes and violation of parametric data analysis assumptions, few tests of statistical significance were conducted. In some analyses, ACT English and AAR scores were examined to shed light on group differences in pre-college preparation. But, Analyses of Covariance were deemed inappropriate due to the very unbalanced group sizes which were present in the data. In general, there was little indication that ACT English score uniquely relates to WI course performance: ACT English related to WI GPA to the same degree as non-WI GPA. This might be expected, since ACT English measures mainly skill at the "mechanics" of writing rather than skill at using writing as a form of "expression". Presumably, grades in WI courses are still based on mastery of course content, rather than mastery of writing skill.
One must also keep in mind the fact that it was not possible to control for the "variety" in WI courses taken by students. At the end of the report are some tables with frequency distributions for WI courses taken by GC students in these analyses. It cannot be assumed that every student was exposed to the same type of Writing Intensive experience: Presumably, there is (possibly great) variation in the way that writing is implemented into the curriculum in the various WI courses. Hence a comparison between students' performance in WI courses is, to some degree, confounded by this variety in exposure. (but, this same premise applies to comparisons of college term GPA's as well).
Relationship Between Grades, Persistence, and Number of WI Courses Taken; Relationship Between Grades and Number of WI Courses Taken Which Were in GC; Relationship Between 1421/1422 and WI Course Performance; and Relationship Between ESL Status and Performance in WI Courses. In each section, the scope of the data involved is presented. The report closes with a conclusion section in which recommendations are made for further research on the topic.
Statistics for GC and CLA Freshman Level Students
Data in the tables that follow are based on GC and CLA Freshman level students who carried more than 10 credits for the term. Students were organized into 3 groups according to the number of WI courses taken in the term: students taking no WI courses. students taking one WI course, and students taking 2-3 WI courses. These groups were then divided into "persisters" (students who registered for the next term), and "non-persisters" (students who did not register for classes in the next term). These six groups were then compared in terms of their term grades.
In general, number of WI courses taken does not relate to persistence. Students taking no WI courses are just as likely to register again for the next term as are students who took two or more WI courses.
Proportion of GC Freshman Level Students Retained In Spring by Number of WI courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Proportion Total N
retained in Spring
no WI courses .89 670
one WI course .89 393
two or more WI courses .85 95
*10 students took 3 WI courses in the term
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Proportion of CLA Freshman Level Students Retained In Spring by Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Proportion Total N
retained in Spring
No WI courses .92 1276
one WI course .93 1535
two or more WI courses* .94 618
*68 students took 3 WI courses in the term
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However, GC non-persisters who took 2 or more WI courses tended to do less well in their courses than did non-persisters who took one WI course or no WI courses. This difference was not evident for CLA non-persisters.
When looking at GC students who persist into Spring 2000, there is little difference in term GPA between Fall students taking 2-3 WI courses (N=81, mean=2.66), and those taking no WI courses (N=594, mean=2.81) or one WI course (N=281, mean=2.76). This holds true for both performance in WI and non WI courses (see tables below). For some reason (probably at least partially attributable to AAR- see table below), the small group of GC "non-persisters" taking 2-3 WI courses in Fall had a significantly lower term GPA (N=14, mean=.44) than "non-persisters" who took no WI courses (N=76, mean=1.35) or one WI course (N=43, mean=1.39). When persistence was gauged by retention in Fall 2000, results were the same, except that the marked difference was no longer evident between "dropouts" who took 2-3 WI courses, and those who took no WI courses or one WI course.
The results pattern found for the Fall 1999 GC group seemed to fade for non-GC groups. When looking at Fall 1999 Freshman from ALL other units, again there was little difference in term GPA between Fall Freshman who persisted in Spring and took (in Fall) 2-3 WI courses (N=871, mean=2.96), and those who took no WI courses (N=1,841, mean=2.83) or one WI course (N=2,181, mean=2.90). But, there was also much less difference in term GPA between "non-persisters" who took 2-3 WI courses (N=46, mean=1.62), and "non-persisters" who took no WI courses (N=154, mean=2.03) or one WI course (N=141, mean=1.80). This same result holds true when looking only at CLA Freshman level students (see tables below), though the "non-persisters" who took 2-3 WI courses had a somewhat lower, albeit not statistically significant, non WI GPA.
Fall 1999 Non WI GPA For GC Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
no WI courses 1.32 1.21 N=76 2.75 .78 N=594
one WI course 1.40 1.24 N=43 2.73 .83 N=350
two or more WI courses .62 1.04 N=14 2.62 1.00 N=81
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Fall 1999 Non WI GPA For CLA Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI coursesF99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
no WI courses 1.87 1.18 N=108 2.68 .76 N=1168
one WI course 1.82 1.14 N=102 2.72 .77 N=1432
two or more WI courses 1.59 1.21 N=39 2.81 .81 N=573
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Fall 1999 WI GPA For GC Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
one WI course 1.31 1.45 N=41 2.74 1.02 N=348
two or more WI courses .32 .63 N=14 2.67 .91 N=81
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Fall 1999 WI GPA For CLA Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
one WI course 1.87 1.52 N=102 2.88 .89 N=1432
two or more WI courses 1.82 1.17 N=39 3.02 .71 N=573
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Note- some students in the above GPA tables were missing AAR, hence the different N's in the AAR and ACT English tables. But, mean GPA's for the subsets who had AAR and ACT English were not different that those in the tables above.
AAR Scores For GC Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
no WI courses 86.74 15.33 N=70 88.05 14.84 N=540
one WI course 82.47 17.45 N=36 88.91 14.68 N=318
two or more WI courses 81.46 10.20 N=13 90.26 13.31 N=74
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AAR Scores For CLA Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
No WI courses 120.13 15.38 N=84 124.44 16.31 N=997
one WI course 121.99 15.02 N=82 124.88 17.30 N=1218
two or more WI courses 121.60 18.41 N=30 128.04 16.46 N=499
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ACT English Scores For GC Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
no WI courses 19.40 4.21 N=70 18.66 4.17 N=539
one WI course 19.67 4.60 N=36 19.73 4.03 N=317
two or more WI courses 20.23 4.28 N=13 20.41 3.92 N=74
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ACT English Scores For CLA Freshman Level Students by Persistence to Spring 2000 and Number of WI Courses Taken in Fall 1999
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# WI courses F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
no WI courses 22.22 5.15 N=89 23.01 4.49 N=1047
one WI course 23.03 4.94 N=89 23.73 4.32 N=1295
two or more WI courses 22.39 4.93 N=38 24.41 4.41 N=526
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The Spring 2000 data for GC students did not yield the same pattern as was evident for GC students in the Fall. Again in Spring, there was no marked term GPA difference between Freshman who persisted into the next term (i.e. Fall 2000) and took (in Spring) 2-3 WI courses (N=52, mean=2.76), and those who took no WI courses (N=354, mean=2.75) or one WI course (N=244, mean=2.78). However, absent in the Spring data was the slight trend in Fall's data which suggested that, even for "persisting" students, those taking more WI courses tend, on average, to have a somewhat lower term GPA. In Spring, also missing was the marked difference between Freshman not persisting into the next term who took 2-3 WI courses (N=15, mean=1.73), and those who took no WI courses (N=57, mean=1.70) or one WI course (N=48, mean=1.59).
There is scant evidence for a relationship between grades, persistence, and WI course load. The number of WI courses taken in a term does not relate to persistence. Students taking no WI courses are just as likely to register again for the next term as are students who took two or more WI courses. No marked relationship was found between grades and WI course load. With one subgroup of the data, it appeared as if grades and number of WI courses were inversely related for students who did not persist into the next term. But, this result was scarcely replicated in other subgroups of the data, leading away from the ability to draw any conclusions that grades and WI course load are somehow related.
GC Freshman level students who took WI courses in Fall 1999 and/or Spring 2000 were the focal point of these analyses. For these students, the proportion of WI courses which were taken in GC was calculated. As one might expect, the majority of GC Freshman level students who took WI courses, took WI courses offered in GC. In Fall 1999, 77% of Freshman level students (and 92% of NHS Freshman) who took WI courses took them all in GC and 17% took all WI courses outside of GC. In Spring 2000, 82% of Freshman level students (and 86% of Fall NHS students) who took WI courses took them all in GC and 15% took all WI courses outside of GC. GC Freshman level students who did not persist into the next term do not appear to have taken a significantly larger proportion of their WI courses outside of GC.
As is evident in the tables below, there does appear to be some slight relationship between WI course performance and number of WI courses taken outside of GC. But, when looking only at Fall NHS students (see tables below), those taking WI courses outside of GC tend to do as well as those taking all their WI courses in GC. This suggests that, the minority of NHS students who do take non GC WI courses are doing so appropriately.
WI GPA by Number of GC WI courses Taken in Fall 1999 and Persistence to Spring 2000 for GC Freshman Level Students Taking One WI Course in Fall 1999
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# WI courses which
were in GC F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
0 .67 1.05 N=6 2.66 1.03 N=65
1 1.42 1.49 N=35 2.75 1.02 N=283
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WI GPA by Number of GC WI courses Taken in Fall 1999 and Persistence to Spring 2000 for GC Freshman Level Students Taking Two WI Courses in Fall 1999
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# WI courses which
were in GC F99 Not retained Spring 2000 Retained Spring 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
0 .00 . N=1 1.92 .65 N=8
1 .49 .85 N=7 2.70 .72 N=19
2 .14 .25 N=3 2.82 .87 N=47
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WI GPA by Number of GC WI courses Taken in Spring 2000 and Persistence to Fall 2000 for GC Freshman Level Students Taking One WI Course in Spring 2000
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# WI courses which
were in GC S00 Not retained Fall 2000 Retained Fall 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
0 .91 1.38 N=11 2.68 1.13 N=33
1 1.48 1.51 N=37 2.68 1.08 N=210
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WI GPA by Number of GC WI courses Taken in Spring 2000 and Persistence to Fall 2000 for GC Freshman Level Students Taking Two WI Courses in Spring 2000
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# WI courses which
were in GC S00 Not retained Fall 2000 Retained Fall 2000
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
0 .95 .82 N=3 2.42 1.32 N=6
1 2.33 . N=1 2.74 .50 N=8
2 1.96 1.39 N=10 2.80 .79 N=34
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WI GPA by Number of GC WI courses Taken in Fall 1999 or Spring 2000 and Persistence to Next Term for GC NHS Freshman Taking One WI Course in Fall 1999 or Spring 2000
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# WI courses
which were in GC
F99 or S00 Not retained next term Retained next term
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
0 1.67 1.94 N=4 2.81 1.20 N=41
1 1.66 1.51 N=53 2.77 1.06 N=416
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WI GPA by Number of GC WI courses Taken in Fall 1999 or Spring 2000 and Persistence to Next Term for GC NHS Freshman Taking Two WI Courses in Fall 1999 or Spring 2000
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# WI courses
which were in GC
F99 or S00 Not retained next term Retained next term
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
0 . . N=0 2.70 .85 N=3
1 .78 1.35 N=3 2.89 .50 N=12
2 1.78 1.45 N=11 2.86 .77 N=70
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In terms of average grades, rather than a weighted GPA, the average grade earned in GC WI courses by Fall 1999 Freshman level students who persisted into Spring 2000 was 2.75 (based on 408 grade records), and the average grade earned in non GC WI courses was 2.57 (based on 107 grade records). The average grade earned in GC WI courses by Fall 1999 Freshman level students who did not persist into Spring 2000 was 1.02 (based on 55 grade records), and the average grade earned in non GC WI courses was 0.43 (based on 17 grade records). In Fall, at least, grades earned in non GC WI courses were slightly lower than grades earned in GC WI courses. This was not evident in Spring 2000, nor was it evident when looking at grades earned by NHS students.
The average grade earned in GC WI courses by Spring 2000 Freshman level students who persisted into Fall 2000 was 2.70 (based on 297 grade records), and the average grade earned in non GC WI courses was 2.62 (based on 52 grade records). The average grade earned in GC WI courses by Spring 2000 Freshman level students who did no persist into Fall 2000 was 1.66 (based on 59 grade records), and the average grade earned in non GC WI courses was 1.00 (based on 20 grade records).
Fall 1999 "persisting" NHS Freshman earned an average grade of 2.89 in Fall 1999 GC WI courses (based on 311 grade records), 3.11 in Fall 1999 non GC WI courses (based on 27 grade records), 2.71 in Spring 2000 GC WI courses (based on 275 grade records), and 2.73 in Spring 2000 non GC WI courses (based on 42 grade records).
There appears to be no marked relationship between grades and number of WI courses taken outside of GC. A very small relationship was evident in some subsets of the data, but not in others. This lack of "replicability", and presence of only very minor differences when there were any at all, is evidence that GC students who do take non GC WI courses are probably doing so appropriately.
These analyses are related to a question of course sequencing for GC NHS Freshman: namely, whether or not students should be steered away from taking WI courses before they have completed a GC Comp. course. Therefore, analyses included only Fall 1999 GC NHS Freshman who took WI courses in Fall 1999 and/or Spring 2000. Because differences in group GPA's may be confounded by the presence of non-persisting students (see section on the Relationship Between Grades, Persistence, and Number of WI Courses Taken) the tables below present data only for students persisting into the next term. There were 304 students who met the above selection criteria in Fall 1999, and 290 students in Spring 2000.
In Fall 1999, 88% of the selected students were taking GC Comp. in the term, 11% had not taken a GC Comp. course, and 1% had taken a GC Comp. course before the term (presumably in Summer). The students who had not taken GC Comp. did not receive lower grades in their WI courses than those who were taking GC Comp. during the term
Fall 1999 Non WI GPA and WI GPA for GC NHS Students Persisting into Spring 2000: Students Who Were Taking GC Comp. Vs. Those Who Had Not Taken GC Comp.
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Mean SD Valid N
Non WI GPA Had not taken GC Comp. 3.12 .67 N=34
Took GC Comp during term 2.82 .86 N=267
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WI GPA Had not taken GC Comp. 2.97 1.08 N=34
Took GC Comp during term 2.85 1.01 N=267
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In Spring 2000, 83% of the selected students were taking a GC Comp. course in the term and had also taken one prior to the term, 11% had taken a GC Comp. course prior to the term but were not taking one in Spring, 6% had still never taken a GC Comp. course, and <1% were taking a GC Comp. course for the first time in Spring. Again, the students who had never taken a GC Comp course. did not receive lower grades in their WI courses than students who had taken (and/or were taking) a GC Comp. Course. For some reason, students who took a GC Comp course before the term, but who were not taking one in Spring, did less well in their WI courses.
Spring 2000 Non WI GPA and WI GPA for GC NHS Students Persisting into Fall 2000: Students Who Had Taken GC Comp. Vs. Those Who Had Not Taken GC Comp.
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Mean SD Valid N
Non WI GPA Had not taken GC Comp. 2.64 .94 N=17
Took a GC Comp course before term 2.79 .95 N=31
Took GC Comp before and during term 2.76 .78 N=241
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WI GPA Had not taken GC Comp. 2.68 1.39 N=17
Took a GC Comp course before term 2.39 1.11 N=31
Took GC Comp before and during term 2.69 1.03 N=241
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Students who took GC Comp. in their first term, do just as well (if not better) in the WI courses taken concurrently with GC Comp. as they do in WI courses taken in the next term. Students who were in a GC Comp course Fall 1999 and who took WI courses in both Fall 1999 and Spring 2000 (N=135) had an average Fall 1999 WI GPA of 2.91 (SD=1.03), an average Spring 2000 WI GPA of 2.57 (SD=1.20), an average Fall 1999 non WI GPA of 2.87 (SD=.93), and an average Spring 2000 non WI GPA of 2.74 (SD=.88). It is normal for GPA's to be lower in Spring, but for some reason, for these students, grades earned in WI courses showed more of a drop than grades earned in non WI courses. This does not hold true, however, when considering all GC students who took WI courses both in Fall 1999 and Spring 2000.
Finally, one might wonder whether the grade earned in 1421 relates to WI course performance: Do NHS students who fail GC Comp. (receive a grade below a C-) fare less well in their WI courses? This does not appear to be the case. In Fall 1999, the small number of students taking WI courses who had failed GC Comp. (N=35) had an average WI GPA of 1.13 (SD=1.30) and an average non WI GPA (not including the GC Comp grade) of 1.21 (SD=1.24). In Spring 2000, the small number of students taking WI courses who had failed GC Comp. (N=44) had an average WI GPA of 1.75 (SD=1.58) and an average non WI GPA (not including the GC Comp grade) of 1.94 (SD=1.27).
There seems to be little evidence that GC NHS students should be steered away from taking WI courses in their first year. If it is not advantageous for students to take WI courses before taking GC Comp., this is a non-issue because most students take GC Comp. in their first semester, and the few that don't take it in their first year (if they take it at all), do not seem to suffer in their WI courses. In fact, they appear to be a small group who rightfully did not take (or did not need to take) GC Comp, as their ACT English scores tended to be higher than those for students who took GC Comp.
When applying to the University, non native English speaking students must take either the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). However, if ESL students had a score of 18 or higher on the ACT English test or have been in English speaking schools for eight years or longer, they are not required to take these tests. For these analyses, students were categorized as ESL if they had a TOEFL or MELAB score on file. ESL and non ESL students were organized into 3 groups according to the number of WI courses taken in the term: students taking no WI courses. Students taking one WI course, and students taking 2-3 WI courses. These groups were then compared in terms of their term grades. General comparisons between WI and non WI GPA's earned by ESL and non ESL students were also made.
Relationship Between Term Performance and Number of WI Courses Taken for ESL and Non ESL Students
It was evident that the number of WI courses taken does not relate to persistence for either ESL or non ESL students. Students taking no WI courses are just as likely to register again for the next term as are students who took two ore more WI courses. The table below illustrates this with data from CLA students. Because differences in group GPA's may be confounded by the presence of non-persisting students (see section on the Relationship Between Grades, Persistence, and Number of WI Courses Taken) the tables below present data only for students persisting into the next term.
Proportion of Fall 1999 CLA Students Retained In Spring by Number of WI courses Taken in Fall 1999 for ESL and Non ESL Students
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# WI courses taken F99 Non ESL Students ESL Students
Proportion Valid N Proportion Valid N
no WI courses .92 N=2380 .90 N=68
one WI course .93 N=2740 .98 N=63
two or more WI courses .94 N=1092 1.00 N=12
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In terms of official term GPA, the number of WI courses taken does not seem to have a deleterious effect either for ESL or non ESL students. GC ESL students taking WI courses, however, did tend to have a lower term GPA than GC ESL students taking non WI courses. But, here, and with other data to follow, one must keep in mind that GC is a "unique" place for ESL students owing to the Commanding English program. In GC, most ESL students do not take any WI courses in their first year. Therefore, the GC ESL groups taking WI courses are potentially 'biased' in some way.
Term GPA for ESL vs. Non ESL GC Students in Fall 1999 (all students taking more than 10 credits who persisted in Spring)
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# WI courses taken F99 Non ESL Students ESL Students
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
no WI courses 2.73 .79 N=611 3.22 .62 N=50
one WI course 2.72 .81 N=378 2.38 1.24 N=11
two or more WI courses 2.69 .82 N=87 2.29 1.41 N=4
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Term GPA for ESL vs. Non ESL CLA Students in Fall 1999 (all Freshman and Sophomore students taking more than 10 credits who persisted in Spring)
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# WI courses taken F99 Non ESL Students ESL Students
Mean SD Valid N Mean SD Valid N
No WI courses 2.82 .74 N=2187 2.77 1.08 N=61
one WI course 2.88 .71 N=2546 2.92 .71 N=62
two or more WI courses 3.00 .67 N=1027 2.91 .75 N=12
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Comparison of WI vs. non WI Course Performance for ESL and non ESL Students
In general, it seems that there is perhaps some evidence that ESL students have a more difficult time in WI courses. As can be seen in the tables below, ESL students tend to have a non WI GPA comparable to (if not slightly higher than) students for whom English is not a second language. But, ESL students tend to have lower grades in WI courses than non ESL students.
Fall 1999 Non WI GPA and WI GPA for CLA ESL and Non ESL Freshman and Sophomores Persisting in Spring 2000
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N Mean SD
Non WI GPA Non ESL students 3777 2.76 .80
ESL students 88 2.78 .88
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WI GPA Non ESL students 3777 2.88 .86
ESL students 88 2.55 .98
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Includes students taking 10 or less credits in the term
When considering students from all other units, non WI GPA for ESL students is higher than for non ESL students, but this superior performance does not carry through to WI GPA. Again, ESL students perform less well in WI courses than in non WI courses.
Fall 1999 Non WI GPA and WI GPA for ESL and Non ESL Freshman and Sophomores From Other Units Persisting in Spring 2000
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N Mean SD
Non WI GPA Non ESL students 1905 2.82 .79
ESL students 41 3.16 .64
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WI GPA Non ESL students 1905 2.91 .86
ESL students 41 2.89 .72
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Includes students taking 10 or less credits in the term
When considering GC students, however, this pattern is not evident. However, one must keep in mind that the small ESL group below is 'biased'. It seems to contain mostly students who are at the Freshman level, but who started at the U before Fall 1999, suggesting that this is a group of students who has not been progressing through their education at 'full force'. For GC in Spring there are only a handful (N=8) of ESL students taking WI courses, and they did tend to have lower grades in their WI courses.
Fall 1999 Non WI GPA and WI GPA for GC ESL and Non ESL Freshman and Sophomores Persisting in Spring 2000
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N Mean SD
Non WI GPA Non ESL students 508 2.68 .89
ESL students 15 2.17 1.10
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WI GPA Non ESL students 508 2.65 1.04
ESL students 15 2.34 1.15
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Includes students taking 10 or less credits in the term
Here there is some evidence for a relationship between ESL (English as a second language) status and performance in WI courses. In terms of official term GPA, the number of WI courses taken did not seem to have a deleterious effect for ESL students. However, there was some evidence that ESL students may have a more difficult time in WI courses. The gap between performance in WI and non WI courses tended to be larger for ESL students than for non ESL students. These are interesting results, but less relevant for GC because most GC ESL students are in the Commanding English program where they are steered away from taking WI courses in their first year while they work on building English skills.
It seems that the concern for deleterious effects of a heavier WI course load might have arisen from "incomplete observations" of a few non-persisting students who happened to have taken several WI courses in Fall 1999; having only partial knowledge about those students, not seeing that they might not have returned the next semester, and hence not considering that the lower GPA could be related to "persistence", could lead one to make a (seemingly, in light of the data) false conclusion that taking "too many" WI courses has negative effects on college performance.
At least in terms of what the grade records have to say, Writing Intensive courses do not appear to be affecting students in any extraordinary way. The data on hand do not suggest that any new policy or guideline need be established regarding when WI courses should be taken and, when they are taken, what an appropriate WI course load should be.
Collecting some survey data on students' actual experiences in WI courses might be a worthwhile endeavor. A survey could capture some nuances of students' experience that may be very meaningful for both curriculum planning and student advising. Some questions to ask might be: Do students even perceive much difference between experiences in WI and non WI courses?; Do some students perceive more difference(s) than others?; How do students navigate through the writing process in WI courses, and do they feel the need for (or seek out) special resources when in these courses?; or, Do students feel that the WI curriculum has any particular merit?.
It would also be worthwhile to assess how writing is actually being implemented into the curriculum in various WI courses. If any further work is to be done examining the impact of WI courses on students, such an assessment seems imperative.
Appendix:
All percentages are based on the number of students who took at least one WI course in the term. For example, if the frequency for GC 1131=25 and the total number of students who took at least one WI course is 173, then 14.45% of these 173 students took GC 1131 (example from columns 2 and 3 in the table immediately below)
Writing Intensive Courses Taken in Fall 1999 by GC "Continuing" Freshman and NHS Freshman Taking More Than 10 Credits
|
Course |
WI courses taken by GC "continuing" Freshman |
WI courses taken by all GC NHS Freshman |
||
|
Frequency |
Percent of Students (N=173) |
Frequency |
Percent of Students (N=315) |
|
|
AMST 3252 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
ANTH 1003 |
3 |
1.73% |
0 |
|
|
ARTH 1921 |
4 |
2.31% |
0 |
|
|
ARTH 3015 |
0 |
1 |
0.58% |
|
|
BIOL 1101 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
BIOL 1910 |
0 |
1 |
0.58% |
|
|
CLA 1908 |
0 |
2 |
1.16% |
|
|
CLA 1909 |
0 |
3 |
1.73% |
|
|
CLA 1910 |
0 |
3 |
1.73% |
|
|
DHA 1101 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
ENGL 1001 |
1 |
0.58% |
2 |
1.16% |
|
ENGL 1181 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
ENGL 1201 |
5 |
2.89% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
ENGL 1301 |
1 |
0.58% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
ENGL 1401 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
ENGL 3005 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
ENGW 1101 |
2 |
1.16% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
GC 1112 |
16 |
9.25% |
42 |
24.28% |
|
GC 1131 |
25 |
14.45% |
87 |
50.29% |
|
GC 1231 |
19 |
10.98% |
21 |
12.14% |
|
GC 1235 |
12 |
6.94% |
3 |
1.73% |
|
GC 1365 |
26 |
15.03% |
62 |
35.84% |
|
GC 1374 |
25 |
14.45% |
48 |
27.75% |
|
GC 1906 |
3 |
1.73% |
26 |
15.03% |
|
GC 1907 |
2 |
1.16% |
50 |
28.90% |
|
GC 2283 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
GEOG 1301 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
GEOG 1403 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
GEOG 1973 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
HIST 1012 |
6 |
3.47% |
0 |
|
|
HIST 1031 |
4 |
2.31% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
HIST 1301 |
17 |
9.83% |
0 |
|
|
IOFT 1909 |
0 |
3 |
1.73% |
|
|
MUS 1801 |
1 |
0.58% |
2 |
1.16% |
|
PHIL 1002 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
PHIL 1003 |
1 |
0.58% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
PHIL 3005 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
PHIL 3302 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
PHYS 1101 |
1 |
0.58% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
PHYS 1301 |
10 |
5.78% |
1 |
0.58% |
|
PHYS 3071 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
POL 1025 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
|
POL 1201 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
SOC 1001 |
10 |
5.78% |
3 |
1.73% |
|
SPCH 1313 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
TH 1101 |
5 |
2.89% |
2 |
1.16% |
|
WOST 1001 |
2 |
1.16% |
0 |
|
|
WOST 3003 |
1 |
0.58% |
0 |
|
Writing Intensive Courses Taken in Fall 1999 by GC "Continuing" non-Freshman Level Students Taking More Than 10 Credits
|
Course |
Frequency |
Percent of Students (N=57) |
Course |
Frequency |
Percent of Students (N=57) |
|
ANTH 1003 |
1 |
1.75% |
HRD 5001 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
APEC 3041 |
1 |
1.75% |
PHIL 1002 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
ARTH 1921 |
1 |
1.75% |
PHIL 1004 |
2 |
3.51% |
|
CSCL 1401 |
1 |
1.75% |
PHYS 1001 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
DHA 1101 |
1 |
1.75% |
PHYS 1101 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
ENGL 1001 |
3 |
5.26% |
PHYS 1301 |
4 |
7.02% |
|
ENGL 1181 |
1 |
1.75% |
PHYS 3071 |
3 |
5.26% |
|
ENGL 1401 |
1 |
1.75% |
POL 1025 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
ENGL 3003 |
1 |
1.75% |
POL 1201 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
ENGW 1101 |
1 |
1.75% |
RHET 3562 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
GC 1112 |
6 |
10.53% |
SOC 1001 |
4 |
7.02% |
|
GC 1131 |
1 |
1.75% |
SOC 3211 |
2 |
3.51% |
|
GC 1231 |
7 |
12.28% |
SOC 3251 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
GC 1235 |
3 |
5.26% |
SPCH 1313 |
2 |
3.51% |
|
GC 1365 |
3 |
5.26% |
TH 1101 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
GC 1374 |
3 |
5.26% |
URBS 3001 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
HIST 1012 |
1 |
1.75% |
WCFE 3011 |
1 |
1.75% |
|
HIST 3151 |
1 |
1.75% |
Writing Intensive Courses Taken in Spring 2000 by GC "Continuing" Freshman and Fall 1999 NHS Freshman Taking More Than 10 Credits
|
Course |
WI courses taken by GC "continuing" Freshman |
WI courses taken by all GC NHS Freshman |
||
|
Frequency |
Percent of Students (N=52) |
Frequency |
Percent of Students (N=316) |
|
|
AMST 1002 |
1 |
1.92% |
1 |
0.32% |
|
ANTH 1003 |
1 |
1.92% |
0 |
|
|
ARTH 1016 |
1 |
1.92% |
1 |
0.32% |
|
ARTH 1921 |
0 |
1 |
0.32% |
|