Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Measuring High School Students’ College and Career Readiness Race to the Top Assessment Public Meeting United States Department of Education Boston, Massachusetts November 13, 2009 Gene Bottoms Senior Vice President Southern Regional Education Board

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Are college and career readiness the same thing? Readiness for college Reading, writing and mathematics knowledge and skills to qualify for and succeed in entry-level, credit- bearing college-degree courses without the need for remedial classes – level varies by program and institution Readiness for careers Ready to enter and advance in a job or succeed in advanced training for a high-skill, high-wage job Able to read, comprehend, interpret, analyze and locate complex technical materials; use mathematics to plan, set priorities and solve problems in the workplace and pass a state-approved industry certification or licensure exam in the field USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Should the threshold set for college readiness become the measure for high school graduation? States planning to continue with high-stakes graduation exams should establish different threshold levels of knowledge and skills in reading, writing and mathematics for high school graduation. States can establish a continuous improvement system that requires high schools to increase annually the percentage of students meeting college- and/or career- readiness standards, progressing toward target goals while raising graduation rates. USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Measuring Student Readiness for College and Careers Comprehensive reading assessment with a writing component at end of grades 9 and 11 Literacy is key to college and career success Use 9th-grade results to embed literacy standards and strategies into each discipline. Use the senior year to address student’s high school graduation, college- and career-readiness deficits. Schools can assess whether changes in what and how students were taught have worked. Create sub scales for discipline areas including CT, on the 11th-grade exam. Establish multiple cut scores for graduation, advanced training and college readiness. USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Focus comprehensive reading assessment on: USDOE Suggested Content Targets: Informational and expository texts and documents60% Literacy, non-fiction texts20% Literacy, fiction and poetry20% Vocabulary, paired texts (to assess critical analyses) Grade 9 content drawn from core academic areas and general literacy 20 percent of grade 11 items cover workplace literacy Suggested Cognitive Targets: Locate/recall20% Integrate/interpret45% Critique/evaluate35%

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Measuring Student Readiness for College and Career Readiness End-of-course Algebra I exam given at end of grade 7, 8 or 9, designed to assess the most essential foundational, procedural and reasoning skills and understandings necessary to succeed in Algebra II and other mathematics courses Comprehensive mathematics exam at end of grade 11, covering a sufficient range and depth of content and skills to establish multiple cut scores for: college program with strong math requirements college programs with less demanding math requirements advanced training (if necessary) high school graduation USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Why require Algebra I end-of-course exams by the end of grade 9? Foundational course for being on track for college- and career-readiness Improve alignment of middle grades math curriculum to Algebra I readiness standards Improve teaching of Algebra I Encourage embedding of selected Algebra I standards in science and CT Encourage best teachers to teach Algebra I Develop early intervention to address student deficits in middle grades USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Why require a comprehensive mathematics exam at end of grade 11? Use senior year to address gaps Reflect varying levels of mathematics needed, based on students’ career and educational goals Encourage greater instructional connection among mathematics, science and technology teachers through high school Hook more students into accelerated mathematics curriculum through science and selected CT courses Algebra II not appropriate for college- and career-readiness exam USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Focus comprehensive mathematics assessment on: USDOE Suggested Content Targets: Number properties and operations10% Measurement/geometry20% Data analysis, statistics and probability25% Algebra, trig, procedures40% Similar to NAEP framework Suggested Cognitive Targets Low complexity (recall routine procedures)25% Moderate complexity (make connection within mathematics or between mathematics and the real world) 50% High complexity (analyze a problem mathematically)25%

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Design the assessment system to inform school and teacher leaders on actions needed to fix the system. Collect information from students about: What they were taught What was expected of them How they were supported How they were taught How they were engaged – intellectually, emotionally, socially and behaviorally – in learning How much assistance they received in setting goals and planning a course of study aligned to goals USDOE Students’ reports of their experiences are better predictions of their performance than teachers’ reports of what they did.

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Couple designing assessments for college and career readiness with refocusing the state accountability system. Give equal weight to graduation and achievement in determining school performance. Set achievement levels that recognize schools with higher percentage of students meeting college- and career-readiness standards. Broaden the definition of rigor beyond the classic college-preparatory program of study. USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Urge states to broaden the range achievement indicators beyond the new college- and career- readiness assessment to include percentage of high school students who: Pass state-approved employer certification exams, indicating readiness to enter employment. Succeed in academically challenging course work – advanced placement, International Baccalaureate programs. Meet ACT or SAT college-readiness benchmarks. Earn postsecondary education and training credits early through dual credit/joint enrollment. Pass reading and mathematics state exams at readiness levels for high school graduation, college studies and career training. USDOE

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Develop an assessment strategy that would encourage a broader definition of rigor. Application-based learning (authentic problems) (Texas Legislation) Higher-order, problem-solving learning (knowledge in context) Depth-based learning (deeper, rather than broader, coverage of content) Blended programs of academic and technical studies Demonstration-based assessments (in subjects other than reading, writing and mathematics) that stress the habits of the mind for inventions, experimentation, design, entrepreneurship, etc. (Maryland, Virginia) 13 Blueprint Report Revised

Southern Regional Education Board HSTW Assessment Methods Selected Response Constructed Response Performance Assessment USDOE