Alphabet Soup: Understanding policy change ICAP – PWR – HEAR – Endorsed diploma – Grad guidelines – PARCC – ASSET – Remedial policy – ASCENT – ISR – CAP4Kids – College admissions standards – Common Core – CAS

A quick review – back to 2008 Colorado Achievement Plan for Kids: 2008 law that Matt Gianneschi helped write (he’s the DHE deputy executive director) Called for standards (Common Core & more) Called for tests (PARCC) aligned to standards Called for the adoption of school readiness assessments and a state definition of postsecondary and workforce readiness (PWR)

CAS & Common Core State Standards 2009 – State Board of Education adopts Colorado Academic Standards in 10 content areas and English language proficiency 2010 – State board adopts Common Core in math, reading, writing and communicating Analysis found 95% alignment between CAS and Common Core 46 states & D.C. have adopted the Common Core standards in math and language arts

Example of CAS & Common Core 9 th -grade, oral expression and listening

CSAP/TCAP & PARCC PARCC = Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers PARCC is a consortium of 22 states, including Colorado, working to develop a common set of grades 3-11 assessments in English and math PARCC tests, which may be called something else, will take the place of the annual CSAP/TCAP exams in reading, writing and math in spring 2015

PARCC & College Readiness New use of state tests; CSAP/TCAP not used for either college admissions or remedial placement (Proposed) State colleges and universities will begin using 11 th -grade PARCC results as one factor in college admissions (Proposed) State colleges and universities will use 11 th -grade PARCC results as one factor in deciding whether a student needs remediation Decision expected by CCHE in December 2013

PWR: Bringing it all together PWR = Postsecondary and workforce readiness The goal of CAP4K is to align education from preschool to postsecondary Colorado K-12 and higher ed governing bodies agreed on description of PWR in 2009 The description is detailed, yet difficult to measure: – Example: Literacy – Graduates should be able to use logic and rhetoric to analyze and critique ideas

Next step: PWR endorsed diplomas Description of PWR led to diploma criteria: – Complete HEAR or prove remediation is not needed – Complete ICAP – Demonstrate 21 st Century Skills by completing volunteer work, internship/employment and extracurricular activities – Show mastery in at least three academic subjects. (Ex. Math – GPA of 3.0 or better in four qualifying classes plus achieving certain score on state or other tests

What PWR endorsed diploma means Intended to identify student excellence over and above standard high school diploma Expected to mean automatic admission to most Colorado colleges and universities Piloted in Aurora, Sterling school districts in Voluntary use by all districts expected in

Still to come … Graduation guidelines Vote by State Board of Education this week Proposed to start with 6 th -graders in fall 2014 Revised college admissions standards and remedial education policy Vote by CCHE in Dec 2013 Proposed to start with 9 th -graders in fall 2014

Graduation guidelines 2007 law requires the setting of graduation guidelines local districts must meet or exceed Recommended guidelines are essentially a series of cut scores for various tests – i.e., 18 in English and 19 in math on the ACT Cut scores are based on what’s required for entering college without needing remediation, what’s considered proficient on state exams, etc. Concerns expressed by various groups

College admissions policy review State law requires review of DHE policies Proposed admissions changes: – eliminate the admissions index, based on grade point average or class rank and ACT/SAT score – emphasize demonstrations of competency, such as HEAR or concurrent enrollment, instead – add PARCC results as a factor in admissions

Remedial education policy review Proposed remedial policy changes – differentiated cut scores for math remediation based on chosen field of study – use of PARCC, Compass and Smarter Balanced, in addition to ACT, SAT and Accuplacer, to determine placement – review of current cut scores and subsequent achievement Town halls now gathering feedback

CCCS remedial education changes Colorado Community College Board approved major changes to remedial education in Feb Goal is through remediation in one semester or less New formats include brief refresher courses, “support” classes, STEM and non-STEM math remedial requirements Implementation complete by fall 2014

Handy timeline for reference 2013 (May) – Graduation guidelines adopted 2013 (Nov) – Ballot measure to boost K-12 school funding 2013 (Dec) – Admission and remedial policy changes to be adopted – Implementation of new standards; statewide implementation of S.B 191 educator evaluations begins – New 12 th -grade state science and social studies tests begin in fall 2014 while new PARCC assessments begin in spring 2015 for grades 3- 11; community college remedial changes in place; all districts may participate in endorsed diplomas (proposed); new educator evaluations continue with ineffective ratings counting towards loss of non- probationary status – Graduating seniors must meet new graduation guidelines and new college admissions and remedial policies (proposed)

Etc. & questions 11 th -grade ACT is not going away – yet Accuplacer stays – for now What would you like to know more about?