BES Pilot Overview
August 2011
National Center on Education and
the Economy
Board Examination Systems
Big Idea: By participating in the Board Examination
Systems pilot, students participate in a rigorous,
curriculum-driven proven system of aligned instruction
and examinations guided by national and international
college and career readiness standards designed to
ensure they master the knowledge and skills needed
to be prepared for and succeed in postsecondary
studies without remediation – whether that is at a trade
or technical school, community college or four-year
baccalaureate degree granting institution.
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Board Examination Systems
Board Examination Systems are coherent and fully aligned
instructional systems currently used in many high performing
countries. They include:
•A set of courses that constitute a core curriculum and that are
aligned to the new Common Core Standards
•Thoughtfully constructed course designs captured in a syllabus
•High quality exams derived from the curriculum using multiple
assessment methods designed to determine whether the
students have mastered the curriculum described in the syllabus
•Instructional materials of various sorts designed to support the
syllabus
•Quality teacher training matched to the course syllabi
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Standards & Test Systems vs.
Curriculum-Driven Systems
S & T Systems
• Assumes standards and
tests alone will drive
performance up
• No direct link to
classroom practice
• Leaves the disadvantaged
behind, with weak
curriculum, weak teaching
C-D Systems
• Assumes that aligned,
powerful instructional
system is needed to drive
high student performance
• Direct link to classroom
practice
• Closes the gap between
the advantaged and the
disadvantaged
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International Results

CBEEEs are utilized in many countries

Research on the association between
CBEEEs as exit tests and student
achievement, through performance
comparisons on international assessments
between countries with and without high
school exit exams, has found favorable
results, such as higher student performance
in math and science in countries that utilized
a CBEE (Bishop, 1998; Fuchs &
Woessmann, 2007).
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International Results


More than 20 years benchmarking high
performing education systems across the world:
•
America’s Choice: High Skills or Low Wages?!
•
Tough Choices Tough Times
•
Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
International research on high school exit
examinations, and specifically Curriculum-Based
External Exit Exams (CBEEEs), influenced the
identification of a Board Examination System as
a reform strategy (NCEE, 2010)
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Role of NCEE

The National Center on Education and the Economy
(NCEE) is the 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization
that is staffing, managing, piloting, securing outside
technical expertise for, and convening a consortium
of states to implement board examination systems

States launching lower division board examination
systems as part of the pilot’s 21 school launch in
2011 include: Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, and
Mississippi

We are currently recruiting schools for the cohort
starting in 2012 from existing and new states
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Role of NCEE

Hired University of Michigan Institute for Social
Research to conduct an independent evaluation
of the three-year pilot study to:
• Gather implementation information
• Gain understanding of efficacy of the Board
Examination Systems pilot
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Role of NCEE

Convened a Technical Advisory Committee to:
•
•
•
•
Select Board Examination Systems providers, in
conjunction with the State of Kentucky Education
Department, for the lower and upper division
(completed)
Assure that the BES courses are compatible with the
new Common Core State Standards (completed)
Set the recommended pass points on the English and
mathematics examinations to an empirically
determined college-ready standard (underway)
Assess the validity, reliability and fairness of the exams
going forward (underway)
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NCEE Board Examination Systems
Consortium: Required Core Courses
Stay in High School
Note: The lower division program leaves
ample room for student electives.
Lower Division Exams (Diploma When Passed)
NCEE LOWER DIVISION PROGRAM
REQUIRED COURSES
2 yrs English
2 yrs Mathematics
2 yrs Science:
Lab-based science, Engineering, or IT
2 yrs History
1 yr American History; 1 yr World
History
1 yr or 2 semesters from among the arts
A course in economics (required by AZ
statute)
NCEE UPPER DIVISION PROGRAM
REQUIRED COURSES
2 yrs English
2 yrs Mathematics
2 yrs Science
Lab-based science, Engineering, or IT
1 yr or 2 semesters of History,
Economics, or other social science
1 yr or 2 semesters from among the
arts
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BES Program Pathways
Once students qualify to earn a lower division diploma,
multiple options are open to them including:
•Remaining in high school and taking the necessary additional
coursework to prepare for university entry
•Graduating and enrolling in full-time community college courses on
the students' current high school campus or on a community college
campus
•Enrolling in a full-time career and technical education program
offered on a community college campus, a high school campus or a
joint technical education district campus, or any combination of these
campuses
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Lower Division

ACT QualityCore

Cambridge IGCSE courses
and exams
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Lower Division: A Closer Look
• Not elite programs but designed to prepare students for
elite programs
• Prepares students to a minimum college-readiness
standard by 16
– Not intended to pack 4 years of high school into 2 years but offers
rigorous curriculum to prepare students for success in postsecondary
educational pursuits
– Students become “diploma eligible” – are not required to graduate early
– Requires collaboration across P-20 educational pipeline
Offers options to bright students who are dropping out
because of boredom
• Supports less-prepared students to pass end of course
exams though middle school coursework, formative
assessments, spiral curriculum, and other district specified
interventions
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•
Upper Division

ACT QualityCore

Cambridge AS/A Levels/AICE Exams
leads to AICE Diploma

College Board Advanced Placement,
including the Advanced Placement International
Diploma (APID) option

International Baccalaureate
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Upper Division: Key Benefits
• Students motivated to take tough courses and study hard
• A very strong curriculum and teachers trained to teach it
for schools and students with weak instructional
resources
• A strong system for preparing the most able students for
selective colleges
• Supports less-prepared students to pass end of course
exams though lower division coursework, formative
assessments, spiral curriculum, and other district specified
interventions
• Trading a time-in-the-seat system for one that rewards
performance
• College entrants ready to do college-level work
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Commitment:
Role of States
• Share data related to setting exam cut scores
• Provide data to evaluators
• Assist with securing post-secondary education
involvement
• Approve NCEE Board Examination Providers for
State Procurement purposes
• Grant high school diploma – or waivers to existing
“seat time” diplomas – to those who meet the
lower division board exam standards and wish to
move on
BES Pilot: Role of Arizona
• Provided strong support through former Senator and current
State Superintendent John Huppenthal on Move On When
Ready (MOWR) bill sponsorship and on implementation, as well
as from Senator Rich Crandall and State Board of Education
Member and Amphitheater Superintendent Vicki Balentine
• Developed MOWR legislation to award Grand Canyon Diplomas
to those who meet the lower division board exam standards
and wish to move on
• Established Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) as entity
responsible for implementation
• Sharing data related to setting exam cut scores
• Providing data to evaluators
• Assisting with securing post-secondary education involvement
• Approved NCEE Board Examination providers for State
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Procurement purposes
BES Pilot:
Broad Implementation Steps
• Start with demonstration schools that will participate in a
3-year national pilot
• Finalize technical work
• Work with external evaluator – University of Michigan
Institute for Social Research
• Establish new pathways to include post-secondary
institutions
• Recruit volunteer schools, volunteer teachers, volunteer
students
• Set up alternative performance based diploma, based on
the lower-division exams
• Expand as system proves itself
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Broad Implementation Steps
Ideal Target Date
Deliverable
November 15 or earlier 
if possible


Cambridge Registration Form to CIE
Board Examination Systems Pilot Commitment Letter Submission to NCEE
Center for the Future of Arizona Commitment Letter Submission to CFA
November -January

New School Site Visits by CIE Conducted
January

Design Teams Established and Implementation Planning Commenced
February – April
February/April – July


Implementation Planning Via Design Teams Commenced – with NCEE
facilitation and CFA involvement
Implementation Planning Continued – with NCEE facilitation and CFA
involvement
March 15 or earlier if
possible

Implementation Planning Guide Submission to CFA
January – March

Stage One On-Line Teacher and Principal Training
April

Face to Face Teacher and Principal Training Conducted
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