Montana State University College Portrait

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Students
Find out more about the characteristics of students who attend MSU.
Admissions
See how many students applied, accepted, and enrolled at MSU. Learn more about students’ high school preparation and test scores.
College Costs & Financial Aid
Learn about costs to attend MSU and how much financial aid is typically awarded.
College Cost Estimator
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Classes and Campus Life
Learn more about professors, where students live, and campus safety at MSU.
Student Experiences
Discover ways to be actively involved in your education at MSU – inside and outside the classroom.
Majors, Graduation and Next Steps
See which majors are most popular at MSU and what recent graduates plan to do after earning their bachelor's degree.
Student Success & Progress
Discover how many students who start at MSU finish their bachelor's degree and how long it takes.
Student Learning Outcomes
Figure out what learning gains to expect in critical thinking, writing, and other important subjects at MSU.

Student Learning at Montana State University

All colleges and universities use multiple approaches to measure student learning. Many of these are specific to particular disciplines, many are coordinated with accrediting agencies, and many are based on outcomes after students have graduated.

The ETS-Proficiency Profile (formerly known as MAPP) was selected to measure student learning outcomes, specifically, written communication and critical thinking. The test is described as “an integrated test of general education skills. The full MAPP assessment provides skills sub scores for critical thinking, reading, writing and mathematics. It also provides context based sub scores for humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. For the purposes of the VSA, only written communication and critical thinking sub scores will be utilized. Both norm and criterion referenced scores are provided. Norm referenced scores are used for baseline performance or for institutional comparison while criterion referenced scores are beneficial for determining strengths and weaknesses in curriculum. As a result, MAPP can be utilized to provide institutional reporting as required by the VSA and, if desired, expanded to provide information for curricular improvement. Both paper and web based forms are available. Scores can be received by the student and/or institution immediately with the web based version."

Students and transfers are combined in the assessment results under the "Pilot Project to Measure Core Learning Outcomes" section below.

Learning Assessment Examples

Pilot Project to Measure Core Learning Outcomes

Colleges and universities participating in the College Portrait measure the typical improvement in students' abilities to think, reason, and write using one of three tests. This is part of a 4-year pilot project to better understand and compare what students learn between their freshman and senior years at different colleges and universities.

As the pilot project comes to a close, it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot project within the College Portrait and to disclose the results to the public. All VSA participating institutions are encouraged to report their results; MSU reported results from one of the VSA-approved value-added SLO assessments below. Institutions who have not posted SLO results from one of the three VSA approved value-added pilot measures by the end of September 2012 are required to report their results here.

2010 - 11 Results from the ETS Proficiency Profile (formerly MAPP)

The ETS Proficiency Profile (formerly MAPP) measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and written communication and reports separate scores on critical thinking and written communication.

Test Administration Process

Test Information

Critical Thinking Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in critical thinking skills is at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 112
Senior Score: 118
ETS score range: 100 to 130

Average ACT scores for tested students
Freshman Score: 25
Senior Score: 27

Written Communication Results for First-time, Full-time Students

The increase in written communication skills is at or near what would be expected at an institution testing students of similar academic abilities.

Freshman Score: 115
Senior Score: 118
ETS score range: 100 to 130