Three states - Georgia, Kentucky, and North Carolina - are highlighted as leading states in developing comprehensive accountability systems aligned to their college- and career-readiness standards. These states include additional measures beyond annual ELA and math assessments, such as Lexile reading targets in Georgia and program reviews examining instruction and curriculum in Kentucky. North Carolina includes a Graduation Project requiring student portfolios and presentations. All 14 states studied have made progress reforming accountability, but these three states provide the most well-rounded information on teaching and learning through their broader sets of measures.

1. Accountability
Highlights from findings of the SREB reports
Benchmarking State Implementation of
College- and Career-Readiness
Standards, Aligned Assessments
and Related Reforms January 2015

2. 2|
Contents
Accountability
page 3
What measures have states put in place to hold schools
accountable for teaching and learning under their new
college-and career-readiness standards?
page 4 page13
Participating
states
Findings
across states
Highlights from
leading states Methodology
More about
these reports
page 9
Criteria
Georgia
Kentucky
North Carolina
ELA and Math
Other measures
College- and career-
readiness measures
Title III measures
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
page14

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Benchmarking
College- and
Career-Readiness
Standards
Participating states
Louisiana
Maryland
Mississippi
North Carolina
South Carolina
Tennessee
West Virginia
Other regions
Colorado
New York
Pennsylvania
Florida participated in preliminary (March 2014) but not final reports.
This SREB project supports
states in the monumental
task of implementing higher
statewide standards by tracking
progress and bringing states
together to learn from and
collaborate with one another.
SREB region
Alabama
Delaware
Georgia
Kentucky
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards

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Context
Why did states
reform
accountability?
NCLB waivers
Waivers to certain requirements of
No Child Left Behind, which are
granted to states by the U.S.
Department of Education, require
states to develop accountability
systems aligned to their new
college- and career-readiness
standards. This includes alternate
assessments for students with the
most significant cognitive
disabilities, as well as aligned
English Language Program
standards and assessments for
English learners. Since 2011, all
14 states in this study have
received waivers.
State legislation
Four states also have legislation
that supported their accountability
system reforms: Alabama,
Colorado, Kentucky and
Maryland.
Task forces, committees
Four states had other kinds of
reform initiatives, such as
statewide accountability task
forces or committees that pushed
for the redesign of their systems:
Alabama, Kentucky, North
Carolina and West Virginia.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
All 14 states in the study
have recently revised their
statewide accountability
systems.

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ELA and Math
What are the
assessments?
How are they
aligned?
All states in the study designed
their new accountability systems
to include annual summative
grade-level and course
assessments in English language
arts and math.
The extent to which they are
aligned to states’ new college-
and career-readiness standards
varies.
.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
All 14 states include
grade-level and course
assessments in ELA and
math, aligned to standards
to a varying extent.
Notable
In their school accountability
measures, Colorado and Georgia
include targets on annual English
Language Program assessments
for English learners. This helps
track support for a crucial aspect
of these students’ overall
academic growth.
For more on assessments and
how they align to standards,
see the separate Timeline and
Approach to Standards and
Assessments report in this series.

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Does the system
provide additional
measures?
Georgia, Kentucky and North
Carolina have additional kinds of
measures that complement test
data. They provide a richer picture
of local practices and outcomes
from teaching and learning the
states’ college- and career-
readiness standards.
Georgia
Lexile targets are correlated to
the state’s English Language Arts
assessments. (Lexile levels show
how well students will comprehend
text of certain difficulty levels.)
Kentucky
Program reviews by local school
teams – with staff, parents and
students – examine instruction,
curriculum, assessments and more.
Next-Generation Professionals
Beginning in 2015-16, Kentucky
is incorporating teacher and leader
evaluation results into school
accountability.
North Carolina
In the Graduation Project,
student papers, portfolios and
oral presentations draw on post-
secondary skills such as literacy,
problem solving and teamwork.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
Three states have additional
measures to provide stakeholders
with information on teaching and
learning of the standards.

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What college- and
career-readiness
measures?
Eight states in the study
incorporate readiness measures
into their accountability systems to
provide information about student
mastery of state college- and
career-readiness standards and
student preparedness for
postsecondary work: Alabama,
Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky,
Louisiana, Maryland, North
Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Exams
ACT and SAT report that these
exams align to the Common Core.
International Baccalaureate and
Advanced Placement report that
they support student learning at or
above the level of the Common
Core. The extent of alignment of
the WorkKeys exam could not be
determined at the time of
publication.
Additional measures
Alabama, Georgia, Maryland
and Pennsylvania have additional
measures, including targets for
one or more of the following:
• number of students who earn
postsecondary credit or industry
certifications while in high
school
• number of students enrolled in
college within 16 months of
graduation
• number of schools that offer
students access to college
courses
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
Does the statewide
accountability system include
measures of college and
career readiness?
To what extent are they
aligned to the state
standards?

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Accountability for
Title III funds for
English leaners
Three states use other
assessments:
Louisiana uses the ELDA test,
developed by states partnering with
the Council of Chief State School
Officers. West Virginia uses its
West Virginia Test of English
Language Learning. These tests
are not aligned to the states’ new
standards, but both plan to use the
new, aligned assessment from the
ELPA21 consortium in 2015-16.
New York uses its New York State
English as a Second Language
Achievement Test, which will be
fully aligned by 2015-16.
3. Academic achievement in
English language arts and math
States generally report subgroup
scores for English learners on the
state ELA and math content area
assessments.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
What measures do states
use? To what extent are
they aligned to the states’
readiness standards?
States receive federal Title III
funds to serve English learners
and must report on three annual
targets, or Annual Measurable
Achievement Objectives.
1. Progress toward English
proficiency: Students who
improve their English fluency
2. Attaining English proficiency:
Students who reach fluency in
English
For these two targets, 11 states
use the WIDA Consortium
ACCESS for ELLs test:
Alabama, Colorado, Delaware,
Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland,
Mississippi, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina
and Tennessee. This test was
designed to measure language
skills in the Common Core, and a
WIDA alignment study shows
moderate to strong alignment.

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All 14 states have made strides in accountability reform.
Leading states  with the most comprehensive sets of measures to
provide stakeholders with information about teaching and learning under
the new standards  are Georgia, Kentucky and North Carolina.
Criteria
Leading states have the most comprehensive sets of measures to
provide stakeholders information about teaching and learning the state’s
college- and career-readiness standards.
The states’ general statewide accountability system includes:
• aligned English language arts and math assessments
• additional types of measures of teaching and learning the standards
• multiple college- and career-readiness measures
Title III accountability reporting includes data from aligned English
Language Proficiency assessments.
Leading states
Accountability
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
Leading states are noted
for the most compre-
hensive sets of measures.
Their work offers models
other states may find
useful.

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Highlights from
leading states
Georgia
Georgia’s College and Career Ready Performance Index began
in 2012-13 and aligns to the state’s College and Career Georgia
Performance Standards. Georgia is notable for an extensive set of
accountability measures in addition to its aligned annual assessments
for English language arts and math.
Lexile reading-level targets show how well students comprehend text
of certain difficulty levels. The department reports that the measure is
aligned to the College and Career Georgia Performance Standards.
An extensive set of college- and career-readiness measures
ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate
exams, which test providers say are at or above Common Core level.
Measures that provide even more information on how ready students
are for postsecondary study and careers:
• How many students earn dual enrollment credit in high school
• How many graduates enter in-state postsecondary institutions
without requiring remediation
• How many students complete national industry credentials, IB career
certificates, Georgia-developed career pathway assessments or a
three-course career pathway
• How many middle grades students complete two or more career-
related assessments and an individual graduation plan
• How many elementary school students complete career-awareness
lessons
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards

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Highlights from
leading states
Kentucky
Kentucky's accountability system, Unbridled Learning:
College/Career Readiness for All, began in 2012-13. Kentucky
includes two measures that go beyond its college- and career-readiness
measures and its annual assessments for English language arts and
math.
Program Reviews
Local school teams  including stakeholders such as staff, parents
and students  examine instruction, curriculum, assessments,
administrative support, professional development and other aspects
of the school’s programs. Every school in Kentucky must conduct an
annual Program Review in at least one of these areas: writing, arts
and humanities, or practical living and career studies. Program
Reviews examine student work and assessments, so they can provide
information about student learning and the school-level practices that
support that learning.
Next-Generation Professionals
Beginning in 2015-16, Kentucky will incorporate teacher and leader
evaluation results into its statewide accountability system. This
component will count for 10 percent of a school’s total accountability
score. Individual evaluation ratings will not be made public; schools will
receive an overall performance rating based on an aggregate rating for
all educators. These data provide information about teaching, learning
and leading for the Kentucky Core Academic Standards.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards

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Highlights from
leading states
North
Carolina
North Carolina's READY accountability system began in 2012-13. North
Carolina includes two measures that go beyond its college- and career-
readiness measures and its annual assessments for English language
arts and math.
The Graduation Project is an additional measure built on the premise
of preparing students for experiences after high school in college and
the workplace. Students select a topic and complete a research paper,
product, portfolio and oral presentation, drawing on Common Core
literacy proficiencies and showing their mastery readiness skills such
as teamwork, problem-solving and use of technology. The Graduation
Project is optional for high schools.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards

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Methodology SREB examined efforts of state
departments of education to
support implementation of college-
and career-readiness standards,
assessments and related reforms.
Researchers looked at how states
provided guidance, tools and
support for teachers and for
school and district leaders.
SREB worked with a point person
in each of the 14 state
departments of education.
Timeframe
The SREB reports reflect state
efforts and plans between 2010
and summer 2014.
These January 2015 final reports
replace preliminary ones
published in March 2014.
A team of SREB researchers
and consultants gathered
information from:
Reviews of publicly available
information: Researchers
reviewed state policy documents
and reports, state department of
education websites, and other
sources such as U.S. Department
of Education reports.
Interviews: Researchers
interviewed leaders from state
departments of education, state
boards of education, unions,
higher education and business
and community organizations, as
well as legislators’ and governors’
staff, teachers, principals and
district superintendents.
Each state department reviewed
drafts to ensure accuracy.
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards

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Full reports
More information
Six detailed final reports were
published in January 2015. Slide
documents of report highlights,
like this one, are also available for
each report.
Cross-State Findings
Trends across the states, perspectives
from the field and suggestions for
moving forward
Details on each state's efforts in
five areas:
Timeline and Approach to
Standards and Assessments
Aligned Teaching Resources
Professional Development
Evaluation of Teachers
and Leaders
Accountability
Kim Anderson, Director
Benchmarking College- and
Career-Readiness Standards
404-875-9211
Kim.Anderson@SREB.org
Accountability | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards
Find all reports at SREB.org/1600 >

15. Southern Regional Education Board
592 10th St. N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30318-5776 SREB.org