Based on the premise that remedial education at the college level does not solve the problem of high student attrition levels, the Nevada System of Higher education’s (NSHE) colleges and universities followed the nationwide trend of eliminating remedial courses in favor of an alternative “corequisite” supportive model. The College of Southern Nevada (CSN), NSHE’s largest institution of higher learning, is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HIS) with a diverse student population. Despite open enrollment, access to college-level writing curriculum has not been guaranteed, and identification of English Language Learning needs were not included, due to the summative and prescriptive nature of CSN's long-standing standardized single-measure placement test. More than 50% of all students consistently scored as underprepared, limiting access to college level English composition courses, marginalizing a large segment of its rich and diverse linguistic, ethnic, and socio-economic student population. CSN needed a descriptive and inclusive English placement tool to validate each student's unique set of educational experiences and provide social justice to those underrepresented students who have been marginalized under a high-stake standardized assessment framework. With the development of a “Guided Self-Placement” (GSP) model, CSN has been able to fully restore open access to college composition. Its GSP questionnaire calls upon students’ metacognitive processes to reflect on their own unique and personal reading and writing experiences where their responses are quantified into a composite score, which they use to choose the most appropriate English course, including sheltered courses for ELL students. Allowing students to make their own placement decisions empowers them

Authors:
Stephen Peridore, College of Southern Nevada, United States
Levia Hayes, College of Southern Nevada, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Dr STEPHEN PERIDORE is a University Professor/Principal Lecturer at College of Southern Nevada, United States

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