Examining College Students’ Gains in General Education

Dena A. Pastor, Pamela K. Kaliski, and Brandi A. Weiss   |    Volume Two  |   

Abstract

Do students change as a result of completing their general education requirement? This question was
examined by using a pretest/posttest design with five different cohorts of students required to complete a
general education program in American history and politics. Differences among various groups in Cohen’s
d (the standardized difference between pretest and posttest means) were examined using hierarchical linear
modeling. Results indicated that differences could be explained by how the requirement was fulfilled;
negligible gains were found for students using advanced placement or transfer credit (.04 -.18), whereas
moderate/large gains were found for students who had completed the university course(s) (.42 – .90). The
gain found for students yet to fulfill the requirement (.28) was explained by the large presence in that
group of students currently enrolled in the course. Different definitions of d used with the pretest/posttest
design are described and implications of the results for assessment are discussed.

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