Texas College and Career
Readiness Initiative (TCCRI)
October 9, 2009
Dr. Charis McGaughy
Director
Strategic Partnerships and Project Development
Educational Policy Improvement Center
Meeting Outcomes
Participants will:
1.  Develop a deeper understanding of college
and career readiness
2.  Understand the purpose of the Texas
College and Career Readiness Initiative
(TCCRI)
3.  Be familiar with the development, validation
and implementation efforts related to the
Texas College and Career Readiness
Standards (CCRS)
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Who is the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC)?
•  Founder: Dr. David Conley, CEO, and Principal Investigator •  EPICʼs Mission: Nonprofit research center to help policymakers
and educators do a better job of using educational policy as a
tool to improve schooling and student learning
•  Area of expertise: improving college readiness, particularly for
first generation college attenders
•  Research areas:
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College readiness definition and standards
High school-to-college alignment tools and strategies
Course document analysis
Adequacy funding
Large-scale assessment models
Other policy initiatives designed to improve student success
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Understanding College and
Career Readiness
College and Career Readiness in
the Context of the New Economy
1.  Adaptability, not just job training
2.  Strong foundational content knowledge and, most
importantly, the ability to learn
3.  Ability to do things with knowledge, not just
acquire it
4.  High school diploma not designed to produce
adaptable learners with a range of learning
strategies
5.  Students need to be active participants by
learning how to apply knowledge to new and
novel settings and situations
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Are We Preparing Students for
College Eligibility or College
Success?
•  Two-thirds of high school grads go directly to college, threequarters within five years of graduation
–  The numbers are forecast to continue to increase
•  Large numbers who meet all entrance requirements end up in
remedial courses or fail to persist beyond the first year
–  From 20% to 80%, depending on the institution type, end up in remediation
–  Time-to-degree is six years and increasing, on average
•  High schools focus on students meeting course requirements for
college admission, not on readiness for postsecondary success
–  Students today need a different kind of college preparation, particularly if
they are the first in their family to attend college
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The Definition of College Ready
•  Student who can succeed—without remediation—in
credit-bearing general education courses or a twoyear certificate program and who are prepared for the
cognitive challenges they face in general education
requirements and subsequent courses
•  This definition presents high schools with a clear
target
–  What do faculty know about what is in these courses?
–  How does each and every high school course develop
knowledge and skills needed for success in first-year college
courses and certificate programs and in subsequent college
courses?
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The Four Key Dimensions of College Readiness
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Four Key Dimensions of College Readiness
•  Key Cognitive Strategies
–  Problem formulation, research, interpretation,
communication, precision and accuracy
•  Key Content Knowledge
–  Key foundational content and “big ideas” from
core subjects
•  Academic Behaviors (self-management)
–  Time management, study skills, goal setting,
self-awareness, persistence
•  Contextual Skills and Awareness (college
knowledge)
–  Admissions requirements, affording college,
colleges types and missions, college culture,
relations with professors
Download at:
www.epiconline.org
Lessons Learned from our Research
•
Few high school students are fully ready in all four dimensions of
college readiness
•
College teaching varies tremendously, but most courses expect
students to operate independently and to apply what is learned
•
Waiting to remediate students once they get to college is not
effective
•
Readiness requires the development of strategies that must be
practiced and honed throughout high school
•
Students should be challenged cognitively even if they are still
developing their literacy and language skills
•
First-generation college attendees face unique challenges
•
High schools and colleges need to communicate directly to aid
student transitions
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Thinking About College and Career
Readiness
•  Some questions that illustrates
specific elements of college and
career readiness
•  These are descriptive, not
judgmental
•  They represent practices found in
the schools studied and in the
research more generally
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Do you know the people sitting near you?
A.
Yes
B.
No
Who is here today? Select the option
that best describes your primary
affiliation.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
K-12 school or district
Community or technical college
Four-year college or university
State agency
Other
How familiar are you with the Texas
College and Career Readiness
Initiative?
A.
Very familiar
B.
Somewhat familiar
C.
Not at all familiar
How engaged is your local institution
in college and career readiness
initiatives to date?
A.  Actively—The institution is engaged in multiple ongoing college readiness partnerships or activities.
B.  Moderately—The institution is engaged in a small
number of college readiness partnerships or
activities.
C.  Minimally—The institution has an emerging
interest in college readiness.
How familiar are you with college and
career readiness standards (i.e. TX CCRS,
KSUS, ADP, ACT, etc.)?
A.  Extremely—I have thoroughly reviewed
several sets of standards. B.  Somewhat—I have carefully reviewed
college readiness standards, but not
recently or regularly. C.  Minimally—I may have skimmed them in
the past.
D.  Not at all—I have never reviewed any set
of college readiness standards.
My institution tracks student performance.
A.  My institution has a system in place
to track student performance in
entry-level courses.
B.  My institution does not have a
system in place to track student
performance in entry-level courses.
C.  I do not know if my institution has a
system in place to track student
performance in entry-level courses
My institution shares information with high
schools on how their students perform in
college.
A.  This is standard procedure and occurs for all in-state
feeder high schools
B.  This occurs only when arranged with individual high
schools
C.  This does not occur with any regularity
My institution shares college readiness
expectations with high schools.
A.  This is standard procedure and occurs for all in-state
feeder high schools
B.  This occurs only when arranged with individual high
schools
C.  This does not occur with any regularity
My institution has a comprehensive, effective
placement process.
A.  All students are enrolled into courses
based on placement data
B.  Some students are enrolled into
courses based on placement data
C.  Few students are enrolled into courses
based on placement data
D.  I do not know if students are enrolled
into courses based on placement data
My institution shares information on
placement procedures with high schools
A.  Local high school faculty are highly
aware of the placement tests and
methods used and how to help students
avoid placing into remedial courses.
B.  Local high school faculty are
inconsistently aware of the placement
tests and methods used at our
institution.
C.  Local high school faculty are largely
unaware of the placement tests and
methods used at our institution.
My institution advises students on their
college readiness.
A.  My institution has a system that helps
students determine their college
readiness, and it is used by students who
need it.
B.  My institution has a system that helps
students determine their college
readiness, but it is not used widely by
students who need it.
C.  My institution does not have a system that
helps students determine their college
readiness.
D.  I do not know whether my institution has
such a system.
My institution provides targeted support services
to first generation college students.
A.  All first generation students
receive targeted support services
B.  Some first generation students
receive targeted support services
C.  Few first generation students
receive targeted support services
D.  I do not know if first generation
students receive targeted support
services
Instructors at my institution use a variety of
instructional techniques in entry-level courses.
A.  Most instructors at my institution use a
variety of instructional techniques in the
entry-level courses they teach.
B.  Some instructors at my institution use a
variety of instructional techniques in the
entry-level courses they teach.
C.  Few instructors at my institution use a
variety of instructional techniques in the
entry-level courses they teach.
D.  I am not sure whether instructors use a
variety of instructional techniques
My institution gauges the effectiveness of
entry-level courses
A.  My institution has a system to gauge the
effectiveness of entry-level courses and make
changes to help enhance student success.
B.  My institution has a system to gauge the
effectiveness of entry-level courses, but it
does not result in systematic change to those
courses.
C.  My institution does not have a system to
gauge the effectiveness of entry-level
courses.
D.  I do not know whether my institution has such
a system.
The Bottom Line
•
College readiness is complex and multi-dimensional
•
High school is the place where the vast majority of students learn about
college
•
High schools with large proportions of first-generation college attenders
have a particularly strong obligation to provide access to basic information
and privileged knowledge
•
Much can be done locally by high schools and colleges to align their
programs and smooth the transition
•
Postsecondary institutions need to make significant changes as well to
support enhanced student success and smoother transitions
•
States can provide a better policy framework to make the transition from
high school to college more transparent and simpler
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Overview of the Texas College
and Career Readiness Initiative
(TCCRI)
Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative: THECB Project Timeline
Standards Development February 2007-April 2008
Standards Validation
January-December 2008
Comparison of CCRS to current practice in entry-level
college courses
Implementation Materials
November 2008-December 2009
Development of Reference Course Profiles and College
Readiness Assignments
CRA Field Test January 2010-January 2011
Purpose
4 VTs: ELA, math science and social studies
•  The TCCRI will enable
students, parents, faculty
and administrators in
Texas to have a clearer
understanding of what it
takes to be ready to learn
beyond high school and
will help high school
educators, students, and
parents make better
decisions about the
educational activities that
will lead to college and
career readiness.
Field testing of College Readiness Assignments
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Other Components of TCCRI
•  Texas Education Agency
–  CCRS/TEKS Gap Analyses
–  Designing professional development, instructional strategies, and
College Preparation Courses
•  Career and Technical Education (CTE) Alignment Analysis
–  Analysis between Cross-Disciplinary Standards and 9 entry-level
postsecondary CTE courses
–  Development of CTE Reference Courses
•  Texas Test Alignment Project
–  Alignment analysis between CCRS and common postsecondary
entrance tests
•  Texas CCRS Regional Meetings
–  14 Regional Meetings were conducted in October/November of 2008 to
coordinate vertical alignment between secondary and postsecondary
faculty.
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Understanding the Structure of the CCRS
•  Hierarchical structure
-  Represents the structure of the discipline and
subject areas within the discipline
-  Emphasizes that college readiness is about
understanding the organizing concepts of the
subject area along with specific skills
•  Three levels plus examples
-  Key Content: organizing structure of the subject
area
  Organizing Components: conceptual topics
o  Performance Expectations: general goals
*  Performance Indicators: example student performances*
* Not part of CCRS, but included as possible examples of student
performance; not a definitive list of all possible performances
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Cross-Disciplinary Standards
•  These standards represent cognitive strategies
and skills that span the subject areas and that
instructors believe are critical to success in
postsecondary education.
•  These standards should always be considered in
the context of challenging content, and never be
viewed as skills to be taught separate from
appropriate content.
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Validating the CCRS: Core
Academic Entry-Level Courses
•  Course Nominations: 108 TX two- and four-year
postsecondary institutions agreed to collect course
nominations that best represented the CCRS
•  Course Submissions: 813* instructors completed a
course profile, uploaded a syllabus, and compared the
CCRS to their course
•  Alignment Analysis: 930 syllabi were submitted to
determine how the CCRS compare to common practice
and identify the common components of entry-level
courses
*Note: many instructors submitted for more than 1 course
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What Does It Mean to Be “Aligned”?
•  Modal faculty response for a standard
was “Most Necessary” or “More
Necessary” in preparing students to
succeed in course.
•  This represents a score of 4 or 5 on a 5point scale.
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Specific Entry-Level Courses Analyzed
ELA
Mathematics
Science
Social Studies
Composition I
College Algebra
Biology for Science
Majors I
American Government I
OR Federal
Government
Composition II
Math for Business
& Social Sciences I
Biology for NonMajors I
American Government
II OR Texas
Government
World
Literature
Elementary
Statistical Methods
Anatomy and
Physiology I
U.S. History I
Intro to Chemistry I
U.S. History II
General Chemistry
General Psychology
College Physics I
Elementary Physics I
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To what degree are the Texas CCRS aligned
with what is currently being taught in Texas
entry level college courses?
% adjusted
alignment1
Subject area
% of
standards
aligned
ENGLISH (120 standards)
97%
MATHEMATICS (169
standards)
87%
93%
SCIENCE (137 standards)
85%
98%
SOCIAL STUDIES (127
standards)
99%
CROSS-DISCIPLINARY2 (58
standards)
100%
1. Adjusted
by excluding Geometry, Earth and Environmental Science standards due
to be unrepresented in data collection.
2. Faculty from all courses examined the cross-disciplinary standards
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Career and Technology
Education (CTE) Alignment
Analysis Results
To what degree are the Texas CCRS aligned with what is both
necessary to succeed or is taught in entry-level CTE college
courses in Texas?
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Conclusions
•  The College and Career Readiness Standards
were validated as reflecting expectations for
readiness in a cross-section of representative
entry-level college courses from all levels of the
stateʼs postsecondary system
•  This alignment analysis also confirmed that every
cross-disciplinary skill is highly aligned with at
least one of nine CTE courses studied
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Reference Course Profiles
Reference Course Profiles
Definition:
–  Composite entry-level college courses that align
with current practice and CCRS
Development: –  Design teams consisting of postsecondary content
experts examined entry-level college course
documents submitted by Texas faculty
–  Documents were modified, combined, and edited
to represent one composite course per course title
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Reference Courses Profiles
Purpose:
–  Help high school faculty understand what is expected of their
students upon entering college
–  Resource for postsecondary faculty that serves as a point of
comparison –  Point of reference for College Readiness Assignments
Components:
–  Reference course profiles that increase transparency of
entry-level college courses
–  Sample assignments, assessments, and scoring rubrics
–  Materials are representative of current practice in entry-level
college courses in Texas and of the CCRS
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Reference Courses Profiles
Natural Sciences
Social/Behavioral Sciences Humanities
Biology 1406
Biology 1408
Biology 2401
Chemistry 1405
Chemistry 1412
Physics 1401
Physics 1405
Government 2301
Government 2302
History 1301
History 1302
Psychology 2301
English 2332
Communication
English 1301
English 1302
Mathematics
Career & Technical Education
Math 1314
Math 1324
Math 1342
Accounting 1303
ITSC 1301/1401
Management 1303
Marketing 1311
POFI 1301
Business English 1301
Drafting 1309
Drafting 1405
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Reference Course Profiles: Discussion Question
•  How could your institution use these
Reference Course Profiles?
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College Readiness Assignments
College Readiness Assignments
Purpose:
–  Available for high schools to use to provide
students instructional opportunities and feedback
aligned with college readiness
–  Improve alignment between the secondary and
postsecondary educational systems through
increased transparency (i.e. performance and
expectations)
–  Will be used by TEA in the development of
College Preparation Courses
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College Readiness Assignments
Components:
–  Performance Assignments:
•
•
•
•
Rich classroom-embedded tasks
Content mapped to CCRS
Require demonstration of key cognitive strategies
Task difficulty driven by validated CCRS and the entry-level
college Reference Course Profiles
•  Scaffolding
–  Scoring Elements:
•  Holistic scoring guides for each cross-disciplinary organizing
component
•  Student self-assessment for academic behaviors
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College Readiness Assignment: Discussion Questions
•  How could your institution adapt these
assignments/tasks to enhance vertical
alignment and college and career readiness?
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Questions and Answers
Contact Information
•  Educational Policy Improvement Center
(EPIC)
•  Toll-free: 877-766-2279
•  Email: tx_ccrs@epiconline.org
•  URL: http://www.epiconline.org/
texas_college_readiness_standards
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