Applying Multiple Measures to Improve College Course Placement

Author: Abby E. Ryan

A few years ago, it was common practice for entering first-year college students to submit to an assessment exam for placement purposes in math and English courses. Students who scored high on these exams were placed in a college-level course, while others were led on the developmental education (DE) route. While this is a not-too-distant reality, it still occurs in institutions today. 

Advantages of Multiple Measures Placement

Developmental education, created to help students succeed in college-level courses, can be a double-edged sword. For those who need it, DE can be a useful way for unprepared students to develop the skills they need to pass a specific course. But for misplaced students, it could mean a delay in progression in credit-bearing work and extended time in earning their degree. 

According to the 2018 Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) report on developmental education practices, experts suggest that too many students are unnecessarily placed in developmental education courses because of standardized testing. This course of action poses barriers to students’ math success and influences their college and future trajectories. 

With heavy skepticism of the accuracy of standardized tests being the sole indicator of college readiness, other measures are being explored.

In this post, we’ll look at what multiple measures placements colleges are using, the benefits of them, and what policy considerations to look out for when considering placement changes in a redesign. 

What multiple measures are colleges using?

Instead of relying solely on standardized testing, colleges are using multiple measures for placement. For example, instead of using a one-time placement exam, a grade point average, SAT or ACT scores, state graduation tests, writing assessments, high school transcripts, and noncognitive assessments, can all be used to encapsulate a student’s breadth of knowledge and determine their competency for success in college courses. 

This form of multiple measures placement is becoming quite popular nationwide, with over 50% of community colleges adopting it. In fact, according to a report by the CCRC, data suggests that by using components, such as GPA and the items mentioned above, there will be “fewer misplacements (both into college-level courses and remediation) and higher success rates in college-level courses” (CCRC, 2015).

Multiple Measures Placement System Options

Suppose your college hasn’t implemented multiple measures placement yet. In that case, you have plenty of options to consider, including waiver systems, decision rules, decision bands, placement formulas or algorithms, and directed self-placement. 

• With waiver systems, students can be exempt from placement tests if they demonstrate college readiness through GPA, ACT, SAT, or other scores. 

• “Decision Rule systems place students according to a series of ‘if–then’ statements dependent upon their scores on multiple measures” (Ganga, 2019). If a student underperforms on each measure, he/she will be placed into a developmental math course, such as a corequisite or prerequisite. “Decision rules that apply only to students testing within a particular score range on traditional placement tests are called decision bands” (Ganga, 2019).

• By using a placement formula, a college uses an algorithm to assign a weight to each measure (GPA, SAT score, etc.) Based on these findings, a placement score is created, interpreting the student’s probability of passing a college-level course. 

• Directed Self-Placement can be used with any of the above options. When a student receives his/her placement, they can either enroll in a college-level or developmental education course. 

Choosing the right multiple measures placement type for your school can be a daunting task that includes spending more money, effort, and resources than you may like. In return, what you’ll have is an effective system that increases your students’ likelihood of graduating through proper placement. 

What are common issues surrounding multiple measures placement?

According to a 2019 brief by the CAPR, “Implementing a multiple measures placement system requires planning and participation from departments across a college. It can also require policy changes to allow new placement rules, along with preparation for shifts in the courses students take. College leaders and state and system policymakers should consider several issues before implementing a multiple measures placement system at their colleges” (Ganga, 2019).

When it comes to changing policy, you can almost always count on spending more time and effort implementing it. For instance, with some of the multiple measures placement system options surrounding collected data, all of it must be gathered, analyzed, and interpreted. For this to run smoothly, a college or state must have a robust institutional research capacity.

Other policy issues mentioned in the CAPR’s brief (page 6 & 7) include: 

• An added need to gather and process the data used in multiple measures placement.

• The function of multiple measures placement on other developmental and college completion reforms colleges are already engaging in, such as corequisite remediation and math pathways.

• The securing of buy-in from faculty, staff, and administrators.

• Ensuring a new placement system works as intended with states and colleges needing to monitor its effects by comparing developmental and college-level placement, enrollment, and pass rates under the old and new systems.

• States and systems need to allocate resources to collect and analyze data, update information systems, prepare for enrollment shifts, prepare new individual placement reports, and train advisors to explain results to students (Ganga, 2019).

How Almy Education Can Help

For schools looking to move past standardized testing but are unsure of which multiple measures to implement, there’s plenty of research available from the Community College Research Center and Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness. However, moving from research to action is no small feat. With the continued challenges of the pandemic, in addition to existing initiatives and workloads, it can be a daunting task to add another item to your to-do list. 

If you’re working to implement multiple placement measures but would like advice on which techniques to use and/or how to implement them logistically, reach out to Almy Education. This is one major component of redesign that Almy Education helps colleges and universities tackle. It’s a crucial step and should be first in your implementation plan. Placement affects everything, so getting a strong, effective, and feasible plan is essential to making the rest of your redesign a success.

CCRC. “Improving the Accuracy of Remedial Placement.” July 2010, ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/improving-accuracy-remedial-placement.pdf.

Ganga, Elizabeth, and Amy Mazzariello. “Modernizing College Course Placement by Using Multiple Measures.” Education Commission of the States, Apr. 2019, https://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/media/k2/attachments/Modernizing_College_Course_Placement_by_Using_Multiple_Measures_Final.pdf.

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