accountability: benchmarking implementation of college- and career-readiness standards

Accountability

Highlights from findings of the SREB reports

Benchmarking State Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness Standards, Aligned Assessments and Related Reforms January 2015

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ContentsAccountability

page 3

Whatmeasureshavestatesputinplacetoholdschoolsaccountableforteachingandlearningundertheirnewcollege-andcareer-readinessstandards?

page4 page13

Participating

states

Findings

across states

Highlights from

leading states Methodology

More about

these reports

page9Criteria

Georgia

Kentucky

NorthCarolina

ELAandMath

Othermeasures

College-andcareer-readinessmeasures

TitleIIImeasures

Accountability|BenchmarkingCollege-andCareer-ReadinessStandards

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.

ThisSREBprojectsupports

statesinthemonumental

taskofimplementinghigher

statewidestandardsbytracking

progressandbringingstates

togethertolearnfromand

collaboratewithoneanother.

SREB region

Alabama

Delaware

Georgia

Kentucky


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Context

Why did states reform accountability?

NCLB waivers

Waiverstocertainrequirements

ofNoChildLeftBehind,whichare

grantedtostatesbytheU.S.

DepartmentofEducation,require

statestodevelopaccountability

systemsalignedtotheirnew

college-andcareer-readiness

standards.Thisincludesalternate

assessmentsforstudentswiththe

mostsignificantcognitive

disabilities,aswellasaligned

EnglishLanguageProgram

standardsandassessmentsfor

Englishlearners.Since2011,all

14statesinthisstudyhave

receivedwaivers.

State legislation

Fourstatesalsohavelegislation

thatsupportedtheiraccountability

systemreforms:Alabama,

Colorado, Kentucky and

Maryland.

Task forces, committees

Fourstateshadotherkindsof

reforminitiatives,suchas

statewideaccountabilitytask

forcesorcommitteesthatpushed

fortheredesignoftheirsystems:

Alabama, Kentucky, North

Carolina andWest Virginia.


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?

Allstatesinthestudydesigned

theirnewaccountabilitysystems

toincludeannual summative

grade-level and course

assessments inEnglish

languageartsandmath.

Theextenttowhichtheyare

alignedtostates’newcollege-

andcareer-readinessstandards

varies.

.


All 14 states include

grade-level and course

assessments in ELA and

math, aligned to standards

to a varying extent.

Notable

Intheirschoolaccountability

measures,Coloradoand

Georgiaincludetargetsonannual

EnglishLanguageProgram

assessmentsforEnglishlearners.

Thishelpstracksupportfora

crucialaspectofthesestudents’

overallacademicgrowth.

Formoreonassessmentsand

howtheyaligntostandards,

seetheseparate

Timeline and Approach to Standards

and Assessments reportinthis

series.

http://publications.sreb.org/2015/StandardAssess_SREB.pdf




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Does the system provide additional measures?

Georgia, Kentucky andNorth

Carolinahaveadditionalkindsof

measuresthatcomplementtest

data.Theyprovidearicherpicture

oflocalpracticesandoutcomes

fromteachingandlearningthe

states’college-andcareer-

readinessstandards.

Georgia

Lexile targets are correlatedto

thestate’sEnglishLanguageArts

assessments.(Lexilelevelsshow

howwellstudentswillcomprehend

textofcertaindifficultylevels.)

Kentucky

Program reviews bylocalschool

teams–withstaff,parentsand

students–examineinstruction,

curriculum,assessmentsandmore.

Next-Generation Professionals

Beginningin2015-16,Kentucky

isincorporatingteacherandleader

evaluationresultsintoschool

accountability.

North Carolina

Inthe Graduation Project,

studentpapers,portfoliosand

oralpresentationsdrawonpost-

secondaryskillssuchasliteracy,

problemsolvingandteamwork.


Three states have additional

measures to provide stakeholders

with information on teaching and

learning of the standards.

https://www.georgiastandards.org/resources/Documents/Lexile%20Brochure%20-%20English.pdf

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CB4QFjAA&url=http://education.ky.gov/commofed/cdu/documents/ngp%20delivery%20plan%20020414.docx&ei=VCPeVO6_Hce7ggSkmIH4Cw&usg=AFQjCNFdKLaQQo0Hp494HptPDUPEo1pFFw&sig2=Nisck3GNQp_gIHv0Pvce2w

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/testing/eoc/gradproject14.pdf

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What college- and career-readiness measures?

Eightstatesinthestudy

incorporatereadinessmeasures

intotheiraccountabilitysystems

toprovideinformationabout

studentmasteryofstatecollege-

andcareer-readinessstandards

andstudentpreparednessfor

postsecondarywork:Alabama,

Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Maryland, North

Carolina andPennsylvania.

Exams

ACTandSATreportthatthese

examsaligntotheCommonCore.

International Baccalaureateand

Advanced Placementreportthat

theysupportstudentlearningat

orabovetheleveloftheCommon

Core.Theextentofalignmentof

theWorkKeysexamcouldnotbe

determinedatthetimeof

publication.

Additional measures

Alabama, Georgia, Maryland

andPennsylvania have

additionalmeasures,including

targetsforoneormoreofthe

following:• numberofstudentswhoearn

postsecondarycreditor

industrycertificationswhilein

highschool• numberofstudentsenrolledin

collegewithin16monthsof

graduation• numberofschoolsthatoffer

studentsaccesstocollege

courses


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

Threestatesuseother

assessments:

LouisianausestheELDA test,

developedbystatespartneringwith

theCouncilofChiefStateSchool

Officers.WestVirginiausesits

West Virginia Test of English

Language Learning. Thesetests

arenotalignedtothestates’new

standards,butbothplantousethe

new,alignedassessmentfromthe

ELPA21consortiumin2015-16.

NewYorkusesitsNew York State

English as a Second Language

Achievement Test,whichwillbe

fullyalignedby2015-16.

3. Academic achievement in

English language arts and math

Statesgenerallyreportsubgroup

scoresforEnglishlearnersonthe

stateELAandmathcontentarea

assessments.


What measures do states

use? To what extent are

they aligned to the states’

readiness standards?

StatesreceivefederalTitleIII

fundstoserveEnglishlearners

andmustreportonthreeannual

targets,orAnnualMeasurable

AchievementObjectives.

1. Progress toward English

proficiency: Studentswho

improvetheirEnglishfluency

2. Attaining English proficiency:

Studentswhoreachfluencyin

English

Forthesetwotargets,11states

usetheWIDA Consortium

ACCESS for ELLs test:

Alabama, Colorado, Delaware,

Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland,

Mississippi, North Carolina,

Pennsylvania, South Carolina

andTennessee.Thistestwas

designedtomeasurelanguage

skillsintheCommonCore,anda

WIDAalignmentstudyshows

moderatetostrongalignment.

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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

Leadingstateshavethemostcomprehensivesetsofmeasuresto

providestakeholdersinformationaboutteachingandlearningthe

state’scollege-andcareer-readinessstandards.

Thestates’general statewide accountability system includes:• alignedEnglishlanguageartsandmathassessments• additionaltypesofmeasuresofteachingandlearningthestandards• multiplecollege-andcareer-readinessmeasures

Title III accountability reporting includesdatafromalignedEnglish

LanguageProficiencyassessments.

Leading states Accountability


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’sCollege and Career Ready Performance Indexbegan

in2012-13andalignstothestate’sCollegeandCareerGeorgia

PerformanceStandards.Georgiaisnotableforanextensivesetof

accountabilitymeasuresinadditiontoitsalignedannualassessments

forEnglishlanguageartsandmath.

Lexile reading-level targetsshowhowwellstudentscomprehendtext

ofcertaindifficultylevels.Thedepartmentreportsthatthemeasureis

alignedtotheCollegeandCareerGeorgiaPerformanceStandards.

An extensive set of college- and career-readiness measures

ACT, SAT, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate

exams,whichtestproviderssayareatoraboveCommonCorelevel.

Measuresthatprovideevenmoreinformationonhowreadystudents

areforpostsecondarystudyandcareers:• Howmanystudentsearndual enrollment creditinhighschool• Howmanygraduatesenterin-statepostsecondaryinstitutions

withoutrequiringremediation• Howmanystudentscompletenationalindustrycredentials,IBcareer

certificates,Georgia-developedcareerpathwayassessmentsora

three-coursecareerpathway• Howmanymiddle grades studentscompletetwoormorecareer-

relatedassessmentsandanindividualgraduationplan• Howmanyelementary school studentscompletecareer-awareness

lessons


http://www.gadoe.org/CCRPI/Pages/default.aspx




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Highlights from leading states Kentucky

Kentucky'saccountabilitysystem,

Unbridled Learning: College/Career Readiness for All,beganin

2012-13.Kentuckyincludestwomeasuresthatgobeyonditscollege-

andcareer-readinessmeasuresanditsannualassessmentsforEnglish

languageartsandmath.

Program ReviewsLocalschoolteamsincludingstakeholderssuchasstaff,parentsandstudentsexamineinstruction,curriculum,assessments,administrativesupport,professionaldevelopmentandotheraspects

oftheschool’sprograms.EveryschoolinKentuckymustconductan

annualProgramReviewinatleastoneoftheseareas:writing,arts

andhumanities,orpracticallivingandcareerstudies.Program

Reviewsexaminestudentworkandassessments,sotheycanprovide

informationaboutstudentlearningandtheschool-levelpracticesthat

supportthatlearning.

Next-Generation Professionals Beginningin2015-16,Kentuckywillincorporateteacherandleader

evaluationresultsintoitsstatewideaccountabilitysystem.This

componentwillcountfor10percentofaschool’stotalaccountability

score.Individualevaluationratingswillnotbemadepublic;schoolswill

receiveanoverallperformanceratingbasedonanaggregateratingfor

alleducators.Thesedataprovideinformationaboutteaching,learning

andleadingfortheKentuckyCoreAcademicStandards.


http://education.ky.gov/comm/UL/Pages/default.aspx

http://education.ky.gov/comm/UL/Pages/default.aspx

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Highlights from leading states North Carolina

NorthCarolina'sREADYaccountabilitysystembeganin2012-13.North

Carolinaincludestwomeasuresthatgobeyonditscollege-andcareer-

readinessmeasuresanditsannualassessmentsforEnglishlanguage

artsandmath.

The Graduation Projectisanadditionalmeasurebuiltonthepremise

ofpreparingstudentsforexperiencesafterhighschoolincollegeand

theworkplace.Studentsselectatopicandcompletearesearchpaper,

product,portfolioandoralpresentation,drawingonCommonCore

literacyproficienciesandshowingtheirmasteryreadinessskillssuch

asteamwork,problem-solvinganduseoftechnology.TheGraduation

Projectisoptionalforhighschools.




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Methodology SREBexaminedefforts of state

departments of education to

supportimplementationof

college-andcareer-readiness

standards,assessmentsand

relatedreforms.Researchers

lookedathowstatesprovided

guidance,toolsandsupportfor

teachersandforschooland

districtleaders.

SREBworkedwithapointperson

ineachofthe14state

departmentsofeducation.

Timeframe

TheSREBreportsreflectstate

effortsandplansbetween 2010

and summer 2014.

TheseJanuary2015finalreports

replacepreliminaryones

publishedinMarch2014.

A team of SREB researchers

and consultants gathered

information from:

Reviews of publicly available

information: Researchers

reviewedstatepolicydocuments

andreports,statedepartmentof

educationwebsites,andother

sourcessuchasU.S.Department

ofEducationreports.

Interviews: Researchers

interviewedleadersfromstate

departmentsofeducation,state

boardsofeducation,unions,

highereducationandbusiness

andcommunityorganizations,as

wellaslegislators’andgovernors’

staff,teachers,principalsand

districtsuperintendents.

Eachstatedepartmentreviewed

draftstoensureaccuracy.


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Full reports

More information

Sixdetailedfinalreportswere

publishedinJanuary2015.Slide

documentsofreporthighlights,

likethisone,arealsoavailablefor

eachreport.

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

KimAnderson,Director

BenchmarkingCollege-and

Career-ReadinessStandards

404-875-9211

[email protected]


Find all reports at SREB.org/1600 >




http://publications.sreb.org/2015/Resources_SREB.pdf

http://publications.sreb.org/2015/Resources_SREB.pdf

http://publications.sreb.org/2015/Evaluation_SREB.pdf



http://publications.sreb.org/2015/Accountability_SREB.pdf

http://www.sreb.org/1600

http://www.sreb.org/1600

Southern Regional Education Board592 10th St. N.W.Atlanta, GA 30318-5776 SREB.org