An Assessment of the Impact of College-Level Testing on Teaching and Learning in Florida's Community Colleges.

This two-part report considers the implications of Florida's Post-Secondary Reorganization Bill for community colleges. Part I first presents the relevant sections of the Bill, which mandate that college students' computation and communication skills be tested at entry; that colleges provide remediation and counseling appropriate to students' scores; and that an upper-level test be developed to assess students' ability to succeed in upper-division course work. After outlining the purview of the Articulation Coordinating Committee, the report discusses the need for empirical data demonstrating the relationship between achievement test scores and academic success. The next section draws from several sources to estimate that testing will reveal that 25% to 75% of the community college freshmen will need remediation, while the following section considers the impact of older, reentry students on this estimate. The next two sections identify general responses a college can make and outline three specific alternatives: (1) provide referral for underprepared students; (2) provide one remedial course each in communication and computation; or (3) implement a developmental studies program. Finally, the possible effects of the upper-division exam on enrollments and public relations are enumerated. Part II of the report summarizes 13 findings of site visits and a survey of faculty attitudes toward college-level remediation. (AYC)