11 Assessing College & Career Readiness July 17, 2012

2 Our Challenge Graduating All Students College & Career Ready New York's 4-year high school graduation rate is 74% for All Students. However, the gaps are disturbing. June 2011 Graduation Rate Graduation under Current Requirements Calculated College & Career Ready* % Graduating All Students74.0All Students34.7 American Indian59.6American Indian16.8 Asian/Pacific Islander82.4Asian/Pacific Islander55.9 Black58.4Black11.5 Hispanic58.0Hispanic14.5 White85.1White48.1 English Language Learners38.2English Language Learners6.5 Students with Disabilities44.6Students with Disabilities4.4 *Students graduating with at least a score of 75 on Regents English and 80 on a Math Regents, which correlates with success in first-year college courses. Source: NYSED Office of Information and Reporting Services

3 Higher education degree holders: Earn and contribute more to economic growth By Educational Degree Unemployment RateMedian Annual Earnings

4 U.S. college graduation rates have stagnated relative to the rest of the developed world. Decline in relative position of U.S. from 1995 to 2009

5 Over 50% of students in NYS two-year institutions of higher education take at least one remedial course. Source: NYSED Administrative Data for all Public, Independent and Proprietary 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education

6 Regents Reform Agenda Path to College & Career Readiness College and Career Ready Students Highly Effective School Leaders Highly Effective Teachers Implementing Common Core standards and developing curriculum and assessments aligned to these standards to prepare students for success in college and the workplace Building instructional data systems that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practice in real time Recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals Turning around the lowest-achieving schools

In the 21 st Century Economy, College Readiness = Career Readiness Research by Achieve, ACT, and others indicate a high degree of convergence. The knowledge and skills that high school graduates will need to be successful in college are the same as those they will need to be successful in a job that: pays enough to support a family well above the poverty level, provides benefits, and offers clear pathways for career advancement through further education and training. ACT. (2006). Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or different? Iowa City, IA. American Diploma Project (2005). Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? Washington, DC.

8 Alignment of Performance Standards to College & Career Readiness In 2010, national experts conducted analyses of New York State assessment data and performance in first-year college courses Admissions directors of two- and four-year public and private colleges in the Western NY, Central NY, Hudson Valley, and New York City regions supported the experts’ determination that Regents scores ranging from 75 to 85 in ELA and Math were required for success in entry-level credit-bearing courses In 2010, NYSED reset the performance standards on grades 3 – 8 ELA and Math assessments such that a designation of Meets Proficiency Standard (Level 3) was indicative of a 75% chance of achieving a college- and career-ready score on the ELA and Math Regents exams 2010

9 Set new elementary- and middle-level college-ready performance standards based on the likelihood of scoring in high school at 75 or 80 on the ELA and math Regents exams Moved assessments towards end of school year to give students more time to learn 2010 Increased length of assessments to better measure NY State Learning Standards Stopped releasing test items to ensure better security Added “audit” questions to monitor and mitigate against score inflation Maintained elementary- and middle-level college-ready performance standards through equating First published Aspirational Performance Measure graduation rate metrics Started embedding field test questions to get more precise measures for future assessments Gave students additional time to complete assessment Maintained elementary- and middle-level college-ready performance standards through equating Published Aspirational Performance Measure graduation rate metrics 2012 Grades 3-8 ELA and Math Assessment Improvements to Increase Rigor and Alignment with College & Career Readiness

Grade 3-8 English Language Arts and Mathematics Results

11 The average scale scores on the English Language Arts test this year were generally slightly higher than last year English Language Arts By Grade Mean Scale Scores

12 The average scale scores on the Math test this year were generally slightly higher than last year Mathematics By Grade Mean Scale Scores

13 Each year, scores are “equated” so that performance levels have the same meaning from one year to the next. Because of year-to-year differences in individual test items, the number of raw scores needed to reach a scale score or performance level may change. Grade Math 2011 Math 2012 ELA 2011 ELA Scale Scores Needed for Proficiency

14 Grades 3-8 ELA Results

percent of grades 3-8 students across the State met or exceeded the proficiency standard, a small increase from last year English Language Arts 2006 – 2012 Grades 3-8 Combined Percentage of Students Scoring at Levels 3 and 4 Grades 3-8: 1,205,120 1,228,362 1,207,778 1,200,4601,196,2831,195,4321,192, Number of Students Tested

16 Grade 3 = 185,603198,457195,777198, ,604196, ,878 Grade 4 = 190,951197,499197,016195, ,530197, ,346 Grade 5 = 201,262202,133198,022197, ,448200, ,786 Grade 6 = 204,249204,463200,505197, ,135198, ,821 Grade 7 = 210,735211,839207,278202, ,183200, ,131 Grade 8 = 212,320213,971209,180207, ,383201, ,167 Grades 3-8= 1,205,1201,228,3621,207,7781,200,460 1,196,2831,195,432 1,192,129 Number Tested As a result of raising the bar for what it means to be proficient, fewer students met or exceeded the new ELA proficiency standard in In 2012, progress toward this new standard varied by grade.

17 In 2012, the majority of the Grades 3-5 students statewide met or exceeded the English Language Arts proficiency standard (Level 3 or Level 4). The percentage of students in Grades 3-5 who scored at Level 4 increased compared to (2011 results are striped; 2012 results are solid)

18 In 2012, the majority of the Grades 6-8 students statewide met or exceeded the English Language Arts proficiency standard (Level 3 or Level 4). The percentage of students who scored at Level 4 compared to 2011 varied by grade level. (2011 results are striped; 2012 results are solid)

percent of English Language Learners met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard Grades 3-8: 27,507 72,08273,19974,85479,34881,869 79,552 Number of ELL Students Tested

percent of Students with Disabilities met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard Grades 3-8: 166, , , , , , , Number of Students with Disabilities Tested

percent of Economically Disadvantaged grades 3-8 students met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard

22 The ELA results for racial/ethnic groups across grades 3-8 reveal the persistence of the achievement gap 2012 Total Students Asian: 96,272 Black: 220,328 Hispanic:270,236 American Indian/ Alaskan Native: 6,137 White:586,984 Total Public: 1,192,129

23 Across grades 3-8, 60.1 percent of girls, compared to 50.4 percent of boys, met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard

24 Across grades 3-8, low-need communities continued to outperform large cities and rural areas in English Language Arts

25 A smaller proportion of grades 3-8 students met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard in the Big 5 cities than statewide.

26 A smaller proportion of Grade 8 students met or exceeded the ELA proficiency standard in the Big 5 cities than statewide.

27 The percentage of students scoring at Level 4 statewide and in the Big 5 was generally slightly higher than last year English Language Arts Statewide and Big 5 Grades 3-8 Combined Percentage of Students Scoring at Level 4

28 In 2010, Charter Schools saw similar declines in the proportion of their students who met or exceeded the new ELA proficiency standard. In 2012, progress toward this standard varied by grade. Number of charter school students tested (Grades 3-8 combined) 20069,916 students tested ,108 students tested ,222 students tested ,862 students tested ,315 students tested ,479 students tested ,492 students tested

29 Grades 3-8 Mathematics Results

percent of grades 3-8 students across the State met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard, a slight increase from last year Mathematics Grades 3-8 Combined Percentage of Students Scoring at Levels 3 and Number of Students Tested Grades 3-81,259,9561,238,6351,217,789 1,211,3601,210,384 1,207,539 1,202,504

31 As a result of raising the bar for what it means to be proficient, fewer students met or exceeded the new mathematics proficiency standard in In 2012, progress toward this new standard increased slightly. Number of Students Tested Grade 3 201, , , ,336198, , ,625 Grade 4 202, , , ,704201, , ,116 Grade 5 209, , , ,511199, , ,552 Grade 6 211, , , ,940200, , ,394 Grade 7 217, , , ,648202, , ,933 Grade 8 219, , , ,221206, , ,884 Grades 3-81,259,9561,238,6351,217,789 1,211,3601,210,384 1,207,539 1,202,504

32 In 2012, the majority of the Grades 3-5 students statewide met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard (Level 3 or Level 4). The percentage of students in Grades 4 and 5 who scored at Level 4 increased compared to (2011 results are striped; 2012 results are solid)

33 In 2012, the majority of the Grades 6-8 students statewide met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard (Level 3 or Level 4). The percentage of students in Grades 6 and 8 who scored at Level 4 increased compared to (2011 results are striped; 2012 results are solid)

percent of English Language Learners met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard

percent of Students with Disabilities met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard

percent of Economically Disadvantaged grades 3-8 students met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard

37 The mathematics results for racial/ethnic groups across grades 3-8 reveal the persistence of the achievement gap

38 Across grades 3-8, 65.9 percent of girls, compared to 63.7 percent of boys, met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard

39 Across grades 3-8, low-need communities continued to outperform large cities and rural areas on the mathematics proficiency standard

40 A smaller proportion of grades 3-8 students met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard in the Big 5 cities than statewide.

41 A smaller proportion of Grade 8 students met or exceeded the mathematics proficiency standard in the Big 5 cities than statewide. Grade 8 math performance varied by grade level.

42 In 2012, the percentage of students scoring at Level 4 varied by grade statewide and in the Big 5 Mathematics Statewide and Big 5 Grades 3-8 Combined Percentage of Students Scoring at Level 4

43 In 2010, Charter Schools saw similar declines in the proportion of their students who met or exceeded the new mathematics proficiency standard. In 2012, progress varied by grade. Number of charter school students tested (Grades 3-8 combined) 20069,908 students tested ,009 students tested ,161 students tested ,758 students tested ,357 students tested ,527 students tested ,492 students tested

Assessment: Work Underway Leading nation in Common Core assessment and curriculum design One of the first states to implement Common Core assessments ELA: Authentic, complex texts; informational texts; text-based analysis Math: Multiple representations, modeling, problem-solving Grade 3-8 Exams Based on Common Core beginning in Spring 2014 Continue to serve as centerpiece to New York State’s graduation requirements Designed to be indicators of college and career readiness Will use empirical data to set performance standards Regents Exams Target Launch: National consortium of states Increased alignment with Common Core through performance tasks, computer-based Will serve as indicator of college and career readiness using empirical data PARCC 44

New York State Assessment Transition Plan: ELA and Mathematics As of July 13, 2012 (Subject to Revision) : the content of the grade 3-8 tests will be aligned to the Common Core : some Regents Exams will be aligned to the Common Core : all ELA and math Regents will be aligned to the Common Core : transition to PARCC pending BoR approval 1 The PARCC assessments are scheduled to be operational in and are subject to adoption by the New York State Board of Regents. The PARCC assessments are still in development. All PARCC assessments will be aligned to the Common Core. 2 Funding Pending. 3 The PARCC consortium is developing ELA and mathematics assessments that will cover grades New York State will continue to monitor the development of these assessments to determine how the PARCC assessments might intersect with the Regents Exams. Note that all new Regents Exams and PARCC assessments will be implemented starting with the end-of-year administration, rather than the winter or summer administrations. 4 The names of New York State’s Mathematics Regents Exams are expected to change to reflect the new alignment of these assessments to the Common Core. For additional information about the upper-level mathematics course sequence and related standards, see the “Traditional Pathway” section of Common Core Mathematics Appendix A ( mathematics-courses-approved/). mathematics-courses-approved/ 5 This transition plan is specific to the NYSAA in ELA and mathematics. 6 New York State is a member of the NCSC national alternate assessment consortium that is engaged in research and development of new alternate assessments for alternate achievement standards. The NCSC assessments are scheduled to be operational in and are subject to adoption by the New York State Board of Regents.

46 Assessing College & Career Readiness In 2010, the elementary- and middle-level ELA and math proficiency standard was re-set to be aligned with college- and career-ready performance in high school and post- secondary education. In 2011 and 2012, this proficiency standard was maintained through the annual equating process, which ensures that cut scores are equivalent from year to year. In 2013, performance standards for the new NYS Common Core 3-8 assessments will use a similar approach as was used in 2010 to set cut scores aligned with college and career readiness. In , PARCC will follow NY’s lead and use similar college and career ready data to set performance standards for the PARCC assessments.

47 Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) A consortium of states working together to develop a common set of K-12 assessments in English and math anchored in what it takes to be ready for college and careers. New K-12 assessments will build a pathway to college and career readiness by the end of high school, mark students’ progress toward this goal from 3rd grade up, and provide teachers with timely information to inform instruction and provide student support.

48 The PARCC Assessment System Target Launch in The PARCC assessment system will: Better reflect the sophisticated knowledge and skills found in the English and math Common Core State Standards Include a mix of item types (e.g., short answer, richer multiple choice, longer open response, performance-based) Make significant use of technology and will be computer-based Include testing at key points throughout the year to give teachers, parents and students better information about whether students are on track or need additional support in particular areas