The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan organization that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Governing Board established the NAEP Program of 12th Grade Preparedness Research to assess what NAEP can report on the academic preparedness of 12th grade students entering college and job training. The Governing Board commissioned the Educational Policy Improvement Center in October 2012 to conduct the College Course Content Analysis (CCCA) study, which used course artifacts to identify the prerequisite knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in mathematics and reading that are necessary for students to be prepared to qualify for entry-level, credit-bearing courses that satisfy general education requirements.
The College Course Content Analysis study was designed to answer the following research questions:
- What are the prerequisite KSAs in mathematics and reading to qualify for entrylevel, credit-bearing courses that satisfy general education requirements?
- How do these prerequisite KSAs compare with the 2009 and 2013 NAEP mathematics and reading frameworks and item pools?
- How do these prerequisite KSAs compare with previous NAEP preparedness research, i.e., descriptions of minimal academic preparedness requirements produced in the Judgmental Standard Setting (JSS) research?
- How can these prerequisites inform future NAEP preparedness research?
