1. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
32 Years of Assessment at
UMass Boston:
History, Philosophy and Structures
Neal Bruss & Mark Pawlak, General Education Committee

2. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
General Education at UMass Boston
In 2002, a new general education program was put in place with the
following principles as its foundation
▸ Critical analysis and logical thought
▸ Verbal and quantitative reasoning
▸ Human diversity
▸ Principal approaches to knowledge
Core elements include
▸ Writing--English Composition I & II
▸ First Year & Intermediate Seminar
▸ Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning
▸ Distribution courses in several areas
▸ Writing Proficiency Requirement
▸ Capstone in major

3. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Assessing Student Learning in Quantitative
Reasoning:
A Dynamic, Evolving Process
Mark Pawlak
Director, Academic Support and Quantitative Reasoning Programs
Chair, Quantitative Reasoning Assessment Committee
University of Massachusetts Boston

4. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
The Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning Requirement
▸ All students must “demonstrate competence in
mathematics/quantitative reasoning.”
▸ B.S. students must take Calculus I (a traditional Calculus course)
▸ B.A. students have several choices:
– Test into PreCalculus or Calculus
– Take Statistics (taught by Math, Psychology, Sociology,
Economics, etc.)
– Take College Algebra
– Take a Quantitative Reasoning course
▸ Each semester, approximately 200 - 250 students choose a QR course.

5. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Quantitative Reasoning Courses
Math 114Q
▸ Mathematics offers the primary QR
course
▸ This is the lowest-level course Math
offers
▸ Prerequisite: (outdated) placement test
▸ All sections are taught in a computer lab
▸ QR faculty are primarily adjuncts (90%)
▸ Class size is small (20 - 23 students)
▸ Many students come out of
developmental math courses and are math
phobic; have weak skills; hate math
▸ All topics are motivated using real world
data, course follows an investigations
pedagogy
▸ Technology is used as a tool and as way
of seeing patterns.
QR Course
Guidelines
▸ Required topics are:
descriptive statistics
linear models
exponential models or probability
use of technology (graphing
calculators or computers)
▸ Students learning outcomes:
engage in critical reading and
analysis
speak, listen and write effectively
use technology to further learning
work independently and
collaboratively
reason logically and quantitatively

6. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Quantitative Reasoning Assessment Committee
(QuAC)
▸ A sub-committee of the Faculty Council General Education
Committee
▸ Cross-disciplinary membership
▸ Reviews and recommends new QR courses
▸ Ensures that intended capabilities are addressed in current QR courses
▸ Assesses teaching and student learning in current QR courses
▸ Monitors student compliance with QR requirement
▸ Reviews compliance with QR requirement across colleges (since
2004)

7. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Three Phases of QR Assessment at UMass
Boston
▸ I. Pilot Phase (1998-2000): Curriculum development &
course modification via student questionnaire & faculty
debriefing
▸ II. Implementation: (2000-2003): Evaluation of faculty &
teaching using student portfolios.
▸ III. Current:(2003-ongoing): Assessment of student learning
using common final exam and student questionnaire.

8. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Student self-assessment
Self-reflection:
▸ Students complete an “automathography” at the beginning of
the semester and a reflection at the end of the semester – this
is viewed only by the instructor
Course assessment and evaluation:
▸ Student questionnaire given to all students
▸ Demographic data
▸ Self-assessment of technical skills and QR skills
▸ Attempts to measure attitudinal change
▸ Administered online with support from the mathematics
department
▸ Faculty log in to view their students’ responses and course-
wide responses.

9. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Sample Questions – Student Questionnaire

10. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Faculty self-assessment
▸ QR faculty meet each semester to “de-brief”
▸ Discussions include
▸ What worked
▸ What didn’t work
▸ Issues of support and training
▸ Student learning outcomes and course objectives
▸ Assessment information
▸ Resources and information

11. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Portfolio reading
▸ Each semester, new faculty and selected veteran faculty
submit a sample of portfolios of student work.
▸ Portfolios include student “automathography” and end of
semester reflection; evidence of data analysis; written work;
final exam
▸ The QR Assessment Committee reads the portfolios and gives
feedback to the individual faculty.
▸ Results are used to enhance faculty training and development.
(Note: In recent years portfolio reading has been abandoned for lack of
resources to support it)

12. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Holistic grading of common final exam problems
▸ QR faculty agree on a set of problems that will appear on all
finals across sections
▸ Generally 5-6 problems, covering main student learning
outcomes
▸ After semester grades have been submitted a sample of finals
from each section is graded holistically
▸ Initially, holistic grading was done by QuAC members
▸ Inspired by a PKAL conference on assessment, QR faculty now
participate in the holistic grading
▸ End of semester QR faculty debriefing and holistic exam
grading are now combined.

13. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Common Final Exam sample problem
1. An article about the US Postal Service in the New York Times on December 4,
2011 stated that
First-class mail — items like bills and letters that require a 44-cent stamp —
fell 6.6 percent in 2010 alone, continuing a five-year-long plunge. Last year …
there were 9.3 billion pounds of ‘standard mail’ — the low-cost postage
category available to mass advertisers — but only 3.7 billion of first-class mail.
www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/sunday-review/the-junking-of-the-postal-
service.html)
a. A graphic next to the article said that standard mail in 2010 amounted to 30.3
pounds for every adult and child in the US. Verify this 30.3 pounds per person
figure.
b. How many pounds of first class mail did the Post Office deliver in 2009?
c. First class mail mostly consists of bills, credit card statements, personal letters
and greeting cards. First class postage is 44 cents for the first ounce and 20 cents
for each additional ounce. Estimate the total cost of the postage on first class mail
in 2010.

14. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Scoring Rubric – sample question
2 = full understanding; 1 = partial understanding;
0 = little or no understanding
mean median
Demonstrated ability to identify and extract relevant data
from complex verbal text and apply it to problems.
1.4 2.0
Able to verify textual claims through an appropriate set of
calculations.
1.0 1.0
Accurately performed backward percentage calculation to
determine a prior year value.
0.9 1.0
Performed a complex calculation involving estimation and
multiple unit conversions.
1.0 1.0

15. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Phase III Outcomes:
What we have learned
▸ Students appreciate how math (algebra) can be meaningful in the real
world
▸ Students gain proficiency in using Excel and value it for use in future
coursework & employment
▸ Student writing about data is more descriptive than analytic
▸ Faculty uniformly address QR topics and competencies with varied
emphasis
▸ Some mathematics topics remain challenges for teaching and learning

16. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Assessing QR Assessment
Lessons
▸ Importance of continual
evolution and refinement of
instruments and methods
▸ Adequate resources for faculty
release time & administrative
support are needed to conduct
assessment; collect and analyze
data
▸ Importance of faculty involved
in modifying course/program
based on results of assessment
Challenges
▸ Timely compilation of common
final exam
▸ Tardy or negligent
administration of questionnaire
▸ Compiling questionnaire data;
timely feedback to faculty
▸ Conducting timely holistic
grading; assessing results and
discussing with faculty
▸ Faculty buy-in to course and
program modifications based on
assessment

17. 32 Yeas of Assessment at UMass Boston | February 9, 2012
Resources
▸ The National Numeracy Network:
http://serc.carleton.edu/nnn/index.html
▸ SIGMAA on Quantitative Literacy:
http://sigmaa.maa.org/ql/
▸ Common Sense Mathematics (UMass Boston)
http://quantitativereasoning.net/
See also:
▸ “Quantitative Reasoning at the University of Massachusetts Boston,” M. Mast
and M. Pawlak, in Current Practices in Quantitative Literacy, edited by R.
Gillman, MAA publications, 2006
Contacts:
▸ mark.pawlak@umb.edu
▸ maura.mast@umb.edu