Exemplary Program Award

2014 Exemplary Award

Santa Monica College - Prep2Test

Santa Monica CollegeSanta Monica College was selected to receive the Exemplary Program Award for its Prep2Test Program. The Prep2Test program has raised student awareness in the importance of preparing for placement exams and improving the percentage of students placing into college -level math and English. This multi-pronged program was developed in response to the increasing number of students placing into developmental mathematics and English courses at Santa Monica College (SMC), students who were generally not prepared for the placement tests. The program has grown into a video, website, Prep2Test Challenge Quiz and soon a Prep2Test app will be available. “The Prep2Test online video-streaming format engages students of this generation in a way that simple websites of practice exams have not previously been able to accomplish,” says Dr. Chui L. Tsang, Superintendent and President of Santa Monica College.“ In 2 and ½ year this program has improved the placement of students into college-level English and mathematics by 41% and 49% respectively.” The Prep2Test has changed the way SMC analyzes quantitative/qualitative data, and their new mobile technology will provide global access to this innovative program.

Cañada College - Math Jam

Cañada College

Cañada College was selected to receive the Exemplary Program Award for its Math Jam Program. The goal of this intensive math placement test program is to reduce the completion time for an Associate Degree and/or transfer to a four-year institution by allowing students the opportunity to improve their math skills, retake the math placement exam, and test into higher-level math courses, thereby shortening the amount of time to transfer and improve the retention and success rates of these students. Over four years test scores improved to 94% with 64% of students being placed into higher level math classes. “Math Jam participation has been linked to markedly improved retention and persistence rates among incoming students,” said Dr. Larry Buckley, President of Cañada College. “Additionally, Math Jam has been instrumental in connecting students to campus resources and supporting programs, while enhancing a campus community that strives for academic success.” In 2013, Math Jam was awarded the J. Russell Kent Exemplary Program Award by the San Mateo County School Board Association for having a positive impact on the students in their community.

Honorable Mentions
Willow International Community College Center - collaboration with Clovis West High School

Willow International Community College Center

Willow International Community College Center earned an Honorable Mention for its four-year collaboration with Clovis West High School to focus on Academic behaviors and composition and reading rigor. This partnership focuses on hard skills (academic language, composition, and reading skills) that are aligned with the student learning outcomes of English 1A and on soft skills (time management, professional deportment, and presentation skills) that enhance the students’ readiness for college. Now in the third year of implementation of the new curriculum, Clovis Unified School District is seeing enormous growth in the number of students who were successful in high school and went on to college, as well as a change in culture on the Clovis West High School campus. “It has been one of the most successful programs we have seen, and it is one that we encourage other colleges to emulate,” said Deborah J. Ikeda, President of the Willow International College Center. “Students are taking their futures seriously, planning their activities and studies so they are fully prepared not only in composition, but in all of their other fields as well.”

Norco College - Summer Advantage

Norco College earned an Honorable Mention for its Summer Advantage program. This program grew out of Norco College’s Step Ahead program (a 2012 ASCCC Exemplary Program Award Honorable Mention) which was designed to provide students with the skills they need to succeed in college. After reviewing the college readiness skills of their 2012 group and the impact of the choices made by their students, Norco College modified the program with their largest Corona- Norco Unified School District seniors 2013 class, and the Summer Advantage program was born. This multi-faceted approach of intensive workshops in academic discourse and mathematics skills helps to more accurately determine the placement of students. “Summer Advantage is an example of collaboration between institutions to solve an ongoing problem for the community college system – the accurate placement of incoming high school seniors,” said Dr. Paul Parnell, President of Norco College. “The success of the program is seeing high percentages of students’ advance one to three levels in math and one to two levels in English.”