Achieve Closing the Expectations Gap 2014 Webinar Slides
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Achieve's ninth annual "Closing the Expectations Gap" report details states’ progress in adopting and implementing a coherent set of reinforcing policies that will prepare all students for college and careers. Visit http://www.achieve.org
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Achieve Closing the Expectations Gap 2014 Webinar Slides
- 1. Briefing for States January 28, 2015 EMBARGOED Not For Release Before Thursday, January 29, 2015
- 2. Background 2Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap This is the ninth year that Achieve has surveyed all 50 states and reported on state progress in adopting college- and career-ready standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and accountability and data systems. The report includes state-by-state results on the policies and practices of forty- nine states and the District of Columbia that participated in this year’s survey. This year’s report includes information on policy adoption and implementation as well as recommendations for states as they transition to new courses, assessments, and accountability and public reporting systems that reflect their college- and career-ready standards.
- 3. The College- and Career-Ready Agenda #1 - Align high school standards with the demands of college and careers. #2 - Require students to take a college- and career-ready course of study to earn a high school diploma. #3 - Develop statewide high school assessment systems anchored to college- and career-ready expectations. #4 - Develop reporting and accountability systems that promote college and career readiness. 3Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 4. #1 - College- and Career-Ready Standards 4Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap In the survey, Achieve asked states whether they have developed and adopted high school academic content standards in English and mathematics aligned to college- and career-ready expectations.
- 5. CCR Standards Are Not Self-Executing Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap 5 Expecting all students to complete a course of study aligned to the full set of CCR expectations is one of the most important ways states can help ensure that graduates will be academically prepared for their next steps. There are many different ways to pull the standards together to create engaging, aligned and rigorous courses for students. Fewer than half — 23 states and the District of Columbia — expect all students to take math and ELA/literacy courses that deliver all content standards (whether for all students or as a default curriculum).
- 6. #2 - College- and Career-Ready Graduation Requirements 6Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap In the survey, Achieve asked states whether they expect all students to complete a college- and career-ready course of study in order to earn a high school diploma. Achieve also asked states how and whether they monitor and report on the implementation and effectiveness of its graduation requirement policies.
- 7. Establishing CCR Graduation Requirements 7 Achieve considers states’ mathematics and ELA/literacy high school graduation requirements to be at the CCR level if students are expected to complete a course of study aligned with state-adopted CCR standards. States have structured their CCR graduation requirements in one of two ways: In states with Mandatory Requirements, students earn a HS diploma only if they complete the required courses. In states with Default Requirements, students are automatically enrolled in the CCR curriculum in 9th grade but allowed to opt out if their parents sign a waiver. States establish a default approach in one of two ways, either with a “minimum diploma” or a “personal modification” opt-out. Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 8. As of 2014, 23 States and DC Have Adopted Policies that Require Students to Default Into a CCR Course of Study Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap 8
- 9. Monitoring and Reporting on the Effectiveness of Graduation Requirements Policies through Coursetaking Analyses 9Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 10. Analyzing Course-taking Patterns Can Answer Key Questions Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap 10 How many students in each 9th grade cohort have completed a CCR course of study when they graduate? Are there significant gaps in successful participation in and completion of CCR courses of study based on race, ethnicity, gender, family income, English language learner status and special education status? Are the gaps closing? Are the students who have completed CCR courses of study better prepared to enter and succeed in credit-bearing courses in postsecondary institutions and the military? Are they less likely to need remediation? Are there significant differences in the impact and benefits of CCR courses of study across demographic groups? In states where students can opt out of, modify or opt into the core CCR course of study, what course and course sequences do students who do not complete the CCR course of study take instead? Are they enrolled in coherent courses of study that align with postsecondary pathways and/or technical training programs leading to career opportunities? Are there pathways and courses of study that disproportionately leave students poorly prepared for postsecondary success — and with less successful postsecondary outcomes?
- 11. States That Report How Many Graduates Complete a CCR Course of Study 11 States with opt-in or default CCR requirements States with mandatory CCR requirements with cohorts graduating against requirements Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 12. #3 - High School Assessments Anchored to College- and Career-Ready Expectations 12 In the survey, Achieve asked states whether they administer to all students an assessment of college- and career-ready knowledge and skills capable of producing a readiness score used by postsecondary institutions and employers. Achieve also asked states about their efforts to link high school assessments’ CCR determinations to postsecondary placement decisions. Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 13. In 2014, 36 States Will Administer Tests Aligned with CCR Expectations Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap 13 Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia, are administering PARCC or Smarter Balanced in grades 3-8 or grades 3-8 and high school. These assessments have been explicitly designed to align with the CCSS. Thirty-six states are administering an assessment in high school capable of generating a score that reflects students’ readiness for first-year credit bearing courses in ELA and mathematics. Twenty-two states are administering a CCR assessment aligned with state standards that can generate a score that can be used by postsecondary for placement into first- year credit-bearing courses in math and/or ELA/literacy. In nearly all cases these states are members of the PARCC or Smarter Balanced consortia. Seventeen states will administer a college admissions test such as the ACT or SAT to all students in addition to the other statewide assessments. Three of these states will also administer PARCC or Smarter Balanced.
- 14. Postsecondary Use of CCR Assessments 14 7 states have a process/plan/timetable to adopt a policy linking high school assessments’ CCR determinations to postsecondary placement decisions. 20 states have a plan to create such a policy. 23 states do not yet have a process/plan/timetable Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 15. Aligning Standards, Courses/Content Expectations, and Assessments Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap 15 Only a handful of states will both require all students to take courses/content that deliver the CCR standards/CCSS and assess students on that content. The rest of states fall short in one of four ways: 1. State requires all students to have the underlying CCR coursework but does not administer assessments tied to these courses. 2. State assesses all students on advanced content (e.g., using the Algebra II/Integrated Math III EOC exam or Smarter Balanced 11th grade math comprehensive assessment) without requiring them to have the underlying coursework. 3. State administers EOC exam in Algebra II/Integrated Math III or English 11. However, the state does not require all students to take this assessment (i.e., state doesn’t require the course of all students or districts have the option to administer). 4. State neither requires all students to have the underlying advanced coursework through nor administers the assessment that ties to it (e.g., the highest level math end-of-course exam delivered to all students is Geometry or Algebra I).
- 16. What Assessments are States Administering in 2014-15? 16 Despite all states having adopted CCR standards for all students, state math and ELA expectations (as expressed through assessment and course requirements) for all students are very different. Achieve asked states to report all of the assessments they would administer in math, ELA/literacy and science in grades 3–8 and high school (see www.achieve.org/ClosingtheExpectionsGap2014 for state-specific information). Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
- 17. #4 - Reporting & Accountability Systems that Promote College and Career Readiness 17Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap In the survey, Achieve asked states whether they have incorporated a set of college- and career-ready indicators into their data, reporting and accountability systems.
- 18. Key College- and Career-Ready Accountability Indicators and Uses 18Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap INDICATORS the percentage of students who... Earn a college- and career-ready diploma Score college-ready on high school assessments Earn college credit while in high school Are required to take remedial courses in college USES Annual school-level public reporting Set statewide performance goals Provide school-level incentives to improve Factor into accountability formula
- 19. Six States Publicly Report and Include in Accountability System at least two CCR Indicators Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap 19 37 states and the DC publicly report or include in their school accountability formulas at least one CCR indicator — three more states than last year.
- 20. Use of College- and Career-Ready Indicators over Time 20Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap Nearly all indicators/uses saw growth Largest gains in the CCR assessment indicator: Public reporting (+5 states) and including the CCR assessment in the state’s accountability formula (+7 states) Achieve found that over half of the states publicly report or include at least one career-focused indicator in their accountability systems. Two states — HI and TX — publicly report school-level data on each of the four indicators. Six additional states — DE, IN, KY, MA, NC, and OH — now report school-level data for three of the indicators
- 21. 21 www.achieve.org/ClosingtheExpectationsGap2014 Marie O’Hara (mohara@achieve.org) (202) 419-1562 Jenny Taylor (jtaylor@achieve.org) (202) 419-1547 Achieve | 2014 Closing the Expectations Gap
Editor's Notes
- The four pillars are not discrete but rather are a coherent set of policies that reinforce and support one another. When one policy changes – as has been the case with the universal adoption of standards anchoring all CCR efforts in states – the other policies must be reexamined. When K-12 and postsecondary policies are in alignment, students receive clear signals as to what they should know and be able to do to succeed in postsecondary – and the field receives clear signals about the shared commitment to higher expectations. State-level leadership is critically important to sustain the policies that have already been adopted.
- The courses can be traditional, applied or integrated, or they can take on particular thematic interests and still align to the standards. States should take on the important issue of ensuring that all students, regardless of where they attend school, have equal access to rigorous courses that deliver their state’s CCR standards.
- A total of 23 states and the District of Columbia have adopted CCR graduation requirements. Ten states and the District of Columbia have or will have mandatory diplomas that require all students to take the content through the level of the CCSS/CCR. Thirteen states default 9th graders into a CCR course of study but offer a separate and distinct minimum diploma or specific curriculum sequence for students who opt out of the “default” CCR curriculum or allow students to opt out of individual courses. That leaves 27 states with CCSS/CCR standards have not aligned their graduation requirements to their standards to ensure that all students meet the college- and career-ready expectations found in their standards. Eleven of these states (California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New York, Texas, Virginia and Wyoming) offer other diplomas or courses of study that are at the CCR level, but students must opt into them. Some of the more transparent public reporting can be found in these states with respect to those opting into a CCR course of study. Most states without CCR course requirements are not considering proposals to raise their minimum high school graduation course requirements to the CCR level. States send mixed signals about their commitment to CCR when the courses — or competency-based demonstrations — encompass only a subset of the academic knowledge and skills in literacy and mathematics needed to qualify for and succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing postsecondary coursework and/or job training.
- 40 states reported that their state’s data systems can or will enable them to conduct an analysis of high school students’ course-taking patterns across districts to identify the type and series of courses that best prepare students for college and career success. Just five states indicated that have completed a comprehensive analysis of their data: HI, IA, KY, VA, and WY.
- States should collect the data necessary to enable them to analyze course-taking patterns of high school students, including career and technical education pathways or programs of study, so they can address and report publicly the answers to these questions. Data that address these questions should be widely available and reported at the school, district and state levels.
- As states implement CCR expectations, they need to clearly and publicly report how many of their students are not just graduating, but graduating college and career ready. States provide enough alternatives and options for students through modifications, personal opt-outs, etc. to adjust the graduation requirements that unless they report who is completing what CCR courses, very little is known about which students graduate having taken courses that deliver the CCR standards. This year’s survey finds that Ten states default or opt-in diplomas or courses of study publicly report the percentage of students completing a CCR course of study at the state level. These states should be recognized for providing transparency about the number of students completing a CCR course of study. This action sends a strong signal about what students need to be able to know and do to be prepared for their next steps after high school. An additional four states and DC have adopted mandatory CCR course requirements for all students and are graduating students with these requirements. These states’ graduation rates should be equivalent to the numbers of students graduating having completed a CCR course of study.
- As many states transition to new assessments this year, there is also work underway to align high school assessments’ CCR determinations to postsecondary placement decisions into first-year credit bearing courses in ELA/literacy and math.
- While states are making progress in linking CCR assessments to readiness for credit-bearing courses, relatively few states are creating more streamlined systems of high school assessments that are both aligned with state standards and provide actionable information about readiness for credit-bearing courses.
- Today’s high school students take a variety of assessments for different purposes: state-required tests for school accountability, graduation stakes, college admissions, and, for some placement tests (to assess their readiness for credit-bearing work). Such a system is inefficient and costly, but also sends mixed messages to students about what is important. Too, realizing that states’ assessments are very much in flux and that the incentives for states, schools, teachers and students to work toward shared goals are not always aligned, and how critically important understanding it is for their incentives and policies to work together, we asked states what ELA/literacy, math and science assessments they will administer to students in grades 3-8 and high school in 2014–15 to establish a baseline. For ELA and math assessments, we also asked: Whether those assessments will be used to evaluate schools and districts (not limited to 2014-15); Whether and when these assessment data will be included as part of a teacher’s evaluation; and Whether/how student stakes are attached to these assessments (for high school only). These tables will be available online and updated as states’ assessment and graduation requirements policies change.
- A strong, coherent accountability strategy that ties together the state’s graduation course requirements, assessments and other indicators of readiness is essential to provide the information that can guide school, district and state strategies for increasing college and career readiness.
- This year’s report has a greater focus on the public reporting and factoring into accountability formula uses.
- In 2014, while no state reaches the minimum criteria outlined in the report, we identified six states this year that Publicly Report and Include in Accountability System at least two CCR Indicators: Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Nevada, New York and Texas. Specific state examples are included throughout the report as highlights of the good work states are doing, particularly in the area of public reporting in states like Hawaii, Kentucky, and Ohio.
- Achieve also surveyed states on how and whether they included measures of career readiness in accountability systems (e.g., weighted in accountability formulas and/or awarding bonus points) and in public reporting systems such as school report cards.