Proposal to: Prof. Amy Johnson, Chair
Faculty Senate Undergraduate Studies Committee
From: Steve Bernhardt,
Chair
English
Subject ENGL100 Exemptions
Date:
The English Department wishes to eliminate any exemptions
from E110 (Critical Reading and Writing) on the basis of SAT or other
standardized tests. I am making this request with the full support and
encouragement of Prof.
The SAT does not test for the skills taught in E110, namely
college-level, researched writing. Further, UD requires only a single,
three-hour writing course, unlike many campuses that require a sequence of two
or more courses. We do not think it wise to exempt students from their only writing
course. E110 is the one place where students are taught about expectations at
UD for academic work, where they learn how to use campus research sources,
including the internet and the library. We teach them how to document sources,
what is considered plagiarism, and how we deal with it. We teach them how to
read college level material with a critical perspective. Thus, there are
important skills conveyed in this one required course, skills that are intended
to serve the students in all UD courses.
Successful writing requires research, drafting, revising,
and editing. The new writing component of the SAT and ACT exams do not allow
for these activities. Instead, students are expected to respond to an impromptu
question in 25 or 30 minutes, with one handwritten draft. This is essentially
“top-of-your-head” writing and has no place in E110. Our national association,
the Writing Program Administrators (WPA) rejects the use of SAT or ACT exams
for exemption or placement in writing because the exams include only a
one-draft sample, written quickly; it is inappropriate, they maintain, to use
these samples for placement in college writing courses. The exams do not
reflect the process used in real writing situations and do not reflect the test
taker’s ability to produce writing under real-world circumstances. The exams
lack content validity.
We would continue to allow transfer students to exempt based on evidence that they have the experience and skills taught in E110 and can demonstrate so with proof. We exempt students each term based on their portfolios of researched writing and documentation that they have taken equivalent courses. Our Department offers academic credit for AP English exams, up to six hours for a score of 5. But no exemption from 110 accompanies an AP score. In the 1960’s, UD required two composition courses. When the requirement shrank to one course, the policy became that AP did not remove the requirement for that one course. Furthermore, most students who arrive with AP English credit do so on the basis of literature AP courses, not composition. It would not be appropriate to exempt a student from a composition course on the basis of historical or critical knowledge of literature.
For the past several years, exemption was granted for an SAT II Writing exam with a score of 710 or higher. The SAT II Writing Exam was taken only by a small, self-selected group of students. This test is no longer offered by ETS. The issue arose last spring (2006) whether students should be exempted from E110 if they attain certain score levels on the new SAT, which now has three parts, including a short impromptu writing task. We do not think this is a good idea, and said so at the time, but to avoid a problem with too few seats, we agreed to exempt students at a certain score level. Cindi Shenkle of Arts and Sciences inserted temporary language in the Catalog.
We said we would deliberate the issue this year. We have
discussed the issue with Honors (Katherine Kerrane), Admissions (Louis Hirsch) the
Registrar’s office (Joe DiMartile), and the
We estimate the total cost in seats to be between 100-150. We would need to budget for 5-7 additional sections of E110. The Department and College will work out staffing the necessary sections.
Exemptions under SAT
II Writing Exam
2001: 56 students exempted; 37 were in Honors
2002: 92 students exempted; 58 were in Honors
2003 86
students exempted; 57 were in Honors
2004 103
students exempted; 65 were in Honors
2005 121
students exempted; 92 were in Honors
2005 the last year
for that exam.
Exemptions this year
under new SAT
2006: Using the Writing Portion of the standard SAT, the
exemptions swelled to 169.
Here is current language, showing language we would strike:
UNIVERSITY REQUIREMENTS
ENGL 110 Critical
(minimum grade C-) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . 3
ENGL 110 will be taken by all students as freshmen. ,
except by students who have
otherwise demonstrated the skills taught in that course.
A score of 710 or higher
on the SAT-II Subject Writing Test will be a satisfactory
demonstration of basic
writing skills. Also, on a one-year trial basis during
the 2006-2007 academic
year, a score of 710 or higher on the Writing section of
the SAT Reasoning Test
will qualify students for exemption from ENGL 110.
ENGL 110 must be completed
by the time a student has earned 60 credits. Students who
transfer into the College
of Arts and Sciences with 45 credits or more must complete
this requirement within
two semesters.
Add: Transfer
students who have completed college-level courses in research writing should
check the English Department website to see if they qualify for exemption: http://www.english.udel.edu/transfer.htm