Skip to Main Content

CGS: Supporting Student Reading

Expected Academic Skills Chart

The following chart indicates the expected levels of college readiness and proficiency with academic literacy for first-semester students based on department research and multiple measures placement for reading and writing.  Each column describes the academic literacy skills instructors across the disciplines can expect from students at different course placement levels.

The purpose of this chart is to help departments, instructors, and advisors make appropriate course enrollment recommendations for students. The charts can also serve as a starting point for helping instructors develop first-year courses that address the learning needs of students.

Expected Academic Skills for Concurrent Courses in Developmental and First Year Writing

Course  

Reading  

Writing 

English 098 

Limited proficiency in academic reading and/or no recent experience with nonfiction academic reading 

 

Limited or no independent reading; texts are at a high school reading level; students have multiple opportunities to read and discuss texts in the classroom before completing graded assignments based on those texts 

 

No on-demand timed tests 

 

No expectation that students will engage in critical reading activities without substantial classroom and instructor learning support 

Limited proficiency in academic writing and/or no recent experiences with academic writing; sometimes limited proficiency in written English 

 

No independent academic writing; writing assignments are accompanied by substantial instructor support, guided in-class process work, and feedback prior to grading; no expectation that students are able to write at a college level 

 

No on-demand timed essays or long answer question exams 

 

No research except for guided in-class work 

English 101 

Limited on-demand timed tests; substantial portions of a course grade are based on non-timed assessments of student learning; graded learning activities are supported by classroom instruction on discipline-specific learning strategies 

 

Assigned texts a) are specifically written for students or a general reading audience; b) supplement information that is thoroughly covered in class; c) include textbook reading clues; d) do not extensively discuss abstract, theoretical, or complex concepts with the expectation that students will master those concepts 

 

Assignments and activities that require critical reading are thoroughly supported by instruction and in-class work 

Basic proficiency in academic writing with limited or no critical research experience 

 

Writing assignments develop a main point or thesis with evidence; assignments are accompanied by consistent instructor feedback and classroom learning support for the writing process prior to grading; no expectation that students are able to write source-based or analytical essays without instructor support 

 

No or limited on-demand timed writing or essay exams; timed writing is not a substantial part of graded coursework 

 

Limited end-of-semester research with extensive instructor support for the research process 

English 102 

Beginning college-level proficiency in academic reading; may or may not have recent experience reading academic nonfiction texts 

 

On-demand timed tests based on independent reading 

 

Assigned texts are appropriate for first semester students who read at a college level  

 

Assignments and activities include limited independent critical reading supported with instruction and in-class discussion 

 

 

Proficiency in beginning college-level writing; usually recent experience with college preparatory academic writing or intensive analytical workplace writing 

 

Writing assignments that require analysis based on research or course texts; lengthy writing assignments that are a substantial portion of a course grade; writing with limited or no instructor feedback during the writing process prior to grading 

 

Timed in-class essays or long answer questions that require analysis 

 

Beginning-of-semester basic research and end-of semester independent research that uses scholarly databases or analyzes sources