This policy brief reviews promising practices from California districts as well as insights from research on multiple measures to provide recommendations that improve how California districts generate, present, and use data in their Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs).
In this policy brief, EPIC recommends that college and career readiness serve as the “North Star” in California’s recently reformed accountability system. A district seeking to use its Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) to promote a college- and career-going culture should take the following steps:
• Adopt, modify, or generate a consistent and shared definition of college and career readiness.
• Evaluate the current LCAP for alignment to that definition.
• Revise the LCAP to align with college and career readiness as its new North Star.
By following these steps, district leaders will help ensure that the goals and actions outlined in their LCAP describe a coherent system instead of a collection of eight competing priorities.
Doesn’t it seem that the faster we run, the further behind we get and that the more we have to do, the less we get done? And that the “flatter”…
In 2012, California Senate Bill 1458 added a measure of college and career preparedness to the Academic Performance Index (API). The Public Schools Accountability Act Advisory Committee was charged with making recommendations to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education regarding measures that could serve as indicators of college and career preparedness at the high school level. EPIC was commissioned to evaluate potential measures identified by the Committee.
This white paper considers the benefits and limitations of multiple measures of college and career preparedness. The previous papers in this series evaluated measures against a framework consisting of 10 criteria. This white paper uses theory and practice related to measures of college and career preparedness as its frame of reference and primary organizing structure.
This white paper considers the career preparedness assessments used most widely by state educational systems—specifically ACT’s WorkKeys, the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), the National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI), and industry certification assessments—as measures to be considered for California’s college and career indicator.
This white paper considers course-taking behavior—specifically the a–g subject requirements for the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) systems, career technical education (CTE) course pathways, and an integrated course pathway—as potential measures to be included in California’s college and career indicator.
This white paper considers innovative measures—specifically metacognitive assessments, performance assessments, and the California State Seal of Biliteracy—as potential measures to be included in California’s college and career indicator.
This white paper considers college admission exams—specifically the SAT® and ACT®—as potential measures to be included in California’s college and career indicator. The paper begins by presenting a brief overview of the two exams, their respective histories, and their current applications to other state accountability systems. Next, the SAT and ACT are evaluated against the framework being used for all five categories of potential college and career preparedness measures. This white paper concludes with a summary that identifies major strengths, weaknesses, and trade-offs.
This white paper considers advanced coursework—specifically Advanced Placement® (AP) or International Baccalaureate® (IB) Diploma Programme course-taking (participation) and/or exam scores—as measures of college and career preparedness. It begins by presenting a brief overview of the two programs, their respective histories, and their current applications in other states’ accountability systems. Next, the programs are evaluated against the framework being used for all five categories of potential college and career preparedness measures.