Retention | Standardized Test Scores | Anonymous Student Course Evaluations

1. RETENTION

A national survey of 427 institutions showed that the average retention from first-year to second-year chemistry courses was just 29.8%. The trial sites participating in this new curriculum have begun with retention statistics well above national norms. Still, statistics at these sites (that already have a superior retention record) show that a student is even more likely to remain in the sequence of chemistry courses under the new curriculum than under the old curriculum. We also note that specific programmatic issues (e.g., the number of students whose majors require just one year of chemistry) are likely to cause a baseline attrition rate that will not be subject to improvement.

All trial sites showed improved retention at every stage of the new curriculum. The semesters at which the relative gains compared to the traditional curriculum varied the most differed from site to site. We suppose that this may be due to programmatic issues, but further data must be collected to test that hypothesis.

The Percentage of Students Retained, measured from day one = 100%
(IWU Data Only)

The Percentage of Students Retained, measured from end of first semester = 100%
(Trial Site 2, Private liberal arts college)

The Percentage of Students Retained, measured as those eligible to continue in series (Trial Site 5, a state university; one trial section of about 25 students)

2. STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES

The Effect Of The Integrated Chemistry Curriculum On MCAT Scores
A Preliminary Report


We have had only one cycle of integrated chemistry students (22 in all) take the Medical Colleges Admissions Test (MCAT). We compared the average scores of this group to a similar group of students who had the traditional chemistry curriculum and who took the MCAT in the previous year and a half. The results are given as the average score of all students in each group. The averages are reported in the three categories provided by MCAT: Verbal, Physical Science, and Life Science.


Average MCAT Scores For Students Using Either The Traditional
Or The Integrated Chemistry Curriculum

Thus, when separated into two groups based upon the students' chemistry curriculum, both groups had nearly identical verbal ability (exact same raw score, within 0.5 percentile due to normative statistics used in different versions of the MCAT). We interpret this to mean the two groups are of nearly identical average intellectual ability. The two groups differed by 0.65 raw score, or 6.6 percentile in physical sciences (which includes general chemistry topics). The integrated chemistry group had the higher score. The two groups differed by 0.44 raw score, or 8.1 percentile in biological sciences (which includes organic chemistry topics). The integrated chemistry group had the higher score.

A Quick Note About the Statistical Approach, Benchmarks Used:

The meaning of the MCAT raw scores changes somewhat from test to test. The midpoint of the indicated range was used to interpolate between scores.


The 1999 MCAT had physical 9 = 59.8-72.0, 65.9 midpoint; physical 10 = 72.1-84.3, 78.2 midpoint; biological 9 = 46.9-65.2, 56.0 midpoint; biological 10 = 65.3-82.7, 74.0 midpoint.


The 2000 MCAT had physical 9 = 56.3-70.5, 63.4 midrange; physical 10 = 70.6-83.3, 77.0 midrange; biological 10 = 66.0-84.0, 75.0 midpoint; biological 11 = 83.4-91.5, 87.4 midrange.

3. ANONYMOUS STUDENT COURSE EVALUATIONS

Students were asked a variety of objective and subjective questions concerning their chemistry course. At IWU, these questions were asked of students in both the old curriculum and the new curriculum.

The results at IWU showed that students were more likely to report an increased interest in chemistry after taking the new curriculum. Student evaluations of the new curriculum reported a higher perception of textbook usefulness than did student evaluations of the old curriculum, when a nationally renown general chemistry text was used. When asked how they would respond to a friend asking if he or she should take the traditional segregated approach or the experimental integrated approach, students recommended the integrated approach in a two-to-one ratio, both at IWU and at a trial site that used a similar questionnaire.

Interest in Chemistry (from IWU Student Evaluations)

Student Response to the Statement: "The textbook was helpful." (%) (from IWU Student Evaluations)

Student Response when asked to recommend either the traditional segregated curriculum or the new integrated curriculum to a friend. (%) (IWU Data Only)