ADDING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO THE CAREER PIPELINE USING A SUCCESSFUL MODEL OF CREDIT-BY-EXAM FOR INTRODUCTORY PHYSICAL GEOLOGY

Since 2001, more than 240 students at Hudsonville High School have taken an end-of-year exam to receive four college credits in physical geology. The exam was developed by a cadre of faculty at GVSU and consists of three parts: a lecture exam, a landform exam, and rock and mineral exam. The lecture exam is 60 multiple choice and seven short-answer questions. Questions were gleaned from past college exams of 13 different faculty. The landform exam uses 11 different maps to assess map reading skills and the ability to identify and interpret landforms, especially glaciers, rivers, and coasts. The rock and mineral exam featured 26 minerals and rocks (from a possibly 51 specimens) and students identified samples, described physical characters or textures/composition, and interpreted environments of formation. The final grade was based on 60% lecture and 40% lab. Students needed to receive 70% of the points to pass the exam. To date, 213 students have passed the exam (87%), 12 have receive credit at GVSU, three at MTU, and four at Hope College. Other Hudsonville students have gone on to do well at four other state universities and at Clemson University. In spring of 2009, 50 students at a second Michigan high school took the exam; no students passed. A minimum of three high schools will participate in spring 2010. Two other state universities are considering accepting this test; ultimately, we hope to have a majority of state’s fifteen universities participating. Minor problems need to be solved. For example, we need to agree on a set of terms to minimize jargon. A more detailed syllabus, amenable to university collaborators and state science standards, needs to be standardized for teachers considering modifying their courses to use the exam. Lastly, a mechanism needs to be established for grading a large number of exams. Of the students that passed the exam, 32 have started geology or Earth science programs.