Paralegal 2007-09 Assessment Report
Outcome 1 / MeasurableCriteria / Measurement
Tool / Time Frame
Paralegal students will be prepared to work in private & public legal offices and law-related departments of business and government agencies. / a) Graduates responding to a survey will report that the program prepared them to perform legal research; draft letters/pleadings/motions/ briefs; assist with trial/hearing preparation; use computer applications; and work with clients/witnesses.
b) Employers responding to an employer survey will report satisfaction with paralegal students’ preparation. / a) Graduate Survey
b) Employer Survey / a) Winter 08
b) Spring or Summer 08 & 09
Outcome 2 / Measurable
Criteria / Measurement
Tool / Time Frame
Paralegal students will use a variety of computer applications to accurately produce and format legal forms, pleadings, and briefs according to the Court Rules. / Paralegal students will meet at least 80% of the performance criteria established in the Court Rules applied to legal documents. / Student scores on designated documents in LEGL 102. / LEGL 102 Winter 08, & 09.
Results: During Winter 2008 and Winter 2009, there were a total of 40 students completing Legl 102 (24 for Winter 2008, 16 for Winter 2009). The final grade was not used because it was made up of a variety of components (skill building on the computer, homework which was graded as being completed it or not, as well as the performance tests). Since the final test comprised of multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and short answer questions, only the three performance tests (creating specific legal pleadings) were chosen as the measurement tool. The grade scale of the performance tests is as follows: no errors = 100%, 1 error = 92%, 2 errors = 86% and 3 errors = 80%, 4 errors = 75%, 5 errors = 68%, 6 errors = 60%, and 7 or more errors = 0%. Students’ test scores for the two classes were in the following categories:
LEGAL 102 TEST RESULTS
Winter 2008 and 2009 Totals
Percent / Errors / Test 1 / Test 2 / Test 3
100 / 0 / 12 / 5 / 3
92 / 1 / 15 / 15 / 15
86 / 2 / 5 / 11 / 14
80 / 3 / 6 / 5 / 5
75 / 4 / 0 / 2 / 2
68 / 5 / 1 / 2 / 1
60 / 6 / 1 / 0 / 0
0 / 7+ / 0 / 0 / 0
Total Students with 3 or fewer errors / 38 / 36 / 37
Total Students / 40 / 40 / 40
Percent Accuracy / 95 / 90 / 92.5
Analysis: When looking at the chart above, most students’ results on their tests were 80 percent or above. Test 1 had 95% accuracy, Test 2 had 90 percent accuracy, and Test 3 had 92.5 percent accuracy. Because the tests were graded on accuracy (spelling and grammar included), proofreading ability, keyboarding skill, as well as being able to format a pleading or other legal document according to the court rules, we could not determine what type of errors the student made—were the errors because the student didn’t know the court rules on creating the format of the pleading or were they proofreading errors, keyboarding errors, or a combination of all the different kinds of errors?
Action Plan: Because it couldn’t be determined from the data that the students were knowledgeable about the court rules when formatting legal pleadings, a test will be created measuring the students’ ability to access and use the court rules for Washington State as well as the local court rules for Thurston County. For the next assessment cycle, the measurement tool will be changed so that it is more specific. We will then collect data using this new tool during the next assessment cycle.
Business Technology Division 2