What are we measuring? ACT measures: –Content knowledge –General educational development: English Mathematics Reading Science Capacity to complete college-level work

What are we measuring? NCRC measures:

NCRC Test Questions Applied Math – Level 3 In your job as a cashier, a customer gives you a $20 bill to pay for a can of coffee that costs $3.84. How much change should you give back? Applied Math – Level 7 The farm where you just started working has a vertical cylindrical oil tank that is 2.5 feet across on the inside. The depth of the oil in the tank is 2 feet. If 1 cubic foot of space holds 7.48 gallons, about how many gallons of oil are left in the tank?

NCRC Test Questions Locating Information – Level 3 You regularly check the pressure gauge on a large tank. According to the gauge shown, what is the current pressure (in PSI)?

NCRC Test Questions Locating Information – Level 6 You are a road contractor and you have analyzed a soil that you want to use for road fill. Your analysis shows that the soil contains 15% sand, 65% silt, and 20% clay. You need to know what the shrink-swell potential is for the soil because it will affect the durability of the road. Based on the diagram and table shown, what is the shrink-swell potential at a 30-inch depth for this soil?

NCRC Test Questions Reading for Information – Level 3 You are a cashier. According to the notice shown, what should you write on a store employee's receipt? A.The employee's identification number B.The employee's department number C.The amount of sales tax D.The 20% discount price E.Your initials

NCRC Test Questions Reading for Information – Level 7 You have hired a consultant to work with your firm. Based on the agreement shown, what will happen if the consultant’s business is taken over by a major competitor? A.The agreement will confidentially go into arbitration. B.The agreement will not be enforceable and is void. C.The consultant is bound by the agreement. D.The obligations will pass to the new owner. E.You must renegotiate the agreement with the new owner.

ACT vs NCRC ACT measures: Content knowledge General educational development: – English – Mathematics – Reading – Science Capacity to complete college-level work NCRC measures: Applied skills in – Reading for Information: Skill used when reading written text – Applied Mathematics: Skill in applying mathematical reasoning, critical thinking and problem-solving techniques – Locating Information: Skill in working with workplace graphics to find and analyze information

What is the NCRC? Portable credential based on WorkKeys assessments Demonstrates achievement and a certain level of workplace employability skills –Applied Mathematics –Locating Information –Reading for Information Measures "real world" skills employers believe are critical to job success Test questions are based on situations in the everyday work world.

Benefits for Students Provides real-world examples of how their skills translate to the workplace Gives insight to the requirements of the careers they are interested in Demonstrate readiness to enter the workforce after graduation or pursue postsecondary education

From the Field “I hope all school districts will discover that this opportunity is very worthwhile. All high school graduates should be allowed this epiphany in what their high school diploma actually means. Administering this exam provides credibility to the skills students are learning on a daily basis. We use that rationale when we talk with our seniors on the day of the exam. For them to ponder that businesses actually use these results to glean through candidates is a powerful concept. The old saying of, “When are we going to use this stuff?” becomes immediately relevant.” Travis Aslesen, HS Principal Elk Point-Jefferson School District 61-7

Benefits for Schools Provides a relevant connection to students’ Personal Learning Plans Application to School Performance Index (SPI)

NCRC for Accountability New accountability system incorporates key indicators of school performance: High School: 1) Student Achievement 2) High School Completion 3) College & Career Readiness NCRC incorporated into College and Career Readiness (CCR) indicator of SPI

In … – Students can take the Smarter Balanced Assessment, Accuplacer and National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) assessments to help measure College and Career Readiness. – Scores will be held until the student cohort used to measure ACT attainment is being used in the College Readiness Indicator.

NCRC for Accountability AssessmentGraduating ClassUse in Report Card 2015 Smarter Balanced – 11 th graders Spring College Ready results AccuplacerSpring College Ready results NCRC (11 th grade)Spring Career Ready results NCRC (12 th grade)Spring Career Ready results ACTSpring College Ready results

NCRC for Accountability If the NCRC is not taken, can have up to 30 points, 15 points each for subject areas of Math and English/Language Arts If students take the NCRC, Math, English/Language Arts, and the NCRC each have up to 10 points

NCRC for SPI Options for CCR SPI points: Option AOption B Math- 15 points ELA- 15 points Math- 10 points ELA- 10 points NCRC- 10 points Total30 points

How does it work? Partnership effort: –Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR) –Department of Education (DOE) 11 th or 12 th graders Offered at NO cost

How does it work? Staff from DLR will travel to your school to administer the assessment School provides: –One computer per student for the online assessment –High speed Internet service to support the number of students taking the assessment simultaneously Students will need: –Calculator –Formula Sheet (provided)

How does it work? Students complete three assessments –Allowed 55 minutes to complete each Schools should plan for 3-4 hours total

Implementation Strategies Number of students assessed is up to the district –Intended for ALL students Examples: –Half day –Split into two sections during a single day

Prep Work Plan time for pre-assessment conversations –Before testing day –On day of test Students who have a context around why they are testing tend to be more successful

Accommodations Authorized by the Site Administrator/Test Supervisor May include: the use of a sign language interpreter (for test instructions only) assistance in recording responses the use of word-to-word foreign language glossaries testing under extended testing time If examinees need other accommodations, they must test using paper-and-pencil materials.

Certification Four levels –Bronze (16% of jobs*) –Silver (67% of jobs*) –Gold (93% of jobs*) –Platinum (99% of jobs*) Students must attain at least the lowest certification level on three WorkKeys assessments Physical certificate mailed to students * in the ACT Occupational Database listing

Certification School Year –2,085 students participated –53 school districts Level of CertificationSouth Dakota StudentsNational Average Platinum2 (.10%)0.48% Gold367 (17.60%)20.77% Silver1,174 (56.31%)54.98% Bronze343 (16.45%)23.75%

Post-Assessment School contact will receive one package within 2-3 weeks with all student certificates Each student will receive: –Packet with a cover letter explaining their scores –Score report for each assessment (sample report)sample report –Certificate, if they’ve obtained at least a level 3 for each assessment

Post-Assessment Each school contact will receive: –Cover letter breaking down school results by assessment and certification standing –Roster report; compilation.pdf of all scores of the groupreport

Post-Assessment Let your local businesses know students have certificates Connect students’ skills to Personal Learning Plan and future goals –Course schedules –Dual credit Help students search jobs by skills on ACT website –KeyTrainKeyTrain

NCRC Resources Results mean something to each student!

I’m interested. How do I get started? Pick potential dates for Determine 11 th or 12 th grade or combo Complete application located at Try it on for size yourself

Who do I contact? School Performance Index –Department of Education Laura Scheibe: (605) , Abby Javurek-Humig: (605) , NCRC –Division of Career & Technical Education –Tiffany Sanderson: (605) , Schedule NCRC for your school! –Department of Labor & Regulation Scott Kwasniewski, East River: (605) , Barb Unruh, West River: (605) ,

Questions?