An analysis of the success rates of PC students WHO enter the Pre-College program throughout the various levels (BP-PC IV).

Abstract

Rationale: The aim of the Pre-College Program is to prepare students for entrance into MUIC or English programs in other universities. Quarter by quarter, students are accepted into the PC Program to study English at various levels from elementary through to advanced depending on their placement results. However, there is no available research data to track PC students who enter at the various levels and their success rate in the advanced level (PC4). Objective: This paper is an analysis of the success rates of PC students who enter the PC Program at the various levels of study (BP-PC4). The research focused mainly on comparing the pass rates of those students who entered at level 4 to those who entered at the lower levels (BP - PC 3) in academic years 2003-2005. This will help establish the efficacy of PC placement and passing criteria. Methodology:The paper is a quantitative analysis of the percentage of students who enter at the various levels of the program and successfully complete PC4 in academic years 2003-2005. The data was collected using existing student records. The students were placed into focus groups according to the level at which they entered the program and the number of required attempts before successfully completing PC4. Codes were assigned to students to represent their individual entry levels and attempts at PC4. The following is a summary of the coding system used in this study: The first digit indicates the level at which each student entered the program. The subsequent digits are defined as follows: 10 : successful on their first attempt at PC4 11 : successful on their second attempt at PC4 12 : successful on their third attempt at PC4 (student studying with condition) 13 : successful after pending TOEFL 20 : required to repeat PC 4 after first failed attempt 21 : student asked to leave the program after a second failed attempt 22 : student asked to leave the program after failing as a condition student 23 : student asked to leave the program because he/she did not submit the required TOEFL score within the given 6 month period 24 : student successfully completed all subjects (R, W, L&S) but unable to achieve the required TOEFL score Results: Due to the changes to the criteria in college entrance requirements, the data for each study year was different, making it difficult for clear conclusions to be made. Entrance to the main college in year 2003 was dependent on passing the three skill levels in PC 4 with limited weighting of TOEFL scores. This may have made entrance to the college easier for PC students in 2003. Entrance to the main college after quarter 3 in year 2004 was dependent on passing PC4 and achieving a minimal TOEFL score of 500 in quarters 1 and 2 and increasing to 520 in quarters 3 and 4. Due to these changes in TOEFL requirements in 2004 and the necessary transition period affecting the students in the system at that time between quarter 2 and 4, the average passing grade could conceivably have been lower if current students at the time were subject to the same, strict entrance requirements as students later in the same year. With this in mind, it can be concluded that years 2004 and 2005 were fairly similar in terms of the percentage of students entering the program who eventually passed PC4. This also suggests that the PC program aligned itself better with the requirements of the college, which also raised its standards at around the same time. Overall, the results suggest that PC has become harder to pass; however, because of the varying entrance criteria in each study year, a comparison of the results is not possible. In order to assess the true value of this research, further research is needed to analyze the extent to which students from the differing years succeeded upon entering the college and the degree to which PC prepared them for life within an international college environment and the resulting high standards placed upon them. During the three study years, the data suggests that on average, students who began the program in the elementary levels achieved slightly higher passing rates than those who entered the program in levels 3 or 4. The comparatively similar success rates of students in each level suggest that PC placement criteria have been effective in placing new students into the correct initial level. This also suggests that the curricula in each level adequately prepares student for subsequent levels, thereby ensuring smooth transition through the levels.