Christmas has come early for ICCI’s Class of 2016 set to graduate in February. Many members of the prospective graduating class scored at or better than some of their international counterparts based on benchmarked exit writing exam scores received last week.

Eight-one percent of the 46 prospective graduates scored well on the ETS Proficiency Profile, an internationally benchmarked exam that requires students to write a timed essay that is scored based on students ability to,“articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively, state a position on a claim and provide supporting evidence, support ideas with relevant reasons and examples, sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion and control the elements of standard written English.”

“We are very pleased that so many in this class performed so well. This is the first time in ICCI’s history that the college has conducted an internationally benchmarked and standardized review of 100 percent of the graduating class’ student writing samples,” says ICCI President David Marshall. “This lets us know where our students rank as they leave ICCI and what work we have to do in the future to move the needle for future graduating classes.”

“When I realized that I had ranked well in comparison to other students globally, I was very excited. I always feel accomplished when successfully passing a test with a high grade; however, those tests are not compared to other students outside of Cayman. I am immensely proud of myself for continuously seeking to enhance my writing skills. I now see that all my efforts have indeed paid off,” said ICCI student Jordan Ebanks.

ETS is a respected assessment test provider used by some of the world’s leading institutions to measure what their students are learning and how their students compare to others.
There are 46 prospective graduates in the Class of 2016. The exam scores range from 0 to 6 with 6 being the highest score.

Zero students or (0%) scored a 6 Eleven students or (24%) scored a 5 Twenty-six students or (57%) scored a 4 Nine students or (20%) scored a 3. Zero students or (0%) scored a 2 Zero students or (o%) scored a 1 Zero students or (0%) scored a 1 A four or better is considered a respectable score.

Nine students or (20%) of the graduating class did not meet the institutional writing exit expectations of achieving a score of 4 or higher. Marshall says the college is doing an academic audit to see what happened with these students and will put a performance plan in place to improve the overall writing success of future graduates.

According to ETS, over 5,000 students took the proctored version of the exam, mostly in the U.S. Seventeen percent of them scored a 5. Twenty-four percent of ICCI’s Class of 2016 scored a 5. Fifty-seven percent of ICCI Class of 2016 scored a 4, compared to 36% of their international counterparts. While a score of three is below ICCI’s acceptable standards, a smaller percentage of ICCI students by comparison earned a score of three. Twenty percent of ICCI’s Class of 2016 scored a 3. Twenty-seven percent of their international counterparts scored a 3.

Marshall says he surveyed local employers in 2014. He says the single biggest improvement employers recommended was to work on ICCI’s graduates’ writing, speaking, and presentation skills.

“Accordingly, to improve our graduates’ ability to land a job, earn a raise, or earn a promotion, we followed industry’s advice. Now each class including math and accounting requires a major writing component. Each week, students have to participate in written online discussions. Each class requires a major presentation to the class or an external audience,” says Marshall. “We believe we are seeing the payoff from this two year emphasis on writing and speaking in our classes; these ETS score results provide some evidence of that,” says Marshall.

“I think being a great writer has made me a better professional. I am more confident and more successful when I prepare communications at work,” says ICCI student Kimberly Young.

To learn more about the ETS Proficiency Profile Essay please visit this link: https://www.ets.org/proficiencyprofile/about/essay/

To learn more about the ETS Proficiency Profile Score distributions, please visit this link. https://www.ets.org/s/proficiencyprofile/pdf/essay_carna_allstudents.pdf
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Founded in 1970, the International College of the Cayman Islands the Birthplace of Tertiary Education in the Cayman Islands. The College is institutionally accredited by the U.S. based Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools to award associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees. ICCI has held this accreditation since 1979.

ICCI is accredited by the Accreditation Service for International Colleges, Schools and Universities (ASIC UK) as a Premier Institution.

The International College of the Cayman Islands has been awarded the status of Candidate for Accreditation by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) located at
11374 Strang Line Road in Lenexa, Kansas.

The mission of the International College of the Cayman Islands is to prepare students for career placement and enhancement. The ICCI education instills attitudes, behaviors, sensitivities, skills and knowledge that are essential to life and learning.