| Overall Rating | Silver |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 64.13 |
| Liaison | Michael Kensler |
| Submission Date | Feb. 4, 2022 |
Auburn University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 4.00 |
Sarah
Hamilton Associate Professor and Director Academic Sustainability Program |
Does the institution conduct an assessment of the sustainability literacy of its students?:
Which of the following best describes the literacy assessment? The assessment is administered to::
Which of the following best describes the structure of the assessment? The assessment is administered as a::
A copy of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment(s):
A list or sample of the questions included in the sustainability literacy assessment or the website URL where the assessment tool may be found:
A brief description of how the literacy assessment was developed and/or when it was adopted:
The attached file lists the pre- and post-test questions administered to students enrolled in the course SUST 2000 Introduction to Sustainability and in the course HONR 1027 Sustainability in the Modern World during the fall of 2021. These questions were administered to 115 students prior to their first lecture and 112 students (following three withdrawals) at the conclusion of the course. These questions were adapted from those developed by The Ohio State University and published online as Assessment of Sustainability Knowledge (https://ess.osu.edu/research/assessment-sustainability-knowledge-ask). They replaced earlier questions developed on an ad-hoc basis by previous instructors of the Sustainability core course, and were implemented for the first time in the fall of 2021.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The assessments were administered as a pre- and post-test process. On the first day of class in SUST 2000, students were given an ungraded multiple choice test of sixteen questions that were collected and scored. The same sixteen questions appeared on an ungraded assessment quiz at the conclusion of the course. The mean and median scores for the pre- and post-tests were compared, to assess students' sustainability literacy before and after taking the course.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
In general, a majority of the students answered most of the questions correctly on the pretest. Students' scores ranged widely, from 37.5% (six out of 16 questions) to 100%, with a mean score of 78.7% and a median score of 81.25% (13 out of sixteen questions).
At the end of the course, the mean score increased to 88.39%, with a median score of 93.75 (15 out of 16 questions). This indicated that: (1) students entered the Sustainability core course with some literacy about sustainability definitions, scope, and major issues, and that (2) after students completed the course their sustainability literacy significantly improved, such that almost all of them were able to correctly answer a variety of questions about sustainability.
Website URL where information about the sustainability literacy assessment is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.