Performance on AL Basic Skills Test

Performance of Shelton State Community College Transfers
on the Alabama Basic Skills Tests 2000-2001
A Research Brief

Prepared by The Office of Institutional Research
Michele G. Jarrell, Ph.D., Coordinator

with data from
The Performance of Alabama College System Students on
the Alabama Basic Skills TestBUpdate
Robert Lockwood, Ph.D., Department of Postsecondary Education

Students who enter a college of education at a four-year institution in Alabama must obtain a passing score of 300 or higher on the Alabama Basic Skills Test.  This test was developed by National Computer Systems.  The test comprises three major areas - reading writing, and mathematics.  The Chancellor=s Office in the Department of Postsecondary Education recently released data on the performance of students from the Alabama College System two-year colleges compared to that of native students in the four-year institutions.
 
 

Table 1
Number Tested and Average Scale Score

As shown in Table 1, the average scale score of Shelton State Community College students was nine points higher than the average for all ACS two-year college students.  Shelton State=s students average score was sixteen points higher than the average for non-ACS students.  Non-ACS students are those who are native to the four-year institutions.  The average score for all students, both ACS and non-ACS, was 349.43.

The scores for the various groups indicate that the preparation received by ACS students and Shelton State students in particular is comparable to the preparation received at other institutions in the state.  Shelton State students outperformed on average students who had  not been students in an ACS two-year school and those who attended 20 of the 27 ACS schools.