GENIP can target states that are in the process o

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Status of Geography in High School Graduation
Requirements and Exit Exams GENIP Report, 2005
Geographic Education National Implementation
Project (GENIP) Prepared by Jessica K. Wdowiarz
April 22, 2005
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Presentation

• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Organization of Wdowiarz Report
• Use of Report
• Summary of Findings
• Questions/Answers

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Introduction
Question Which states require geography as part
of high school graduation requirements? Is this
geography part of state assessments? Required
assessments- Exit Exams The Wdowiarz Report 1.
Updates geography in high school graduation
requirements 2. Updates geography in high school
assessment 3. Presents geography content in
required high school exit exams
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Introduction

• Sources for the Wdowiarz Report
• Background
• Meetings with Michael Cohen from Achieve, Inc.
  Keith Gayler from the Center on Education Policy
  Barbara Chow, Chris Shearer, and David
  Rutherford.
• U.S. Department of Education Web sites
• - National Center for Education Statistics
• State DOE Web sites
• State by state surveys
• Moore Report (2004) and Dean Report (2002)

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Literature Review
American Diploma Project (ADP) Achieve,
Inc. 2005. Rising to the Challenge Are High
Schools Graduates Prepared for College
Work? 2004. The Expectations Gap A 50 State
Review of High School Graduation
Requirements. 2004. Ready or Not Creating a High
School Diploma that Counts. Center on Education
Policy (CEP) 2002. State High School Exit Exams
A Baseline Report. 2003. State High School Exit
Exams Put to the Test. 2004. State High School
Exit Exams A Mature Reform.

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Organization of Report

• Written Report
• Section I. Update of Geography High School
  Graduation Requirements
• Section II. Update of Geography in High School
  Assessment
• Section III. Geography in High School
  Exit Exams
• Section IV. Individual State Summaries
• Appendices I, II, III

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Section I Geography in High School Graduation
Requirements
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http//www.achieve.org/dstore.nsf/Lookup/coursetak
ing/file/coursetaking.pdf
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Summary of Findings
Geography in High School Graduation Requirements

• Eleven states require geography courses for high
  school graduation (CA, D.C., KY, ME, MN, NM, RI,
  SD, TX, UT, VA)
• 28.61 (3,938,030) of U.S. high school students
  are required to take geography for high school
  graduation (calculated from NCES 2001 statistics)
  
• KY, NM, TX, UT are the four states that have
  remained stable in requiring geography for high
  school graduation from 2002-2005. States have
  fluctuated from the Dean Report (2002), Moore
  Report (2004) , and the Wdowiarz Report (2005).
• Graduation Requirements can be controlled in
  three ways
• - State-controlled courses and credit hours (26
  states and D.C.)
• - State-controlled credit hours,
  district-controlled courses (14 states)
• - Complete district-controlled (courses and
  credit hours) (10 states)

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What can GENIP do?

• Possible Approach
• Include geography in popular subjects largely
  assessed under social studies. Piggy-back
  content incorporating Geography standards.
• - U.S. History would add 18 states
• - World History would add five states

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Section II Geography in High School Assessments
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Types of Assessment
Standards-Based Tests (SBT) Exams that measure
a students knowledge or skills set in place to
identify key areas a student should
know. End-of-Course Exams (EOC) - Exams taken
after the completion of a specific course that
assess content material covered from the
curricula. (AK, MD, MS, MS, NY, OK, TN
,VA) Criterion-Referenced Tests (CRT)- Tests
that assess predetermined criteria for what a
student should know. Norm-Referenced Tests (NRT)
Tests that are bought from a testing company,
useful for comparison of students to national
average. Minimum Competency/Basic Skills Exams
(MC/BS) Exams that measure a students
knowledge of the essentials, or what a student
should know to gain employment, function in
society, or continue their education. (IA, MN,
NE, NC, UT)
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Summary of Findings (continued)
Geography in High School Assessment

• Twenty-three states have social studies
  assessments, 16 states include geography under
  the social studies standards assessed. (CA, DE,
  GA, KS, LA, MD, MI, MS, NH, NM, NY, OH, OR, SD,
  TX, VA).
• 48.65 (6,681,243) of high school students in the
  U.S. can test in geography.
• Virginia is the only state which offers a
  stand-alone geography test.
• Twelve states allow district controlled
  assessment. (AK, CO, IA, KS, ME, MT, NE, NH, OR,
  PA, SD, VT)
• The most common assessments are standards-based
  (63). The second largest are end-of-course
  exams (15), used by 7 states, five more
  considering.
• Twenty-eight states do not assess outside of NCLB
  requirements of math, reading, and science.

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What can GENIP do?

• Possible Approach
• A prime opportunity for GENIP to promote
  geography is to target end-of-course exams for
  states or districts that offer/require geography
  courses in high school. They provide more
  opportunity to test geography standards than a
  combined social studies assessments.
• GENIP can target states that are in the process
  of adopting/changing assessments and standards.
• Target states that assess social studies but not
  geography (AL, KY, MA, NE, OK, TN)

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Section III Geography in High School Exit Exams
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Geography Content in Exit Exams
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Geography Content in Exit Exams
In New York the Regents Exams can have various
forms. Although the exam is mainly composed of
history, a third of the exam is reserved for
geography.
Global History and Geography Regents Exams
Specifications Grid (New York)
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Test Developers

• The degree to which a contractor is involved with
  assessment development varies. Some states
  develop their own questions, frameworks, etc.
  Others rely entirely on the contractors. This
  information is provided in the state summaries.
• The most mentioned contractors for high school
  exit exams were
• - CTB/McGraw-Hill (AL, IN, MA, NM, WA)
• - American Institute for Research (CA, OH, SC),
  Measured Progress (NV, UT), Pierson Education
  Measurement (SC, TN)
• Arizona, Louisiana, Minnesota, and New York
  develop their exit exams without a contractor.

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Summary of Findings (continued)
Geography in High School Exit Exams

• By 2008, 25 states will be implementing exit
  exams.
• Eleven states require students to pass a social
  studies exit exam, eight of them test geography.
  (GA, LA, MD, MS, NM, NY, OH, TX).
• 30.23 (3,925,951) of all U.S. high school
  students are taking geography in an exit exam
  (calculated from NCES 2001 statistics).
• Only five separate geography from other social
  studies strands when reported. (GA, LA, MS, NY,
  TX).
• Georgia and New York offer the most geography in
  their social studies exit exams (GA- 34 NY-
  30-36)
• No state requires a stand-alone geography exit
  exam.

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Rationale for Assessment

• States mentioned they do not to use exit exams
  because
• District-controlled assessment
• State laws already in place
• Lack of funding
• Following NCLB requirements
• States mentioned they do not assess social
  studies because
• Lack of funding for new assessments
• Following NCLB requirements
• Adoption of new subjects is a slow process
• The state feels the current assessment is
  sufficient
• States mentioned they do not assess geography
  because
• The exams in use are history exams, specifically
  chosen as the primary social studies assessment.
  (AL, MA, VA)

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What can GENIP do?

• Possible Approach
• States are not using exit exams or testing social
  studies are abstaining for viable reasons. It is
  not likely that their status will/can change in
  the near future.
• May be able to separate geography in social
  studies tests by redesigning score reporting.
• For states that do assess geography, GENIP can
  lobby for more geography content, or better
  questions.

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Quality of Geography in Exit Exams?

• If GENIP were to create a geography exit exam
  question bank, would it be beneficial to states
  for test development?
• Of the 25 states asked, only 4 states expressed
  interest (LA, MS, NV, NC) in having out-of-state
  developed questions available. Six states
  mentioned that they are interested, but there are
  problems with adopting out-of-state developed
  questions, like bidding processes, item reviews,
  or the states simply do not have a social studies
  exam to use them.
• 15 states said they would not be interested.
• What kind of questions are they asking anyway?

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Sample Geography Questions
I
III
II
IV

• What Roman numeral on the map above correctly
  shows the location of the Great Plains?
• A. I
• B. II
• C. III
• D. IV Mississippi

http//www.punchstock.com/image/map_resources/1626
556/comp/usa_conic-1319.jpg
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Sample Geography Questions
2. Before the Silk Road, how did geography affect
early China? A. The mountains and deserts in
western and southwestern China slowed the
exchange of ideas. B. The northwestern region
provided many fertile areas suitable for
farming. C. The three major river systems
provided barriers against invasion. D. The lack
of deep-water ports on the eastern coast
prevented China from developing trade with other
nations. New York ? E. (So Chris
would pass) All of the Above
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Individual State Summaries
NOT IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER Categorized
according to geography content in exit exams
Category I States that do not use exit
exams Category II States that do use exit
exams, but do not assess social
studies. Category III States that use exit
exams, assess social studies, but do not test
geography. Category IV States that use exit
exams, assess geography, but do not report
sub-scores separate from social studies. Category
V States that use exit exams, assess geography,
and report sub-scores separately.
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Quick Overall Summary

• Eight states test geography in an exit exam. (GA,
  LA, MD, MS, NM, NY, OH, TX). Five of them report
  geography scores separate (GA, LA, MS, NY, TX).
• 30.23 (3,925,951) of all U.S. high school
  students are taking geography in an exit exam.
• Sixteen states include geography under the social
  studies standards assessed. (CA, DE, GA, KS, LA,
  MD, MI, MS, NH, NM, NY, OH, OR, SD, TX, VA).
• 48.65 (6,681,243) of high school students in the
  U.S. can be assessed in geography.
• Eleven states require geography courses for high
  school graduation (CA, D.C., KY, ME, MN, NM, RI,
  SD, TX, UT, VA).
• 28.61 (3,938,030) of U.S. high school students
  are required to take geography for high school
  graduation (calculated from NCES 2001
  statistics).
• District control has an impact on a researchers
  ability to measure geography in education.

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Implications for Future

• Washington, New Jersey, and Texas mentioned a
  reevaluation of traditional social studies,
  expecting students to know less of
  date/place/person specifics, and more about the
  general concepts about the processes at work
  throughout history. Geography is the best
  subject to illustrate these processes. The great
  advantage of geography is versatility in the
  curriculum. Unfortunately, this flexibility is
  also geographys downfall, as it is less likely
  for specific geography courses to be developed.
• GENIP may consider merging geography with
  history this would statistically increase the
  amount of geography in schools. As for
  increasing the quality of geography education,
  GENIP may consider focusing on end-of-course
  exams, or course-specific graduation requirements.

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Questions and Answers?
http//plasma.nationalgeographic.com/pdf/Ford_Clas
sroom_NGM_Insert.pdf