Are there simpler alternatives to complicated diagnostic assessments after placing student in remedial/developmental courses?
When Jackson State Community College (JSCC) redesigned the three remedial and developmental math courses, they replaced them with 12 clearly defined modules mapped to the competencies originally required in the three courses. JSCC experimented with module placement by ACT scores and by Compass scores. They found that over 95% of the students would have been placed above their deficient level if ACT or Compass placement were the only tool used. They concluded that while the ACT and Compass tests may be sufficient to determine whether or not a student is college-ready for mathematics, they are not appropriate diagnostic tools to determine mastery of specific competencies. Consequently, JSCC developed their own diagnostic assessment using MyMathTest that corresponded to the competencies in the 12 modules. Of the 1067 new students tested in fall 2007 and spring 2008, only 3% of the students did not need to study the competencies in Modules 1 – 3 (Basic Math). Based on these results, JSCC d
