Addresses concerns when a college-level course utilizes a number of instructors and sections. Notes the importance of the various sections receiving essentially the same educational experience. Describes section variation trends. Discusses use of the computer assisted speech evaluation software at Texas Christian University. Recommends the use of…

A study was conducted to determine if changes in a student's writing and speaking skills over the period of a semester could be measured reliably and to measure what changes, if any, occur in these skills over this period. A pretest-posttest design employing the speech and writing portions of ACT's College Outcome Measures Project was used to…

A study examined the information processing construct of the speech rating error paradigm. Specifically, it tested the hypotheses that (1) attitude valence and dogmatism would interact in such a way that low dogmatic raters would show a positive trait error on the content traits material and analysis; (2) low dogmatic raters would evaluate a…

Divided into two sections, this report describes research on the range and degree of assessment of students' communication skills in colleges and universities and includes the following findings: (1) of the 384 respondents from college speech communication departments, 45 reported using large-scale, uniform testing of students; (2) these…

As part of the Speech Communication Association (SCA) 1990 Summer Conference on Communication Competency Assessment held in Denver, Colorado, one work group worked on the development of a speech performance evaluation form and/or process grounded in and driven by the competency paradigm. Prior to and during the conference, the group developed a…

This study examined the usefulness of an evaluation procedure designed to measure performance in spoken English. Rating involved assessment of the prose reading and conversation skills of 57 first-year students at Wellington Teachers' College, New Zealand. Specific topics of investigation included the consistency of "general impression" ratings…

The four papers in this collection were drawn from a symposium convened to review the state of the art in speaking and listening assessment at all educational levels and to suggest strategies for addressing the technical issues, particularly those relating to test bias and the use of rating scales, that speaking and listening assessors often face.…

A study investigated the consistency of faculty and peer evaluations of the oral communication skills of 44 fourth-year pharmacology students. Substantial agreement between faculty and students was found. Peer evaluations were independent of their own communication skills. In addition, a significant correlation between oral and written…

Understanding the behavior of those evaluating a speech is important for a complete understanding of the public communication process. Ratings of public speaking were submitted to a Rasch analysis to determine whether objective measurement can create and maintain a standard of speech evaluation. Data used were 1,022 ratings of 168 speeches given…

Improving the quality of undergraduate speech communication education depends to a large extent on effectively measuring student achievement in college level communication skills. While formal tests are not as well developed for speaking skills as for other areas of the curriculum, they are available. The two used most frequently are the…

The College Outcome Measures Project (COMP) was established to develop, validate, and implement measures of the knowledge and skills that undergraduate students are expected to acquire and that are important to effective adult functioning. The COMP Measurement Battery yields a "communicating" score based in part on a speaking assessment…

Providing insight into how learning assistance practitioners can effect positive change in the ability of their students to speak and to listen, this book presents the experiences of communication professionals who have succeeded in improving students' skills. The first five chapters describe a variety of instructional methods useful in teaching…

The Integrated Competence Seminar (ICS), An Alverno College assessment technique used in the outcome-centered liberal arts curriculum, is discussed. The ICS technique allows students to demonstrate integration and transfer of learning in three situations: oral presentation, group discussion, and the In-Basket exercise (decision-making problems).…

Included in the Pennsylvania State University teacher education program for secondary school teachers is a requirement that students demonstrate ability to read, write, and speak effectively in professional situations. The basic assessment procedure in these skills is conducted before the student teaching experience. The assessment includes three…