End-of-Course and Common Exams: Grading Rationale and Delay Parent Advisory Council January 22, 2013

End-of-Course (EOC) EOCs as grades –At December 2012 SBE meeting, the board approved a waiver for the school year of the EOC grade requirement –Became local decision; WS/FCS has an existing local regulation to count final exams as 25% of final grade (AR 5124) –Methodology for grades is now a local decision as well

Measures of Student Learning/Common Exams How/if it counts as grades are determined by each school system –High School: just like a final exam - 25% of final grade –Middle School: just like how EOGs are currently counted – 20% of final grade in the respective subject –Elementary School: not assessing with Common Exams this year Scores returned by software will reflect items answered correctly (no proficiency cut score) –We have created a district ‘curve’ that reflects a similar pattern to EOC grades

Curve Methodology A1A2BICIE1GEPSUSMedian A % B % C % D % F % Curve for EOCs and CEs: Top 17% of scores assigned an A Next 30% assigned a B 26% assigned a C 17% assigned a D 10% assigned an F

Concerns about Curve Curve works best when data reflect a normal curve –Required subjects (EOCs) follow a normal curve What if most/all students do well? –Some Common Exams – like Pre-Calculus –Solution: calculate the % of items correct for students and give the higher between curve and percentage

Example A student answers 39 out of 50 items correctly, which is the lowest score in the test distribution –The curve would assign an F –The actual percentage correct is 39/50, or 78% (which is a C) –Student would receive the C Can do this for Common Exams, but not EOCs

Third Option Look at final mark percentages for actual courses (multiple years for stability) –EXAMPLE: PRE-CALCULUS ( – 13,206 records) 24% As (17) 33% Bs (30) 27% Cs (26) 13% Ds (17) 3% Fs (10)

Delay in Grades Will need 95% of all available data before curves can be calculated –Common Exams: contingent on constructed response scoring; Test Window was January Majority of scoring should occur January Estimated to have grade rosters to schools by January 25

Delay in Grades Will need 95% of all available data before curves can be calculated –EOCs: Test Window is January Algebra 1 and Biology – should have grade rosters by January 24 English 2 – is sent off to vendor (not scored in district); will take 5-7 business days once tests arrive at vendor –Rosters should be available the week of February 8

Report Cards High school report cards will be distributed on February 1 –Later than normal date to accommodate brief delay in reporting Common Exams and some EOCs –We anticipate only English 2 to be initially recorded as incompletes

Questions