Chico Students Excel in State and National Exams
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 10, 1999
Joe Wills
530-898-4143
Chico Students Excel in State and National Exams
California State University, Chico students continue to score exceptionally well on national and statewide professional competency exams, as evidenced by CSU, Chico’s recent top ranking among schools with students taking the California Reading Instruction Competency Assessment test.
Passage rates for the test, released in April by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, revealed that CSU, Chico led all public and private universities with a 98.4 pass rate. The test is a mandated in California for applicants for a Multiple Subject Credential.
Other universities with prospective teachers taking the test included Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, 97.6 pass rate, Long Beach State, 84.3, San Diego State, 83.3, and Sonoma State, 89.1.
In another academic area, CSU, Chico students taking the national speech pathology certification exam earlier this year had a 100 percent passing rate. National test results released last year by the Educational Testing Service showed that CSU, Chico graduate students in speech pathology performed better over the previous two years than students from the largest and most prestigious U.S. universities. Chico students’ pass rate on the exam over that period-92 percent-was five percent higher than the pass rate of schools classified as Research University I and II.
Many students are required to take exams when completing bachelor or master’s programs in order to begin professional careers and become licensed or certified. Other examples of recent student achievements include the following:
* School of Nursing took top ranking among 217 U.S. nursing schools with B.A. programs when its 1997-98 graduates had a 100-percent passage rate on the national RN licensing exam, while the national average was 86 percent.
* Nutrition and food sciences students have had a 95 percent pass rate on the Registered Dietitians national exam for the past 10 years. In addition, students completing the Dietetic Internship, which is available for only M.S. students, have had a 100 percent entrance exam passage rate. The national average passage rate is around 80 percent..
* College of Business students taking the 1998 Certified Financial Planner Board Certification exams had a passage rate of 75 percent, while the national average is only 57 percent.
* Engineering seniors are encouraged to take the national Engineer-In-Training (EIT) exam and the Professional Engineers License Exam to become licensed as professional engineers by the California State Board of Registration. The overall average pass rate for the last four years for CSU, Chico students is 83 percent, compared to 62.25 percent for all students taking the EIT.
In explaining the high marks CSU, Chico students receive, administrators point to a campus climate of hard work that expects student success.
“Students come to Chico and find a university environment that is caring and demanding at the same time,” said Robert Hannigan, vice provost for enrollment management. “Our students get focused on the tasks ahead, which is why our graduation rate leads the CSU, and why we lead many other schools in national competitions.”
“These national exams are objective and competitive. We do well in them because we demand hard work on the part of our students,” said CSU, Chico President Manuel Esteban. “I am very proud of the accomplishments of our students and feel that their success reflects well on the commitment and excellence of our faculty.”
CSU, Chico Provost Scott McNall said, “Our students do well because of the incredible dedication of our faculty to the students and the willingness of the faculty to work hard to create positive learning environments and to help students realize their dreams.”
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