Program for Area Concentration Achievement Testing.

The Program for Area Concentration Achievement Testing (PACAT) produces the cooperative assessment instrument known as the Area Concentration Achievement Test (ACAT). The ACAT uses a model designed specifically to measure curricular strengths and weaknesses and to provide this information at the departmental level. PACAT has developed 57 descriptive curriculum patterns for 12 disciplines based on survey information from 5,699 academic departments. The number of ACATs administered annually has grown from 400 in 1988 to over 2,600 in 1992. The PACAT was developed with support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), and this report is the final report under the FIPSE grant. During the period of FIPSE support, PACAT staff published 3 articles and made 23 presentations concerning the project. PACAT staff also conducted workshops or discussion groups and assisted in the conduct of two doctoral dissertations and one master’s thesis. Approximately 9,000 sets of survey results and curricula have been distributed by PACAT. Test items for the ACAT are developed by working with faculty in participating departments to construct items that reflect their expectations of performance at a level appropriate for graduating seniors. Area concentration achievement tests are available in the following fields: agriculture, art, biology, communication, literature in English, political science, psychology, and social work. It is a measure of PACAT’s success that it continues beyond the FIPSE support period, working with over 100 academic departments in 28 states. The body of the report contains: (1) “Project Overview”; (2) “Purpose”; (3) “Background and Origins”; (4) “Project Descriptions”; (5) “Project Results”; and (6) “Summary and Conclusions.” Nine appendixes present supplemental information, including content area survey descriptions, lists of participants and ACAT users, and sample materials. (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * * from the original document. Program for Area Concentration Achievement Testing Grantee Organization: Austin Peay State University College Street Clarksville, TN 37044 Grant Number: P114268 Project Dates: Starting Date: August 1, 1988 Ending Date: July 31, 1992 Number of Months: 48 (36 + 12 month no cost extension) Project Director: Anthony Golden Department of Psychology Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN 37044 Telephone: (615) 648-7451 FIPSE Program Officer(s): Constance Cook Lewis Greenstein