| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.32 |
| Liaison | Merry Rankin |
| Submission Date | Aug. 29, 2022 |
Iowa State University
AC-6: Sustainability Literacy Assessment
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.00 / 4.00 |
Merry
Rankin ISU Director of Sustainability Facilities Planning & Management |
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:
A pre-/post-test assessment of sustainability literacy is administered through an Environmental Science course, required for the major. This pre/post-assessment is administered as a part of an ongoing assessment of learning and retention to guide course structure from year to year.
A brief description of how a representative sample was reached (if applicable) and how the assessment(s) were administered :
The assessment is administered to all students taking Environmental Science 201. This includes all first year Environmental Science majors, as well as a number of juniors and seniors taking the class as elective. As a result, all years of study and all colleges have representation. For pre-assessment, throughout the semester, all students receive a few literacy questions, through Top Hat surveying, as a part of each class for pre-assessment. At the end of the semester, a subset of survey questions survey is included on the final exam for post-assessment.
A brief summary of results from the literacy assessment(s):
Results from Fall 2021 pre and post-testing offered the following conclusions:
1. Pre-assessment averaged scores of 50%, as compared to post-assessment scores of 83%.
2. Areas students collectively struggle with involve those that call upon the students to justify their thinking with regards to prioritizing different environmental problems and solutions.
3. Shifting curriculum toward focusing on distinguishing between fact-based claims and value-based claims - and making the distinction concrete, assists student systems thinking and solutions development when addressing environmental problems and solutions.
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.