Standards and Assessments: Benchmarking State Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness...

Standards and Assessments

January 2015

Findings across states from SREB’s

Benchmarking State Implementation of

College- and Career-Readiness

Standards, Aligned Assessments

and Related Reforms

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ContentsStandards and Assessments

What actions have states taken to foster implementation

of their new college- and career-readiness standards and

the assessments aligned to them?

Criteria

Kentucky

New York

Adoption

Timelines

New developments

Assessments

Diverse learners

Standards and Assessments | Benchmarking College- and Career-Readiness Standards

page 3 page 4 page18

Participating

states

Findings

across states

Highlights from

leading states Methodology

More about

these reports

page 13 page19

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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.

This SREB project supports

states in the monumental task of

implementing higher statewide

standards by tracking progress

and bringing states together to

learn from and collaborate with

one another.

SREB region

Alabama

Delaware

Georgia

Kentucky


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Timelines and approaches

Beginning in 2010, most states across the country adopted new learning

standards for what students should know and be able to do. These

college- and career-readiness standards now set the expectation that

when students graduate from high school, they will be prepared for

success in college and careers.

All 16 states in the SREB region adopted such standards. The 14 states

in this study took different approaches to developing and implementing

their new standards.


How have state policy-makers

— at state departments of

education in particular —

fostered implementation of

their new college- and career-

readiness standards and the

assessments aligned to

them?

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Adopting the standards

States began adopting their new

standards in 2010.

Six states in this study adopted

the Common Core State

Standards in 2010 as their

standards in math and English

language arts K-12 and for

literacy in history/social studies,

science, and technical subjects in

grades six through 12: Delaware,

Kentucky, Louisiana, North

Carolina, South Carolina (now

replacing the standards) and

Tennessee.

Eight states in the study adopted

the Common Core in 2010, then

modified and renamed the

standards to incorporate content

local stakeholders deemed

essential: Alabama, Colorado,

Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi,

New York, Pennsylvania and

West Virginia.


When did the states adopt

new standards?

How did state leaders

organize to lead the

transition?

Planning the transition

In most states, leaders in the state

department of education worked

with leaders in other sectors —

higher education, business, the

executive branch, the legislature,

education leadership

commissions, unions — to gather

input from across the state. This

informed timelines to roll out the

standards and plans for

supporting local implementation

efforts.

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Timelines for implementing standards

All 14 states in this study

expected teachers to teach the

new standards in classrooms by

the 2013-14 school year.

Some states began implementing

all of the standards at one time,

while others phased in

implementation (by grade level,

for example) over two or more

years.

Kentucky had the earliest start

date, beginning in 2010-11.

Maryland, Pennsylvania and

South Carolina were the last

states to begin, in 2013-14.

Rollout timelines in four states

extend into 2014-15: Georgia,

Pennsylvania, South Carolina

and West Virginia.


All 14 states in this study

expected teachers to teach

the new standards in

classrooms by the

2013-14 school year.

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The standards: developments in 2013 and 2014

Reconsidering the standards

After adopting their standards

and beginning implementation,

seven states in the study decided,

between 2013 and 2014, to take

another look at their standards.

Colorado, Georgia, Maryland,

Mississippi, New York and

North Carolina convened formal

reviews of the standards,

assessments or adoption

process.

South Carolina decided to

replace the Common Core.

2014 legislation required the

state department of education to

develop new standards for

English language arts and math.

Race to the Top

Grants that supported elements of

10 states’ implementation end in

2014 or 2015 in Colorado,

Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Maryland, New York,

North Carolina, Pennsylvania

and Tennessee.


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New collaborations

Since 2013, three states have

launched new initiatives that build

on and support their state’s

readiness standards.

Delaware

Governor Jack Markell helped

launch the Partnership for

Higher Standards, led by the

Bipartisan Policy Center, the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce

Foundation and the Hunt Institute.

Maryland

The College and Career

Readiness and College

Completion Act requires that in

2014-15 all students must be

assessed for college readiness

by grade 11. By 2015-16, the

State Department of Education

must implement transitional

readiness courses for students

who have not achieved college

readiness by the end of grade 11.

West Virginia

West Virginia joined the

Improving Student Learning at

Scale Policy Collaborative with

five other states, the National

Governors Association, the

Council for Chief State School

Officers and the National

Conference of State Legislatures.

West Virginia Senate Bill 359

requires that by 2014-15 the board

of education, the Higher Education

Policy Commission and the

Council for Community and

Technical College Education adopt

uniform standards of college

and career readiness based on

the state’s Next Generation

Content Standards and

Objectives. An assessment linked

to the standards must determine

whether a student is ready for

credit-bearing courses in college.


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Assessments aligned to the standards

A shifting landscape

In 2014, six states made changes

to their plans for annual English

language arts and math assess-

ments aligned to the standards.

Plans for 2014-15

Six states currently plan to use

tests from one of two state

testing consortia.

• PARCC (Partnership for

Assessment of Readiness for

College and Careers):

Colorado, Louisiana (grades

three through eight), Maryland

and Mississippi

• Smarter Balanced: Delaware

and West Virginia

The promise of PARCC and

Smarter Balanced tests: results

that are comparable across states

and clearly reflect how students

are progressing toward readiness

standards.


How will the state ensure that

its annual assessments are

aligned to the new readiness

standards?

State-specific tests

Nine states plan to use their own

fully aligned tests, either

developed for them or acquired

from a vendor: Alabama,

Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana

(for high school), New York,

North Carolina and

Pennsylvania.

South Carolina is in a test

procurement process.

Tennessee plans to use existing

partially aligned tests for 2014-15

and select new, fully aligned tests

for 2015-16.

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Assessment technology

PARCC, Smarter Balanced and

other assessment developers are

designing tests to be admin-

istered online. State departments

of education have been working

with districts and schools to gauge

capacity and enhance technology

infrastructure for tests

administered on computers.

Delaware, Georgia and

Kentucky reported that local

technology infrastructures do not

pose a major challenge because

schools in these states have been

phasing in online testing over the

last few years.

Other states reported that not all

districts have the technology

infrastructure and hardware in

place. Given steep challenges

especially in rural and high-

poverty districts some states

are exploring paper versions for

the first few years.


How ready are schools to

administer the annual

assessments online?

Helping districts prepare for

computer-based testing:

Noteworthy approaches

In 2013 the Tennessee legislature

provided extra state funds to help

districts augment their technology

infrastructures.

In West Virginia the state

department of education, the state

board of education and the

legislature collaborated to

establish a two-year moratorium

on spending state funding for new

textbooks and materials. Districts

could use those funds instead to

upgrade their technology systems

and digital resources.

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Students with cognitive disabilities

In most states, the new standards

place greater demands on

students. This can be especially

challenging for students with the

most significant cognitive

disabilities those unable to

participate in general state

assessments, even with

accommodations.

One way states can support these

students is with additional

standards and assessments

that are aligned to the state’s

college- and career-readiness

standards.

For students with the most

significant cognitive disabilities

Five states plan to use alternate

standards and assessments from

multi-state consortia: Maryland

and South Carolina plan to use

the standards and assessments of

the National Center and State

Collaborative.

Mississippi, North Carolina and

West Virginia plan to use the

standards and assessments of the

Dynamic Learning Maps

Alternate Assessment System

Consortium.

Nine states plan to use their own

alternate standards and aligned

assessments: Alabama,

Colorado, Delaware, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, New York,

Pennsylvania and Tennessee.


How does the state ensure

that teaching and learning

for students with the most

significant cognitive

disabilities address the

state’s readiness

standards?

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English learners For English learners

English learners must master

grade-level content while learning

the English language.

Eleven states are using the

English language proficiency


World-Class Instructional Design

and Assessment Consortium

(WIDA): Alabama, Colorado,

Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky,

Maryland, Mississippi, North

Carolina, Pennsylvania, South

Carolina and Tennessee.

Two states plan to use the


English Language Proficiency for

the 21st Century consortium when

they become available in 2015-16:

Louisiana and West Virginia.

Both currently use tests not

aligned to their readiness

standards.

New York uses its own English

language proficiency standards,

New Language Arts Progressions,

and its New York State English as

a Second Language Achievement

Test. The test was partially

aligned to New York’s Common

Core Learning Standards for

2013-14, and will be fully aligned

by 2015-16.

Notable efforts

New York’s Bilingual Common

Core Initiative and Blueprint for

English Language Learners

Success capitalize on the

strengths and address the needs

of students whose first language is

not English.


How do states ensure that

teaching and learning for

English learners address

the state’s college- and

career-readiness

standards?

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All 14 states mounted significant efforts to implement their new

college- and career-readiness and assessments.

Leading states in their timeline and approach to standards and

assessments are Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and

New York.

Criteria

State leaders, legislation or other major initiatives provided strong

support for implementation of the new standards and statewide college

and career readiness.

The state included efforts to reach diverse learners, such as

aligning additional standards and assessments for students with the

most significant cognitive disabilities ,and for English learners, to the

state’s readiness standards.

The state aligned its English language arts and math assessments

to its college- and career-readiness standards.

The state department of education provided extensive

implementation support to local districts, schools and teachers.

Leading states Standards and Assessments


Leading states are noted

for the most extensive,

coordinated and innovative

efforts.

Their work offers models

other states may find

useful.

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Highlights from leading states Kentucky

Kentucky’s 2009 Senate Bill 1 mandated a new public education

assessment and accountability system beginning in 2011-12. This led to

Kentucky becoming, in 2010, the first state in the nation to adopt the

Common Core, called Kentucky Core Academic Standards in the

commonwealth. A Race to the Top grant supported some of Kentucky’s

initial implementation efforts.

Annual assessments

Kentucky was the first state to develop and administer summative

statewide assessments fully aligned to the new standards. Since

2011-12, Kentucky has administered the Kentucky Performance Rating

of Education Progress in math and in reading and writing for grades

three through eight. Kentucky uses ACT’s QualityCore end-of-course

assessments for high school. In 2014, Kentucky dropped out of the

PARCC consortium. It will use tests previously in place and is

considering options for future years.

Professional learning and support

In 2010, the Kentucky Department of Education launched an aggressive

three-year professional learning initiative for local leaders, who were in

turn expected to lead reform. District Leadership Teams collaborated

with regional educational cooperatives and higher education institutions

to receive training, develop district and school implementation plans,

and redeliver professional development to local colleagues.


Kentucky was the first state

in the nation to adopt

Common Core standards

and develop assessments

aligned to them.

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Highlights from leading states Kentucky


The department built a structure of interlocking leadership networks

for role-specific support. These include the Instructional Support

Leadership Network for school and district leaders, plus leadership

networks for teachers of English language arts, math, science and

social studies. A higher education network and an early learning

leadership network help coordinate reforms pre-K through higher

education. Team members lead ongoing professional learning efforts in

their communities.

The department offers a strong set of online, on-demand resources for

educators on its Continuous Instructional Improvement Technology

System portal.

Reaching diverse learners

To support students with the most significant cognitive disabilities,

Kentucky aligned its own alternate standards and assessments to the

KCAS. In 2014-15, the state may consider adopting alternate standards

and assessments from one of the multi-state alternate assessment

consortia.

To support English learners as they master the rigorous linguistic

demands inherent in the standards, Kentucky uses the WIDA

consortium aligned ELP standards and assessments.


Notable: Kentucky’s

leadership networks for

role-specific professional

learning.education.ky.gov/cu

rriculum/ciits/Pages/defa

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Highlights from leading states New York

New York’s implementation of the Common Core called the

Common Core Learning Standards, or CCLS is based in the

state’s comprehensive Regents Reform Agenda. This agenda aims to

advance college and career readiness for all students through new

standards and assessments, data-driven instruction and a new teacher

and leader effectiveness system. The agenda has been bolstered by a

Race to the Top grant and the Regents Research Fund, which

provides capacity for research and planning.

In February 2014, the New York State Board of Regents adopted a

comprehensive suite of recommendations to adjust implementation

of the standards:

• provide more support for parents and teachers

• improve public trust in CCLS implementation

• limit unnecessary testing

• protect student data privacy

Annual assessments

New York reports that English language arts and math assessments for

grades three through eight, and high school Regents Exams for English

and Algebra I, are fully aligned to the new standards. New York is

aligning additional Regents Exams in geometry and Algebra II. The

state participated in PARCC field testing in 2013-14 and is scheduled

to do so again in 2014-15.


New York’s comprehensive

Regents Reform Agenda

aims to improve readiness

for students statewide.

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Highlights from leading states New York


Network teams of educators and experts provide professional learning

and support planning and local curriculum development. Teacher and

principal Common Core ambassadors disseminate information about

the standards and build the capacity of local colleagues. In 2015,

Common Core Institute Fellow educators will serve full-time to help

build local capacity and develop additional online instructional materials.

Reaching diverse learners

For students with the most significant cognitive disabilities, New

York has alternate standards aligned to its Common Core Learning

Standards (CCLS). For English learners, New York reports its English

language proficiency standards are aligned to the CCLS, and the state

is working to fully align its ELP assessment by 2015-16.

The state’s Bilingual Common Core Initiative is developing Home

Language Arts Progressions, a set of CCLS-aligned standards in

English language arts for bilingual classrooms pre-K-12 plus

instructional resources in the five most common native languages in the

state.

The 2014 Blueprint for English Language Learners Success is a

statewide framework of guiding principles to support administrators,

policy-makers and practitioners as they prepare English learners for

college and career.


Teachers and principals

train and support others to

select materials. Also

notable: New York’s work

for English learners,

The EngageNY website, with

its extensive array of tools for

educators, has become a

popular resource for teachers

across the nation.

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Methodology SREB examined efforts of state

departments of education to

support implementation of college-

and career-readiness standards,

assessments and related reforms.

Researchers looked at how states

provided guidance, tools and

support for teachers and for

school and district leaders.

SREB worked with a point person

in each of the 14 state

departments of education.

Timeframe

The SREB reports reflect state

efforts and plans between 2010

and summer 2014.

These January 2015 final reports

replace preliminary ones

published in March 2014.

A team of SREB researchers

and consultants gathered

information from:

Reviews of publicly available

information: Researchers

reviewed state policy documents

and reports, state department of

education websites, and other

sources such as U.S. Department

of Education reports.

Interviews: Researchers

interviewed leaders from state

departments of education, state

boards of education, unions,

higher education, and business

and community organizations, as

well as legislators’ and governors’

staffs, teachers, principals and

district superintendents.

Each state department reviewed

drafts to ensure accuracy.


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Full reports

More information

Six detailed final reports were

published in January 2015. Slide

documents of report highlights,

like this one, are also available for

each report.

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

Kim Anderson, Director

Benchmarking College- and

Career-Readiness Standards

404-875-9211

[email protected]


Find all reports at SREB.org/1600 >

Southern Regional Education Board

592 10th St. N.W.

Atlanta, GA 30318-5776 SREB.org

Standards and Assessments: Benchmarking State Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness...

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