Archived Assessment Report
| Program | Criminal Justice AAS Degree |
| Assessment Reporter | [email protected] |
| Theme | Practicing Community |
| Review Year | 2024-2025 - Midpoint Report |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Focus Area |
|---|---|
| 4. Correctly explain the U.S. and New Mexico Criminal Justice Systems, the criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trial process or juvenile dispositions. | Students will be able to explain both the US and NM criminal justice system, criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trail process or juvenile dispositions by the end of their course work for CJUS AAS. |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Description of Assessment Tool | Population or Courses Assessed | Hypothetical Analysis/Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Correctly explain the U.S. and New Mexico Criminal Justice Systems, the criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trial process or juvenile dispositions. | quizzes, exams and papers. | CJUS 1110, 1120, 1140 and 1330 | Students will meet the required grade of 70%, 90% of the time. |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Summary of Results | Reflection on Focus Area | Intepretation of Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Correctly explain the U.S. and New Mexico Criminal Justice Systems, the criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trial process or juvenile dispositions. | CJ 1110 74.4% of students achieved a score of 70% or greater CJ1120 100% of students achieved a score of 70% or greater CJ1140 85% of students achieved a score of 70% or greater CJ1330 84% of student achieve a score of 70% or greater | We believe that our results supported the original focus area of our hypothetical analysis question. Our assessment method was designed to evaluate students' performance comprehensively by aggregating their scores from various course-specific measures. These measures included quizzes, exams, papers, journals, and discussion boards, each contributing to the overall score. The original focus area of our analysis was to determine how well our assessment method reflects and supports student learning outcomes and overall course effectiveness. By utilizing a multifaceted approach to assessment, we aimed to capture a holistic view of student performance and understanding | The overall score, derived from a variety of assessment types, provides a nuanced picture of student achievement. This method supports our hypothesis that a diverse set of assessment tools can more accurately reflect student learning and performance compared to a singular measure. The results indicated a strong correlation between the overall scores and the learning outcomes we intended to measure. This suggests that the assessments were effective in gauging the key competencies and knowledge areas we aimed to evaluate. The consistency in results across different types of assessments—quizzes, exams, papers, etc.—supports the validity of our approach. If the overall scores were reflective of student performance across these varied assessment types, it confirms that our method provides a reliable measure of their understanding and skills. |
| 4. Correctly explain the U.S. and New Mexico Criminal Justice Systems, the criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trial process or juvenile dispositions. | |
|---|---|
| Describe the change that was implemented. | Based on the results it looks like the assessment strategy is already quite effective. However, there are always ways to build on success and further enhance outcomes. We have identified the following steps to improve outcomes even further: 1. Analyze the detailed results to identify any specific areas or competencies where students are consistently underperforming. This can help target interventions more effectively. 2. Ensure that students receive timely and constructive feedback on their performance across all assessment types. This feedback should be specific and actionable, helping students understand their strengths and areas for improvement. 3. While the current assessments are effective, it might be beneficial to periodically review and adjust them to ensure they continue to align with evolving educational goals and industry standards. 4. Provide additional resources such as tutoring, study guides, or workshops focusing on areas where students might be struggling. Tailoring support to address specific needs can help improve overall performance. 5. Ensure that the learning objectives are clear, measurable, and aligned with the assessments. Refining these objectives can help ensure that they are realistic and achievable, and that assessments are appropriately challenging. By implementing these steps, the CJUS department can build on the current success and work towards further enhancing student learning and performance. |
| Type of Change |
|
| Change in Assessment Approach or Tools? | Yes, we will need to identify those students who should be dropped for non-attendance early in the semester, and drop them, in order to prevent them from being assigned a score of "0" and impacting our data at the end of the semester. |
| What data motivated the change? | Data plays a crucial role in motivating and guiding changes in educational practices. This data may be driving changes by utilizing the strong correlation between overall scores and learning outcomes. This helps confirm that the assessments are measuring what they are intended to. This data validates the current assessment methods and motivates the CJUS department to maintain and refine these approaches, knowing that they are effective. The detailed analysis of the assessment results can highlight specific areas where students excel or struggle. This data-driven insight allows the department to pinpoint exact areas needing improvement, such as particular competencies or knowledge areas where students may be underperforming. It also provides a benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of any changes implemented. |
| Hypothesis about the effect the change will have? | The planned changes, guided by the data, are likely to improve outcomes in several key ways. These ways include identifying specific areas where students struggle based on assessment data, the department can implement targeted interventions. For example, if data shows students are underperforming in particular topics, additional resources or focused support in those areas can be introduced, helping students improve their understanding and performance. Implementing changes to the feedback mechanisms by requiring instructors to provide feedback for all assignments with a score of less than 70%. This will ensure that students receive timely, detailed, and actionable feedback. This allows students to understand their mistakes, learn from them, and make necessary adjustments in their study strategies or approach, leading to improved performance over time. |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Description of Assessment Tool | Population of Courses Assessed |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Correctly explain the U.S. and New Mexico Criminal Justice Systems, the criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trial process or juvenile dispositions. | Quizzes, exams, papers, discussion boards, journals | CJUS 1110, 1120, 1140 and 1330 |
| Learning Outcome (or Gen Ed Essential Skill) | Summary of Second Round Results | Intepretation of Results, Pre- and Post-Change | Follow up questions, possible next steps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4. Correctly explain the U.S. and New Mexico Criminal Justice Systems, the criminal law, the law of arrest, search and seizure, and the criminal trial process or juvenile dispositions. | CJ 1110 100% of students achieved a score of 70% or greater CJ1120 100% of students achieved a score of 70% or greater CJ1140 80% of students achieved a score of 70% or greater CJ1330 50% of student achieve a score of 70% or greater | Next Steps: - Conduct a review of CJUS 1330 to identify root causes of the performance drop. - Continue using varied assessments to engage different learning styles. - Maintain early identification and intervention strategies for at-risk students. - Use these results as a benchmark for evaluating future curriculum and instructional changes. |
Describe any change in student achievement observed as part of this assessment process, and what led to those changes.
The assessment process revealed significant improvements in student achievement in several key areas. Most notably, CJUS 1110 showed a substantial increase in student success, with the percentage of students achieving a score of 70% or greater rising from 74.4% in the first round to 100% in the second round. This improvement is largely attributed to the implementation of early intervention strategies, such as identifying and dropping non-attending students early in the semester and increasing the variety of assessment tools to engage different learning styles.
Other courses like CJUS 1120 maintained consistently high performance, indicating that existing instructional and assessment strategies were already effective. While CJUS 1140 experienced a slight decline (85% to 80%), the change was minimal and does not currently raise significant concerns. However, CJUS 1330 showed a dramatic drop in performance (from 84% to 50%), prompting the need for further review and action.
Describe long-term changes in the program(s) that the assessment process led to, and what motivated those changes?
The long-term changes initiated by this assessment process include:
- **Early Attendance Intervention:** A new standard will be established to identify and drop students for non-attendance early in the semester to prevent inactive enrollment from skewing performance data.
- **Mandatory Feedback for Low Scores:** Instructors will be required to provide detailed feedback for any assignment with a score below 70%, giving students a better opportunity to understand their weaknesses and improve.
- **Ongoing Assessment Review:** The CJUS department has committed to regularly reviewing assessment tools to ensure continued alignment with both learning outcomes and current industry standards.
- **Data-Driven Instructional Support:** Additional student support resources (e.g., tutoring, workshops) are being considered to help address areas where data indicates students are underperforming.
These changes were motivated by the strong correlation observed between diversified assessment practices and student performance. The data validated the effectiveness of the current assessment approach while highlighting areas for continued improvement and innovation.
What did you learn about the teaching and learning of "Practicing Community" in your programs?
The concept of 'Practicing Community' was reinforced through the use of discussion boards and journals, which were added in the second round of assessments. These tools provided students with a space to engage with peers, reflect on course content, and connect theoretical concepts to real-world applications within their communities. The success observed in courses like CJUS 1110 and CJUS 1120 indicates that fostering a sense of academic and professional community improves student motivation, engagement, and performance. Additionally, when students feel they are part of a learning community, they are more likely to persist and succeed.
Describe any external factors affecting the program or affecting assessment of the program.
Several external factors may have impacted the assessment process and student performance:
- **Instructor Turnover:** Changes in faculty may have contributed to the performance decline observed in CJUS 1330. New or adjunct instructors may require additional support and training in program-specific assessment expectations.
- **Student Engagement Post-Pandemic:** Like many programs nationwide, student engagement levels have fluctuated in the post-COVID era, with some students still adjusting to in-person or hybrid learning models.
- **Access to Resources:** Students may have varied access to resources such as reliable internet, study environments, or academic support outside of class, which can influence their ability to succeed across assessment types.