Providing Opportunities for
Postsecondary &
Career Readiness
Becky Nelson & Erin Larsen
SD Department of Education
October 16, 2014
What does your data tell you
about students in your district?
Sample School Data:
English ACT Sub-scores
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
69.70%
50.00%
47.83%
40.00%
30.00%
34.78%
20.00%
17.39%
10.00%
0.00%
Students
Taken ACT
English:
Scoring
below 18
23 out of 33
4 out of 23
English:
English:
Scoring 18-23 Scoring 24+
11 out of 23
8 out of 23
Sample School Data:
Math ACT Sub-scores
80.00%
70.00%
60.00%
69.70%
50.00%
40.00%
39.13%
30.00%
20.00%
39.13%
21.74%
10.00%
0.00%
Students Math: Scoring Math: Scoring
Math:
Taken ACT
below 20
20-24
Scoring 25+
23 out of 33
5 out of 23
9 out of 23
9 out of 23
Other Considerations
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Previous coursework taken
Grades
Motivation
Commitment
Schedule/work load
Learning style
Accuplacer – My Foundations Lab
COLLEGE-READY COURSEWORK
The Basics
What is it?
• Coursework in math, reading, and English
Who should take it?
• Students who have modest skill gaps
Benefits
• Students can avoid remedial coursework at
Board of Regents institutions and South
Dakota’s Technical Institutes
– Save both time and money
• Tailored coursework is generated
– Targets students weaknesses
– Supported by certified teacher
Option #1
• Online through SD Virtual High School
– First-come, first serve
• $125-$175
– Dependent on timeframe
– 10 weeks, 6 months, & 12 months
• State funding available to reimburse costs for
approximately 400 enrollments for public
students
Option #2
• Face to Face course at your school
• State funding available to cover costs of
coursework for public districts
• Currently 14 school’s offering math
– Options: replace current course such as consumer
math, independent study, or additional section of
math
How does the program work?
• Students take an online proctored exam
(Accuplacer)
Personalized Learning Path Generated
Students Take Final Assessment (Accuplacer)
I’m Interested….Who do I contact?
Virtual Option
• Register through the school
• DOESDVirtualSchool@state.sd.us
Face to Face Option
• Contact Becky Nelson or Sam Shaw @ DOE
• Becky.nelson@state.sd.us or
sam.shaw@state.sd.us
AP & Dual Credit Courses
RIGOROUS COURSEWORK
Ready for Rigorous Coursework?
AP Courses
• Curriculum & exams set by
College Board
• Teacher is a high school
teacher, trained by College
Board
• Score 3+ on final exam:
Many colleges offer credit
• No fee for Learning Power
AP courses
Dual Credit
• Coursework set by Universities
or Technical Institutes
• Instructor employed by the
University or Technical
Institute
• Wider range of offerings
• Credit is honored at specific
university – transferability
based on university
• Reduced cost ($40/credit)
www.sdvs.k12.sd.us
Reduced-Rate Dual Credit
• Detailed information at www.sdmylife.com
Reduced-Rate Dual Credit
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•
•
•
11th & 12th Graders
School district MOU
Spring Semester Registration
Guidance resources for policies and
participation
– Students & Parents
– Counselors & Administrators
Reduced-Rate Dual Credit
• High school credit value?
– District decision
– ½ credit?
– 1 credit?
• Home School Students
– No enrollment in school district for reduced-rate
program
– Certificate of Exemption
Portable validation of students’ abilities to apply what they’ve learned
NATIONAL CAREER READINESS
CERTIFICATE (NCRC)
“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 Travis Aslesen, HS Principal
Elk Point-Jefferson School
we going to use this stuff?” becomes
District 61-7 on NCRC
immediately relative.”
NCRC
• Portable credential
• 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
NCRC
• 77% of all jobs require assessed skills
• Used across all sectors
• Documents cognitive skills such as:
– critical thinking
– applying information from workplace documents
– using work-related text
– applying work-related math calculations
– synthesizing graphical information
NCRC
• Four certification levels:
– Bronze (16% of jobs)
– Silver (67% of jobs)
– Gold (93% of jobs)
– Platinum (99% of jobs)
• Approximately 3-4 hours
• Online assessment
NCRC
• Career planning resources – the results mean
something to each student!
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
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
• 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.
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 Program?
• Partnership effort
– Department of Labor and Regulation (DLR)
– Department of Education (DOE)
• 11th or 12th graders
• Application to School Performance Index (SPI)
NCRC for SPI
• Incorporated into College and Career
Readiness (CCR) indicator
• Can have up to 30 points, 15 points each for
subject areas of Math and English/Language
Arts if the NCRC is not taken
• 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 A
Option B
Math- 10 points
Math- 15 points
ELA- 10 points
ELA- 15 points
NCRC- 10 points
Total
30 points
30 points
NCRC – Sign us up!
• For more information, including how to
schedule a testing session, please visit the
Department of Labor and Regulation website.
• Contact:
– Scott Kwasniewski (605) 688-4352
– Barb Unruh (605)773-5821
QUESTIONS?
Stay in Touch
• College Readiness
Courses:
– Becky Nelson
– Sam Shaw
• AP Courses:
– Sam Shaw
• Dual Credit:
– Erin Larsen
• National Career
Readiness Certificate
(NCRC):
– Tiffany Sanderson (DOE)
– Scott Kwasniewski (DLR)
– Barb Unruh (DLR)