ADE Bulletin
039 (December 1973): 25-26
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REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE ON FRESHMAN ENGLISH IN FLORIDA: DIRECTIONS AND OBJECTIVES FOR THE 1970's

[Because English chairmen are finding it increasingly advantageous to initiate concerted, organized, and forceful action in matters of concern to their departments, new regional Associations of Departments of English are being formed each year. The following report illustrates the kind of leadership which can be exerted by such a regional organization. Ed.]

THE Florida Association of Departments of English (FADE) held a special spring conference on Friday and Saturday, 11­12 May 1973, in the Langford Hotel, Winter Park, focusing on the subject “Freshman English in Florida: Directions and Objectives for the 1970's.” An affiliate of the regional and national Association of Departments of English, the Florida Association is comprised of institutional representatives, including department chairmen and faculty, from departments of English in the public junior and community colleges, the private four-year colleges, and the public universities in the state. For this special conference on “Freshman English,” there were 57 participants in attendance representing the following numbers of institutions: 14 junior and community colleges, 3 private colleges, 6 state universities.

The goals and objectives of the conference, as enunciated in the opening session, included:

  1. The exchange of information about various facets of English department policies and programs in Florida colleges and universities.
  2. The evaluation of specific aspects of those policies and programs.
  3. The formulation of relevant statements about any matters deemed necessary and pertinent for freshman English.

Among the topics and subjects that were originally announced to participants as appropriate for consideration in the conference were the following:

  1. Freshman English: A Search for Consensus
  2. Credit by Examination
  3. Articulation: Course Transfer and Time-Shortened Degrees
  4. Evaluation of Faculty
  5. Job Opportunities
  6. Non-traditional Study in English: CLEP, USAFI, AP, etc.
  7. Communications Curriculum

In discussing the question “What is Freshman English?” the conferees discovered a predominant pattern in freshman English courses presently being offered throughout Florida. The typical pattern for freshman English, whether offered in 6 semester or 9 quarter hours, and whether offered in a two-year or four-year institution, includes at least one term of writing or composition based on principles of exposition or rhetoric and one term of writing based on literature.

After reviewing the rationale and objectives of these courses as reported by representatives of each institution, the conference formulated the following statement, “The Aims of Freshman English,” and adopted it unanimously as an appropriate description of the minimal competencies to be expected in English at the freshman level both in two-year and four-year colleges and universities:

Freshman English calls for development of critical skills in thinking, reading, and writing, including the effective uses of reference and resource materials.
A student should demonstrate college-level proficiency: (1) in recognizing and using basic processes of clear thought and clear communication; (2} in recognizing and using appropriate language; and (3) in reading expository and imaginative writing with understanding.

After reaching agreement about the aims of freshman English, the conference participants then focused on the subject of credit by examination and, specifically, on the use of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) throughout the state of Florida. Within the context of the stated aims for freshman English, these points were presented:

  1. A distinction can and should be made between examination for exemption and examination for equivalency, based on course objectives. Equivalency testing, moreover, must measure proficiency in the three minimal competencies specified above.
  2. Professionally qualified English faculty should participate in selecting and evaluating the examination to be used.

As a result of FADE's investigation and analysis of the currently-used CLEP examination, the conference decided that this test is not suitable as an equivalency examination for the minimal competencies of freshman English in Florida. The conference therefore adopted the following proposition:

Be it resolved that the Florida Association of Departments of English disapproves of the College Level Examination Program's (CLEP) General Examination in Freshman English Composition as a basis for granting equivalency credit in any institution of higher education in Florida.

In place of the CLEP General Examination, the conference agreed that whenever possible either of the following should be used for credit by examination in all Florida colleges and universities until an adequate instrument is designed:

  1. CLEP Subject Examination in English Composition supplemented by an essay; or
  2. CLEP Subject Examination in Analysis and Interpretation of Literature and its 90-minute essay section.

In addition, the conference resolved that FADE should be given the responsibility for evaluating the new CLEP Freshman English test. This test will become available in Fall 1974, after a period of experimental testing in institutions around the country, including selected colleges and universities in Florida.

Finally, the conference approved a resolution requesting that FADE be recognized officially as the advisory agency for consultation and policy-making on all matters relative to the teaching of English language and literature in the two-year and four-year colleges and universities in Florida. The Association believes that it is the logical group to evaluate the results of the three-year experiment established in September 1972 by the State Articulation Agreement for General Examination in English Composition and to make further recommendations about the use of CLEP to the appropriate educational officials and committees in the state.

George Bergen, Miami-Dade Community College North
James Parrish, University of South Florida
Joseph Madden, St. Petersburg Junior College (Secretary for the Conference)
Fred Standley, Florida State University (Chairman for the Conference)

© 1973 by the Association of Departments of English. All Rights Reserved.

ADE Bulletin 039 (December 1973): 25-26

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