The California Chemistry Diagnostic Test is created by chemistry faculty members from Universities in California and distributed by an agreement between the ACS Exams Institute and the relevant University boards in CA.  This placement exam has been used as a pretest and posttest pair to assess students who take our introductory general chemistry course, which serves pre-nursing, general education laboratory science, and preparatory chemistry student populations.  We use the Toledo test, another ACS Exams Institute product, to advise students upon their entry into General Chemistry I, and those students whose scores are in the danger zone are encouraged to take the preparatory chemistry course.  The California diagnostic exam differs from the Toledo placement exam in that the Toledo exam includes an algebra portion and the California exam does not.  Since the introductory chemistry course is not a formal algebra course, the California test is better suited to assess the students at the end of the introductory chemistry course.  Upon successful completion of the preparatory course, many students demonstrate readiness to continue with General Chemistry I as is evidenced by our posttest data, as well as performance of these students on the Toledo test in a subsequent semester.  Data from several semesters will be presented, and variations and trends in student performance as well as student's intellectual and emotional responses to the pretest/posttest experience will be discussed.

Using the California Chemistry Diagnostic Test as a pretest and posttest pair in the introductory general chemistry course

246th National Meeting (2013)

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