Overview of Process and Issues Related to Developing College Readiness Definitions

1
Overview of Process and Issues Related to
Developing College Readiness Definitions

• Reviewing the Draft College Readiness Definitions
• David Conley
• June 27, 2006

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Why Do We Need to Develop College Readiness
Definitions?

• Increasingly, a college education is the new
  minimum for entry into jobs or careers, and more
  jobs expect higher levels of education at the
  entry level
• More students are going on to college, increasing
  the burden on high schools to prepare them
  properly
• Colleges are under pressure to increase student
  success (retention, persistence, graduation rates)

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Why Do We Need to Develop College Readiness
Definitions?

• US educational system is the most decentralized
  in the world
• K-12 and higher ed are not articulated or
  connected in what they teach or expect
• 15,000 local school districts making decisions
  about what to teach
• Several different postsecondary systems also make
  independent decisions, as do institutions

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Why Do We Need to Develop College Readiness
Definitions?

• For the past 100 years, course titles have been
  the primary means to define quality between
  systems
• Course titles alone tells less as different
  levels of college prep arise within high
  schools
• Course grades, the other quality control measure,
  have continued to go up over the past 30 years,
  limiting their usefulness in determining college
  readiness
• Todays B is yesterdays C

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Why Do We Need to Develop College Readiness
Definitions?

• Current EALRs/GLEs were not developed with
  college readiness in mind
• They represent knowledge that all students should
  strive to master at a common level
• While these may overlap college and work
  readiness in many areas, they were not
  specifically designed to align directly with
  either
• If they are to be connected with college
  readiness expectations, this must occur with care
  and thoughtfulness

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What Is Occurring Nationally and In Other States?

• Numerous efforts underway to connect high school
  and college
• Various strategies from requiring all students to
  take college entrance exam to using state test
  data for college placement decisions
• Several sets of readiness standards have been
  authored

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What Is Occurring Nationally and In Other States?

• No significant federal role, so each state (or
  institution) must approach this task individually
• Achieve, ACT, College Board, national content
  organizations,
• Oregon Proficiency-based Admission Standards
  System (PASS), UC System math standards, CSU
  Early Assessment Program (EAP)
• Several states are making efforts, but Washington
  appears to be among the leaders
• WA Transition Math Project

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The Washington Context

• Unique moment in history of education in
  Washington
• EALRs, GLEs in place
• High school graduation exam requirement being
  implemented
• The states economy has a strong and growing
  knowledge component that has caused business
  leaders to support greater system alignment
• Higher education is a willing partner
• TMP experience leads the way

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Examining the Differences in the Subject Areas

• Each subject area presents its own unique
  challenges when developing standards
• These inherent differences in the nature of the
  subject areas and of the structure of knowledge
  in the subject areas should be borne in mind when
  developing college readiness definitions

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Standards Analysis Document

• The initial standard setting group were provided
  a document that analyzed college readiness
  standards in each subject area from several
  sources
• The analysis and reference documents served as a
  point of departure for discussions and as a
  convenient reference tool to inform the
  development process
• The document was a resource only and not intended
  to predetermine the outcomes or results

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Six Science Documents Analyzed

• ACT College Readiness Standards for Science
• Benchmarks for Science Literacy produced by the
  American Association for the Advancement of
  Science
• Knowledge and Skills for University Success
  produced by Standards for Success
• National Science Education Standards produced by
• Proficiency-based Admission Standards System
  (PASS) produced by Oregon University System
• Washington Competency-based Admission Standards
  Pilot Project produced by the Washington Higher
  Education Coordinating Board

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Five English Documents Analyzed

• ACT College Readiness Standards for English
• American Diploma Project Standards for English
• Knowledge and Skills for University Success
  produced by Standards for Success
• Proficiency-based Admission Standards System
  (PASS) produced by Oregon University System
• Washington Competency-based Admission Standards
  Pilot Project produced by the Washington Higher
  Education Coordinating Board

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Brief Descriptions of the Documents ACT College
Readiness Standards

• The College Readiness Standards are sets of
  statements intended to help test takers
  understand the meaning of the scores earned in
  EXPLORE, PLAN, and the ACT (ACT's three
  curriculum-based assessment programs)
• The College Readiness Standards are also linked
  to college instruction

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Brief Descriptions of the Documents Knowledge
and Skills for University Success

• Study of faculty at research universities
  nationally to identify what is key to success in
  entry-level courses
• Contains content knowledge and habits of mind
• Completed in 2003 and sent to all high schools in
  the nation
• Licensed by the College Board for use in
  developing its standards

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Brief Descriptions of the Documents
Proficiency-based Admission Standard System

• Developed initially in 1994 by Oregon University
  System to connect high school reforms with
  college readiness
• Adopted as policy by State Board of Higher
  Education
• Being implemented voluntarily at the moment
  statewide
• Identifies key knowledge and skills and how to
  assess student proficiency in these areas

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Brief Descriptions of the Documents
Competency-based Admission Standards Pilot

• Conducted by HECB in late 1990s
• Developed set of competencies students should be
  expected to master in order to be admitted to
  college
• Piloted statewide at selected Washington high
  schools

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Brief Descriptions of the Science-Specific
Documents Science for All Americans

• SFAA describes what constitutes adult scientific
  literacy
• Benchmarks suggests how students might progress
  toward that goal
• This document is a tool to be used in designing a
  curriculum, not a particular curriculum design
  itself
• It is a component of the Project 2061 reform
  initiative in science, mathematics, and
  technology education

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Brief Descriptions of the Science-Specific
Documents National Science Education Standards

• Present a vision of a scientifically literate
  populace
• Outline what students need to know, understand,
  and be able to do to be scientifically literate
  at different grade levels
• Hundreds of people cooperated in developing the
  Standards , including teachers, school
  administrators, parents, curriculum developers,
  college faculty and administrators, scientists,
  engineers, and government officials
• Developed under the sponsorship of the National
  Committee on Science Education Standards and
  Assessment, National Research Council

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Brief Descriptions of the English-Specific
Documents American Diploma Project

• Sponsored by Achieve, Inc., an organization
  devoted to helping states raise their standards
  for a high school diploma
• Convened groups of high school, postsecondary
  faculty and representatives from the business
  community to identify standards that describe the
  specific content and skills that graduates must
  have mastered by the time they leave high school
  if they expect to succeed in postsecondary
  education or in high-performance, high-growth jobs

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Comparison Matrix

• The matrix document identifies places where the
  draft standards reflect one or more of the
  standards in the reference documents
• This is designed to provide an overview of places
  where the draft connects with other sets of
  standards and where it does not

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Using the Comparison Matrix

• The goal is not to have more or fewer connections
  with the reference standards
• It is simply a way to gauge alignment of the
  Washington definitions with other nationally
  recognized documents

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Some Issues to Consider

• Linkages with GLEs
• Clarity
• Teachability
• Assessability
• Appropriateness
• Parsimony