| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.92 |
| Liaison | Christie-Joy Hartman |
| Submission Date | Dec. 21, 2018 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
James Madison University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Christine
DeMars Professor and Senior Assessment Specialist Graduate Psychology and Center for Assessment and Research |
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Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students (i.e. an assessment focused on student knowledge of sustainability topics and challenges)?:
Yes
Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
The entire (or predominate) student body, directly or by representative sample
Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
Pre- and post-assessment to the same cohort or to representative samples in both a pre- and post-test
A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
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A sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
Sample questions are below. The full test contains 45 items. The remaining items, which are confidential, are similar.
1. Based on the graph below [graph], which sector of the US economy had the largest decrease in emissions from 1990 to 2008?
a) Agriculture
b) Industry
c) Electricity generation
d) Transportation
2. The tragedy of the commons refers to situations where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, can ultimately deplete a shared limited resource even though exploitation of shared resources is harmful to everyone. Consider the example of crab fishing in Alaska. In an effort to protect limited resources, regulators have shortened the fishing season to less than a week per year. As a result, fishermen all deliver their catch at the same time. This frenetic race to catch as much as possible in this short window of time results in lowered prices for the fisherman, increased costs to the fishermen, and increased danger for fishermen. And even with the very short season in place, the total catch may still be above the sustainable limit. In this case, which of the following strategies might potentially overcome the dilemmas inherent in this tragedy of the commons?
a) Increase the length of the season and at the same time increase the cost of all fishing licenses.
b) Shorten the length of the season and at the same time increase the cost of all fishing licenses.
c) Convene community meetings and trust the individuals to equitably maintain the resource.
d) Lengthen the season and issue individual quotas for total season catch limits.
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
A subcommittee of the JMU Institute for Stewardship of the Natural World Education and Scholarship Committee created the instrument. Faculty from multiple disciplines participated and staff participated in the instrument creation.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
Incoming first-year students are required to participate in an assessment day. They are randomly assigned to assessments, of which the Environmental Stewardship Reasoning and Knowledge Assessment (ESRKA) is one, by the last digits of their student ID numbers. This random assignment ensures the samples are representative of the student body. 18 months later, students take the same assessments. Assessments are administered in proctored conditions.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s), including a description of any measurable changes over time:
A recent complete cohort with both pre- and post-tests took the pre-test in August 2014 and the post-test in February 2016. Matched pre- and post-test scores were available for 413 students. Average learning gains were about 5 percentage points (mean score 65.6% pretest, 70.6% post-test.) Some items were revised in 2017. Fall 2018 was the first administration of the revised test. During the Fall 2018 assessment day, over 1000 incoming first-year students took the test.
Optional Fields
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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