In the past two issues of the DataWave, preliminary results from the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) were reported and discussed. It was anticipated that in this issue, first-time freshman students' expectations and goals for their academic experience here at ENMU would be discussed. In preparing that data for the report, interesting trends that seem to warrant the attention of the ENMU community were identified. In this issue of the DataWave, students self-report of whether they had remedial work, or belief that they currently have a need for remedial work, in five subject areas will be reviewed. Students' academic expectations and goals will be discussed in the next DataWave.
The Collegiate Institutional Research Project (CIRP) Freshman Survey questions students on their remedial preparation and expected need for remedial preparation every two years. ENMU has local data for those freshmen who matriculated in the Fall of 1989, 1991, and 1993. ENMU students, for those three administrations, have in general, reported an increasing amount of remedial instruction in five academic subject areas (see Table I). During the same period of time, the national average for publicly supported colleges and universities with low admission selectivity (the cohort of which ENMU is a member) showed that students are reporting less and less amounts of remedial preparation at the secondary level. Because of these two trends, ENMU has gone from below the average number of students having remedial experiences in 1989 in all five subject areas, to above the national average in 1993 (with the exception of Mathematics).
It is difficult to speculate why national norms are trending in one direction, and local ones in another. Explanations are invited from readers of the DATAWave. Demographic and other background variables of students who completed the CIRP were investigated as possible explanations. The age, gender, ethnicity, ACT scores, high school grade point average, and years of high school preparation in academic areas were investigated, and no significant differences for the three years were found. Regardless, it can be observed that students matriculating at ENMU are increasingly reporting that they have had remedial coursework.
The number of students who participated in the CIRP who are reporting that they believe they will need remedial coursework has also risen (see Table II). National norms show a curvilinear relationship--they go up, and then they go down--which is difficult to explain. Currently, ENMU students self-report more of a need for remedial assistance than does the national cohort. In 1993, one-fifth of students anticipated assistance in English, one-half expected difficulties in Mathematics, and more than one-fifth of the students suspected they would require remedial work in Science and Foreign Language.
It was suspected that the rise of students reporting having had remedial coursework and the number of students anticipating a need for remedial assistance would be associated. A cross-tab analysis was conducted (see Table III). It was found that very few of the students who had remedial coursework anticipated requiring additional assistance. The majority of the students who reported that they anticipated a need for remedial assistance had not received remedial assistance at the secondary level.
In conclusion, it appears that more and more first- time freshmen at ENMU are lacking confidence in their academic abilities (more will be explored next week on students self-reported academic perceptions and goals). It may be that students are increasingly anticipating more academic rigor at the University, or they believe they are more poorly prepared. The former may be a positive outcome, while the latter indicates a need for additional attention (if not preparation) at the secondary level and/or the admission process.
Table I
CIRP Participants Reporting That They Had Remedial Preparation In ... (all values in %)
| English | Reading | Math | Soc. Stud | Science | For. Lang. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 - ENMU | 5.4 | 5.4 | 10.1 | 3.4 | 4.5 | 3.4 |
| 1989 - NAT'L | 8.5 | 7.7 | 13.9 | 5.9 | 6.7 | 6.8 |
| 1991 - ENMU | 6.4 | 4.2 | 13.4 | 2.7 | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| 1991 - NAT'L | 6.5 | 6.5 | 11.4 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.0 |
| 1993 - ENMU | 7.6 | 8.2 | 10.2 | 5.8 | 5.2 | 4.5 |
| 1993 - NAT'L | 5.2 | 5.1 | 11.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.2 |
| NOTE: National norms are for small public colleges and universities with low admission selectivity |
Table II
CIRP Participants Reporting That They Need Remedial Preparation In ... (all values in %)
| English | Reading | Math | Soc. Stud | Science | For. Lang. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 - ENMU | 17.4 | 5.7 | 32.3 | 5.3 | 13.7 | 13.7 |
| 1989 - NAT'L | 12.6 | 5.1 | 29.2 | 4.0 | 12.7 | 13.1 |
| 1991 - ENMU | 19.5 | 7.4 | 44.9 | 7.6 | 21.9 | 16.7 |
| 1991 - NAT'L | 17.0 | 6.9 | 38.6 | 5.7 | 15.7 | 5.2 |
| 1993 - ENMU | 21.9 | 6.7 | 49.0 | 8.3 | 23.0 | 21.0 |
| 1993 - NAT'L | 13.7 | 4.4 | 35.8 | 4.5 | 14.8 | 13.4 |
| NOTE: National norms are for small public colleges and universities with low admission selectivity |
Table III
Summary of Cross-Tab Comparison of
ENMU Students Who Had and Need Remidial Assistance In ...
| English | Reading | Math | Soc. Stud | Science | For. Lang. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 - ENMU | 92 | 91 | 124 | 61 | 58 | 49 |
| 1989 - NAT'L | 295 | 97 | 596 | 108 | 291 | 258 |
| 1991 - ENMU | 8 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| NOTE: The total population for 1989, 1991, and 1993 CIRP administration was 1556 |
