Assessment of the SCSU Department of Biological Sciences Core Curriculum

Initiated with an SCSU Assessment Grant

Objective:

Quantify student learning in courses all SCSU Biology majors are required to complete.

Methodology:

Common Pre and Post Test for the Five Core Prerequisite Courses: BIOL 151 – Cell Function & Inheritance, BIOL 152 – Organismal Diversity, BIOL 262 – Genetics, BIOL 312 – Ecology, and BIOL 360 – Cell Biology. The same 30 question multiple choice exam was administered as a pre and post test in 5 courses for 3 semesters. The test is composed of questions from content of all 5 courses. Total enrollment for these five courses is greater than 500 per semester.

Results:

For each course pre and post-test basic statistics were summarized. Additionally, each course has been summarized by student performance per question.

Fall 2005

• Fa05BIOL 151
• Fa05BIOL 152
• Fa05BIOL 262
• Fa05BIOL 312
• Fa05BIOL 360

Spring 2006

• Sp06BIOL 151
• Sp06BIOL 152
• Sp06BIOL 262
• Sp06BIOL 312
• Sp06BIOL 360

Fall 2006

• Fa06BIOL 151
• Fa06BIOL 152
• Fa06BIOL 262
• Fa06BIOL 312
• Fa06BIOL 360

Summary: