Group items tagged

Publication from Common Core State Standards outlining the Math standards

The Common Core State Standards Initiaitive is a state-led efford coordinated by the National Governors Association for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers

The Web site for the Common Core State Standards

Discusses partnership between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, which aims to to help the Common Cores Standards Initiative succeed. Will focus on: aligning the standards with college admission and placement requirements; and ensuring that colleges better prepare K-12 teachers to help students meet the standards. (Inside Higher Ed, 12/17/10)

Editorial offering support for Common core standards as tool to decrease college remediation rates.

This article explores the difficulty in setting standards using cutscores. Although focused on K-12, it has some interesting observations about policy decisions, cut scores, standard setting, and measuring proficiency.

Analysis matches up the common core standards in math with NAEP test items. In algebra, it found that the NAEP items were, on average, two to three years below the 8th grade math recommended by the common standards. (Brookings Institute, February 2011)

Policy Information Perspective from ETS. Report discusses issues involved in the debate over whether the United States should have national education standards, and implications for implementation.

Utah Superintendent of Public Instruction Larry Shumway posts this defense of the Common Core Standards. Apparently legislators are concerned about the standards.

Story on a new report by the Center for Education Policy that indicates that many states are a long way from implementing common core and that many have not explored aligning the standards with higher education

Report from Center for Education Policy that surveyed state and district leaders on implementation of common core standards. Findings show that states are a long way from implementation

Piece on Fairfax County School District in Virginia's standard high school diploma and the high incidence of remediation at Northern Virginia Community College

Summarizes state progress on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and careers, with respect to standards, graduation requirements, P-20 data systems, assessments and accountability. (Achieve, March 2010)

National CrossTalk -- Vol. 18 / No. 2 -- December, 2010 Commentary by SREB President, Dave Spence on need for more comprehensive college readiness standards and accountability. Suggests that states uniformly adopt ACT College Readiness Benchmarks or something similar.

Discusses Brookings Institution analysis that matches up the common core standards in math with NAEP test items. (Education Week, premium article access compliments of edweek.org, 01/11/11)

Brief from ACE on how higher education can engage with the common core standards.

This report proposes a new opposing forces framework for understanding the dysfunction of the developmental system. Looks at three sets of opposing forces: system-wide consistency versus institutional autonomy; efficient versus effective assessment; and promotion of student progression versus enforcement of academic standards. (Center for Community College Research, November 2011)

Impact evaluations are important because they provide evidence about what works and does not work. It looks at what caused the improvement, or lack there of. This article from the Center for Effective Philanthropy talks about evaluation from the policy, practice, as well as philanthropy perspective.

The GED testing service has just published Crossing the Bridge: GED credentials and Post Secondary Educational Outcomes. This is a baseline report that follows GED graduates from 2003 (first cohort of the new test) and their enrollment, persistence, and graduation from post secondary institutions. It compares this group with the high school diploma and general population for the school's attended. This is the first year report of a 3 year project to provide a cohort of students with targeted instruction, GED passage, career exploration, and college readiness. The GED administered will be a prototype using the national State College Readiness standards.

Under the LA Grad Act, four-year institutions agree to achieve certain standards in exchange for authority to increase tuition. The performance objectives are aimed at improving college completion and meeting the state's workforce and economic development needs. One performance objective - efficiency and accountability - requires four-year institutions that enter into agreements to eliminate remedial education course offerings and developmental study programs unless such courses or programs cannot be offered at a community college in the same geographic area.