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Assessing Credit –bearing Information Literacy Class using
ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards
Wenli GaoInstructional Services Librarian
Morrisville State College
ENY/ACRL Spring 2012 Conference
Background• GNED 104 Basic Research Methods• One credit class that meets 10 weeks• Outcome: Students completing the GNED 104 Basic
Research Methods course will demonstrate an improvement in mastery of specific college subject area and life-long learning information literacy skills
Procedure• Pre-test in week 1, post-test in week 9 • 20 students took both tests (total 25 students)• 15 questions• Test questions were mapped against ACRL
Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
IL Standard Qs # Competency Pre-test Post-test Change
1 4 Types of resources 14.25 71% 16 80% 1.75 9%
1 9 Identify primary resources 12 60% 13 65% 1 5%
1 12 Scholarly/popular sources 15.8 79% 19.2 96% 3.4 17%
2 1 Awareness of library resources 14 70% 15 75% 1 5%
2 2 Refine search 16 80% 15 75% -1 -5%
2 3 Where to access information 14.75 74% 14 70% -0.75 -4%
2 6 Search library catalog 2 10% 12 60% 10 50%
2 7 Truncation 3 15% 7 35% 4 20%
2 8 Best place to find information 10.75 54% 16.5 83% 5.75 29%
2 11 Boolean logic 9 45% 7 35% -2 -10%
3 5 Web search technique 15 75% 15 75% 0 0
3 13 Evaluate web resources 14 70% 16 80% 2 10%
3 15 Understand web domains 18.2 91% 18.2 91% 0 0
5 10 When to cite information 13 65% 17 85% 4 20%
5 14 Citation 16 80% 13 65% -3 -15%
ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards• Standard 1: The information literate student determines the nature and
extent of the information needed.• Standard 2: The information literate student accesses needed information
effectively and efficiently.• Standard 3: The information literate student evaluates information and its
sources critically and incorporates selected information into his or her knowledge base and value system.
• Standard 4: The information literate student, individually or as a member of a group, uses information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose.
• Standard 5: The information literate student understands many of the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information and accesses and uses information ethically and legally.
Analysis of Pre-test Results by Question to Identify Teaching Focus
• Students taking GNED 104 had a fair amount of prior knowledge in some areas—web domain, refine search, & citation
• Students lacked prior knowledge about some basic library skills– search catalog, truncation
Pre and Post-test Scores• Paired t tests resulted in a significant improvement in total
scores from pre-test to post-test. • GNED 104 Students scored higher in each standard in the post-
test. • Paired t tests confirmed a statistically significant improvement in
standard 2 from pre-test to post-test(t=-2.529, p=0.02). Mean scores for standard 2 increased from 3.48 (SD=1.14) to 4.32 (SD=1.30).
• Significant improvement in student competencies in standard 2 appears to have led to the improvement
of the total score.
Letter Grade• Mean scores increased from a letter grade of D for
the pre-test to a letter grade of C for the post-test• For individual students
One student scored a B in the pre-test7 students scored a B or above in post-test; among them
three scored an A
Limitations• Pre and post tests used for this class were designed
for students in any major• Pre and post test also lacks handson tasks • ACRL information literacy standard 4 was not
measured