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Getting Started

Before beginning to think about how to incorporate DAACS into your advising, coaching, or teaching, we recommend that you first take the assessments and explore the feedback to see what the student experience is like. You can create an account at my.daacs.net (be sure to select the student role when creating an account). We suggest beginning with the self-regulated learning assessment followed by writing. Once you complete the assessments, browse your feedback and explore some of the suggested resources and reflect on the strategies recommended.

Reflection Questions

Directions: The following six questions are about DAACS. Please select the best answer for each of the questions.

  1. What does DAACS stand for?

    A. Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills
    B. Discovering Academic Achievement and College Success
    C. Diagnostic Assessment of Achievement and College Skills
    D. Discovering Advisement for Achievement of College Skills

Answer: A. Diagnostic Assessment and Achievement of College Skills

  1. Which of the following statements about DAACS is FALSE?

    A. There is no passing or failing on any of the four DAACS assessments.
    B. Students can take the DAACS more than once as a way to monitor improvement.
    C. The DAACS feedback includes passages, videos, and links to external resources.
    D. The DAACS assessments are accessible for students to retake at any time.
    E. The DAACS feedback will not be accessible after students log off.

Answer: E. Students can always log back in to view their results, feedback, and to retake assessments. Students can also complete the assessments across multiple sessions and feedback is mobile friendly.

  1. Which areas of college skills does DAACS cover/assess?

    A. History, Math, Reading, and Science
    B. Math, Reading, Science, and Writing
    C. Math, Reading, SRL, and Writing
    D. Motivation, Reading, Strategies, and Writing

Answer: C. DAACS assesses three of the critically important skill areas for college students: reading, writing, and mathematics. However, the as important domain of self-regulated learning (SRL) is assessed. It is important to consider a student’s SRL skills in conjunction with their academic results. For example, research has shown that highly motivated students are very likely to be successful in a course regardless of their baseline content knowledge, especially in mathematics.

  1. Which areas of self-regulated learning does DAACS cover/assess? (SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)

    A. Metacognition
    B. Strategies for Learning
    C. Motivation
    D. Self-Efficacy

Answer: ALL OF THE ABOVE. These are the main areas of the self-regulated learning (SRL) assessment.

  1. John, a student, comes to you with this concern about DAACS: “DAACS is using up a lot of time that I do not have. Why do I have to complete all of it before I start my classes?”" Given the purpose of DAACS, which of the following is the most appropriate with which you can respond? (SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)

    A. DAACS is a diagnostic assessment, which is meant to assess what you already know at the start of your studies.
    B. DAACS takes the role of placement exams, to help us place you into appropriate classes and identify your need for remedial coursework.
    C. DAACS is designed to provide you with targeted feedback and resources to help move you ahead to become a self-regulated learner.
    D. You are right. DAACS is a waste of time. Don’t finish it.

Answer: A and C. DAACS was designed for newly enrolled students, so A is correct. It is also designed to provide targed feedback based upon the student’s responses, making C correct. However, students can retake the assessments at anytime. They may find their SRL results to vary depending on their current context.

  1. Avery, a student, wants to take advantage of what DAACS offers to students, but does not know where to start. She reaches out to you for suggestions. Which of the following is the best initial response you could give? (SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)

    A. “Identify two or three areas that you’d like to work on, perhaps areas where you earned only one DAACS circle. Read the feedback for these areas closely, and choose one or two strategies per area that you can realistically do.”
    B. “Read through all of the feedback first and take notes on what you think is most important to you. Make a plan of how you can work on the areas you have identified while reading feedback. Then set up an appointment with me and we can meet to discuss.”
    C. “Review the essay you wrote for the writing assessment. Commit to improving on the areas you have written about, and use the strategies you have identified as strategies to try for the next couple of weeks. Make sure to monitor your progress when you are using your strategies to see if and how they are working for you.”

Answer: ANY. These are all reasonable strategies for working with a student. Some students may feel overwhelmed by the amount of information, for them identifying only a few areas to review may work best for them. However, given the time it is worthwhile for a student to review all the feedback, especially areas where they received three DAACS dots. These are strategies for which they are mastering and may want to rely on those strategies when the semester gets difficult. Lastly, reviewing what strategies the student identified when initally completing DAACS provides an opportunity for them to reflect on their learning and to recalibrate, if necessary, and to either recommit to those strategies or identify new ones to help them be successful.