Differences That Make a Difference in Assessing Student Communication Competence

Using a prototype competence approach, this study examines communicative differences between ideal students and less than ideal students. Also, this study reports how these differences predict teachers’ assessments of student communication competence. To obtain a representative set of classroom communication, focus groups generated descriptions of college students’ classroom behaviors. Communication behaviors that emerged through analysis of focus group transcripts were translated into the Student Communication Inventory. A survey of college instructors was conducted to compare teacher perceptions of ideal (alpha) students and the less than ideal (beta) students. Factor analysis revealed five sets of behaviors: Intellectually Stimulated; Participative; Absent; Confrontational; and Silent. Alpha and beta students differed in 22 of 24 behavioral items and all five factors. Also, regression analyses indicated which factors predicted competence assessments of alpha and beta students.