Business Education Compact
About the BEC
COSA Seaside Conference
June 25, 2009
Presenter
Tamra Busch-Johnsen
Business Education Compact
Rebecca Steinke
Proficiency Intern, BEC
Who is the BEC?
About the BEC
Established:
1984, Non-profit
Service area:
State of Oregon
Clients:
Business, industry, public sector
Education institutions (K-20)
Board of Directors:
15 education members
15 business members
BEC Vision & Mission
Vision
About the BEC
Teachers inspire learning
Students engage in learning
Businesses thrive
Mission
We make learning real by:
Connecting the classroom and workplace with hands-on,
innovative learning experiences for students and teachers
Creating and leading working partnerships with business
and education
Advocating for quality education in Oregon
Student Internships
About the BEC
Highlights
 Year-round internships
make learning real
 High school: sample
potential career fields
 College: apply
classroom learning
Impact
 ~2,500 students
placed
 High school through
doctoral candidates
 Diverse jobs in diverse
industries
Educator Excellence Program
About the BEC
Highlights
 Enhances ability to
provide career advice
to students
 Interns solve real
business problems
 Teachers connect
experiences to
classroom
Impact
 > 1,000 internships
 1,700 workplace
visitations
 Radically changes
curriculum and
learning
National Engineers Month
About the BEC
Highlights
 Engineers visit K-12
classrooms each
February
 Students engage in
hands-on activities
 Generates excitement
for STEM (science,
technology, engineering
& math)
Impact 2009
 24 supporting
companies
 400 engineers visited
975 classrooms
 26,800 students
reached across 22
Oregon counties
Since 1995 launch:
 ~ 275,000 students
reached
Teacher Development Initiative
Proficiency-based Teaching and Learning
About the BEC
Highlights
 Assess students’
knowledge/skills strictly on
demonstrated proficiency in
state standards
 Support wider use of
proficiency in new high
school diploma
requirements
 Provide training for K-12
educators on proficiency
practices and strategies
Impact
 Produces higher student
achievement in all
classes—including math!
 Dramatically lowers drop
out rates
 Hundreds of schools and
districts served —from
Coos Bay to Redmond to
Union-Baker
 ~1,000 teachers have
participated in BEC
workshops
BEC Board Members
About the BEC
Business Members
Education Members
Buchanan Angeli Altschul & Sullivan
Beaverton School District
Intel Corporation
Colton School District
Legacy Health System
Forest Grove School District
Microsoft
Marylhurst University
NIKE, Inc.
NW Regional ESD
Oregon Building Congress
Oregon Department of Education
Portland General Electric
Oregon Education Association
Precision Wire Components
PAVTEC/ PCC
The Standard
Portland Community College
Vernier Software & Technology
Portland Public Schools
Washington Mutual
Portland State University
Western Oregon University
West Linn-Wilsonville SD
Change in Education is Needed
About the BEC
 Unacceptable gap between output of education system and
needs of economy and communities
• 30% of entering 9th grades don’t finish high school in four years
• 40% of those who do graduate are not ready to succeed in
postsecondary education
• More than 25% of college freshmen need remedial classes in
reading, writing & math
 Outdated delivery system to help students reach necessary
levels of achievement
Carnegie Unit of Credit
About the BEC
 Teacher –centered approach
 Teacher sets the instructional pace
 Promotes passive learners
 Behavior often reflected in grades
 Leads to grade inflation (high GPA – low SAT)
What’s not working about how we teach
and evaluate students now?
About the BEC
Practices that are connected to grading
 Attendance
 Attitude
 Behavior
 Effort
 Extra Credit
 Glitter & sparkle
Proficiency Defined
About the BEC
 Routinely demonstrating ability to know and understand
standards
 Targeted level of achievement (Oregon State Standards)
 Students demonstrate proficiency in the standards by
subject, course and/or grade level
 Students move ahead by demonstrating knowledge and skills
regardless of time spent in a classroom
Sufficiency & Proficiency
About the BEC
 Sufficiency is the 1st question: Does the student have
enough evidence to show he understands and can apply the
standards identified for the project?
 Proficiency is the 2nd question: Does the collection of
evidence reflect a proficient level of understanding and
application of knowledge and skills?
Proficiency Based Teaching and
Learning – Paradigm Shift
About the BEC
 Role of the Teacher
 Role of the Student
 Grading
 Seat Time vs. Proficiency
 Instruction
 K-12 system
Proficiency Based Teaching and
Learning – Role of Teacher
About the BEC
 Facilitator or coach
 Personalization of learning
 Learning outcomes planned between student and teacher
 Class instruction varies






Class
Group
Individual
Online
College Class
Internship
Proficiency Based Teaching and
Learning – Role of Student
About the BEC
 Ownership of their learning
 Self-directed
 Passive learner to active learner
 Personalized learning
Proficiency Based Teaching and
Learning – Grading Changes
About the BEC
 Grades reflect what students know, not what they do
 “Zero” is not an option
 Students have multiple opportunities to meet each standard
in multiple ways
 Daily work and class work are considered practicing for the
standard and generally not collected
 Class credit given when students demonstrate they have
met all the standards
Proficiency Based Teaching and
Learning – Proficiency into Grades
About the BEC
 Grades of A, B, C and I




A = Mastery of the Standards
B = Exceed in the Standards
C = Meets the Standards
I = In progress
 Personal Traits graded under CRL
Serving Students Through
Proficiency
About the BEC

Compact content

Identify what a student knows and can do

Communicate clearly what a student needs to learn

Differentiate for each student or groups of students based on
levels of proficiency

Allow students to create their own learning contracts

Develop learning plans that target areas where students need to
concentrate

Communicate more effectively with parents about levels of
student achievement
6 Perspectives of Grading
About the BEC
GRADING . . .

Is not essential for learning

Is complicated

Is subjective and emotional

Is inescapable

Has a limited research base

Has no single best practice
(How to Grade for Learning, Ken O’Connor—2005)
Results
About the BEC
Redmond High School

Enrollment – 0% of freshmen dropped out of Redmond High
School with no planned destination compared to 18% from the
previous year

Discipline – 9.2% of office referrals compared to 40.9%

Students who failed 2 or more courses – less than 3.8%
compared to 17.9%
Results (cont’d)
About the BEC
Scappoose High School

52 out of 55 freshmen who consistently failed in math passed
Pre Algebra/Algebra
Forest Grove High School

Math teacher reports the highest success rate she has ever
seen in her class
Science Strands—Oaks Testing 2009
About the BEC
10 out of 12
Earth
Science
Standards
Assessed in
a PB Model
Science Strands—Oaks Testing 2009
About the BEC
Traditional
Teaching
and
Assessment
Science Strands—Oaks Testing 2009
About the BEC
100% Life
Science
Standards
Assessed in
a PB Model
Math Scores—Scappoose
About the BEC
% Passed 10th Grade Math
Test
Scappoose Math vs. State Math Scores
70
60
50
40
Scappoose
30
State
20
10
0
2004/2005 2005/2006 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009
School Year
Science Scores—Scappoose
About the BEC
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Scappoose
School Year
20
08
/2
00
9
20
07
/2
00
8
20
06
/2
00
7
State
20
05
/2
00
6
20
04
/2
00
5
% Passed 10th Grade
Science Test
Scappoose Science vs. State Science Scores
How does this impact the Drop Out Rate?
About the BEC
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Drop Out Rates
School Year
2007/2008
2006/2007
2005/2006
Drop Out Rates State
2004/2005
% Drop Out
Scappoose vs. State Drop Out Rates
Workshops Statistics Through May 09
About the BEC
Total Schools: 184
Total Participants: 838
Total Districts/Org: 103
Total Counties: 25
Proficiency Based Teaching and
Learning – Challenges
About the BEC

Complex change in instruction

Professional development for teachers and administrators

Resources/Time

Supportive school leadership

Clear communication to parents
Resources:
About the BEC
Get Ready Oregon! Website
http://www.getreadyoregon.org/
Contact Information
About the BEC
Tamra Busch-Johnsen
Executive Director
503-646-0242 ext. 24
tbuschjo@becpdx.org
Business Education Compact
12655 SW Center St. Suite 430
Beaverton, Oregon 97005
www.becpdx.org