Assessing writing and editing skills of first-year college students enrolled in short-term certificate and associate programs at the College of Technology, Idaho State University

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of interventions focusing on writing skills on student learning outcomes in a first-semester introductory business English course that stresses the development of editing and proofreading skills and the correct use of English grammar by comparing students' results, as measured by a pre- and post-diagnostic assessment tool, with the results of control groups comprised of first-semester students from Idaho State University College of Technology. The second purpose of this study was to determine the retention of student learning outcomes in a second-semester business communication course that is designed to prepare students to write and speak professionally in a sophisticated corporate setting and to review basic writing, proofreading, and grammar skills by comparing students' results, as measured by a pre- and post-diagnostic assessment tool, with the results of control groups comprised of second-semester students from other College of Technology classes.;Although both global and local writing competencies are necessary and are both taught in the experimental classes, the focus is on the assessment of local skills and the improvement or retention of those skills over a ten-week period. This project discussed the important topic of assessing first-year college student performance and provided a plan for assessing students' editing skills several times throughout their first year of college.;The literature review highlighted a historical perspective of business communication, present-day business communication, accountability for writing skills of college graduates, and research using assessment data to promote learning.;This study used a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental control-group design and collected data from 56 participants based upon the results of the Grammar and Mechanics Diagnostic Assessment for both the experimental and the control groups. The results of the project were compiled and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).;The findings appear to support current literature that students can improve or maintain their proofreading and editing skills in just one course. With concerted effort and by taking assessment seriously, faculty can adopt strategies in their program areas that positively affect the outcomes of students' writing and editing skills.