Student Dashboard Metrics Chapter 6 - Advanced Academics

Chapter Introduction

Access to and participation in a high-quality, rigorous school curriculum is critical to each student’s long-term success. In recent years, due to focused efforts by districts and states, enrollment and success in advanced courses, including Pre-AP and AP, International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or dual college enrollment courses, have grown tremendously throughout the United States. However, there remain many students, especially African American and Hispanic students, who could be enrolled in these courses, but are not. Moreover, significant gaps in achievement in advanced coursework exist among these students, as measured by Advanced Placement (AP) exams. Taking advanced coursework in middle and high school has been linked to many positive outcomes in terms of postsecondary and workplace success. It is imperative that these potential high achievers be identified early and placed in programs to maximize potential. Measures commonly used to identify these students include, but are not limited to, advanced scores on state standardized tests or high scores on national tests such as the PSAT/NMSQT^®. Once students are identified, educators need a way to track advanced course enrollment and performance in order to monitor both the success of individual students as well as the success of programs implemented at the campus or district levels. Using enrollment data, course listings, class grades, and advanced placement exam scores, educators can track how well a school or district is doing in offering, enrolling, and helping students’ master advanced coursework. Although getting to college is a critical goal, the bottom line is college completion, and a school curriculum of high academic intensity has the greatest impact on that goal (Adelman, 1999).

STAAR Advanced Performance

Introduction

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) program is designed to measure the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) curriculum standards. In spring 2012, the STAAR assessment replaced the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) assessment. The STAAR assessment includes grade-level assessments for grades 3-8 and end of course (EOC) assessments for high school level subjects. STAAR assessments for grades 3-8 are in a defined testing window in April and May. Students that do no meet standards may be re-assessed in July for promotion consideration. Students in grades 3-8 will be assessed in the following subjects:

Mathematics (Grades 3-8)
Reading (Grades 3-8)
Writing (Grades 4, 7)
Science (Grades 5, 8)
Social Studies (Grade 8)

The STAAR assessment is available in the following forms: paper, online (EOC only), braille, and Spanish.

There are four versions of the STAAR assessment:

STAAR replaces the TAKS assessment and includes assessments for grades 3-8 and End of Course exams for high school level subjects.
STAAR Alternate 2 meets the federal requirements mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and is designed for the purpose of assessing students in grades 3-8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.
STAAR L is a linguistically accommodated English version of the STAAR for grades 3-8 and EOC mathematics, science, and social studies assessments. It is provided for English Language Learners (ELLs) who meet participation requirements for a substantial degree of linguistic accommodation in these subject areas. After the December 2016 administration, STAAR L will no longer be administered.
STAAR Spanish is available in grades 3-5 in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. STAAR Spanish is administered to eligible students for whom a Spanish version of STAAR is the most appropriate measure of their academic progress. STAAR Spanish tests are grade-level assessments and test the same grades and subjects as the general STAAR.?

There are three levels of academic performance for the STAAR assessment:

Level III: Advanced - student is well prepared and has a high likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts both familiar and unfamiliar and will require little to no academic intervention.
Level II: Satisfactory– student is sufficiently prepared and has a reasonable likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and may require short term, targeted academic intervention.
Level I: Unsatisfactory– student is inadequately prepared and unlikely to succeed in the next grade or course; student does not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the assessed knowledge and skills and will require ongoing academic intervention.

The dashboard will display the percent of students who are performing at or above Level III in Reading, Writing, Mathematics, and Science.

Metric Specifications

STAAR EOC Advanced Performance

Introduction

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) program is designed to measure the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skill (TEKS) curriculum standards. In spring 2012, the STAAR assessment replaced the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) assessment. The STAAR assessment includes grade-level assessments for grades 3-8 and end of course (EOC) assessments for high school level subjects. STAAR EOC exams are administered at the end of the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Students sit for EOC exams upon completion of the course.

The STAAR assessment is available in the following forms: paper, online (EOC only), braille, and L (linguistically accommodated English version).

The STAAR assessment is available in the following forms: paper, online (EOC only), braille, and Spanish.

There are four versions of the STAAR assessment:

STAAR replaces the TAKS assessment and includes assessments for grades 3-8 and End of Course exams for high school level subjects.
STAAR Alternate 2 meets the federal requirements mandated under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and is designed for the purpose of assessing students in grades 3-8 and high school who have significant cognitive disabilities and are receiving special education services.
STAAR L is a linguistically accommodated English version of the STAAR for grades 3-8 and EOC mathematics, science, and social studies assessments. It is provided for English Language Learners (ELLs) who meet participation requirements for a substantial degree of linguistic accommodation in these subject areas. After the December 2016 administration, STAAR L will no longer be administered.
STAAR Spanish is available in grades 3-5 in reading, writing, mathematics, and science. STAAR Spanish is administered to eligible students for whom a Spanish version of STAAR is the most appropriate measure of their academic progress. STAAR Spanish tests are grade-level assessments and test the same grades and subjects as the general STAAR.?

There are four levels of academic performance for the STAAR assessment:

Level III: Advanced - student is well prepared and has a high likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in varied contexts both familiar and unfamiliar and will require little to no academic intervention.
Level II: Satisfactory– student is sufficiently prepared and has a reasonable likelihood of success in the next grade or course; student also demonstrates the ability to think critically and apply the assessed knowledge and skills in familiar contexts and may require short term, targeted academic intervention.
Level I: Unsatisfactory– student is inadequately prepared and unlikely to succeed in the next grade or course; student does not demonstrate a sufficient understanding of the assessed knowledge and skills and will require ongoing academic intervention.
Minimum: The STAAR EOC exam score reports will also indicate whether the student met a Minimum score, which is recommended by the Texas Legislature as a requirement for passing the course, as well as the exam.

The dashboard will display the percent of students who are performing at or above Level III in any of the subject areas listed above.

Metric Specifications

Advanced Course Potential

Introduction

In the absence of a formal placement test for advanced courses, educators must use other measures to identify students with the potential to master advanced coursework. The majority of state standardized tests report proficiency levels at a standard or minimum level, and an advanced level of achievement. Many states have or are in the process of using this advanced level or specific questions identified in core subject exams to identify ‘college ready’ proficiency. High performing students may also be identified by exemplary performance on the on the PSAT/NMSQT^®. Student PSAT^® scores have been shown to be strongly correlated with AP exam scores (The College Board, 2006). Identifying these students helps educators place students in courses that are challenge students and prepare them for college success.

Related Metric(s)

Advanced Course Availability: the number of advanced courses offered compared with the number of students who have demonstrated advanced course potential.
Advanced Course Potential: Prior Years and Completion and Mastery: advanced courses (AP, IB or dual enrollment (DE)) completed and mastered in the four core subject areas.

How to Use the Metric

The Advanced Course Potential metric allows educators to readily identify students who are not currently enrolled in advanced coursework but have scores on prior year state assessments that are at a commended level (in Texas, TAKS at or above 2400) and PSAT exams (if taken, performance at greater than or equal to 80^th percentile) that indicate they are ready for higher-level courses. As schools, districts and states work to increase participation and success in advanced coursework, this information will assist teachers and counselors in making decisions about individual students who should be targeted for such courses in each of the four core subject areas. Because this metric is focused on the current school year, teachers and counselors should also view a student’s prior year advanced course enrollment, completion and mastery to get a full picture of the student’s progress in advanced coursework. Teachers and counselors should view this metric for their students at the beginning of each school year, or as often as new course enrollments occur.

Metric Specifications

Advanced Course Enrollment, Completion and Mastery

Introduction

Educators not only need to know which students have the potential to enroll in advanced coursework, but also if they have previously enrolled and mastered the advanced course content.

Completion of advanced courses, such as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB), has been proven to outweigh grade point average, class rank and SAT scores among factors that contribute to a student’s completion of a college degree. Although getting to college is a critical interim goal, the bottom line is college completion, and a high school curriculum of high academic intensity has the greatest impact on that (Adelman, 1999).
In a study of AP and non-AP students from four entering classes (1998-2001) at the University of Texas at Austin, AP Students who earned credit by exam consistently outperformed non-AP students in all college outcome measures, including credit hours and GPA (Keng & Dodd, 2007).
Gaps in successful completion of AP exams (scores of three or higher) are especially significant: in Texas, for example, Hispanic students comprise nearly 39% of the public school graduating class, but only 32% of successful examinees. Less than 4% of successful examinees are African American although these students comprise 15% of Texas public school graduates.

Most students who enroll in AP coursework will take the AP exam. Monitoring these results is critical in predicting college and career success.

AP Students who earned credit by exam consistently outperformed non-AP students in all college outcome measures, including credit hours and GPA (Keng & Dodd, 2007). An AP exam score of three or above in particular, is highly predictive of a student’s likelihood to persist in college and attain a degree (Dougherty, Mellor, & Jian, 2005).
Colleges are increasingly taking students’ advanced course- and exam-taking into account in their admissions decisions because of the evidence it offers on a student’s ability to complete college-level work.

How to Use the Metric

The Advanced Course Enrollment, Completion and Mastery metric allows educators to readily view students’ participation and progress in rigorous courses during prior academic years. Taken together with the Advanced Course Potential metric, educators have a complete picture of whether or not students are currently or were previously enrolled in advanced courses and, in the case of the latter, how they performed. This information can be used by current teachers to identify students who may need extra support to successfully complete advanced classes and related exams, based on their historical performance. Additionally, teachers of both advanced and non-advanced courses can use this information to readily identify students who should consider advanced coursework, within or outside the subject areas in which they are currently enrolled. Both metrics are also extremely valuable to high school counselors as they assist students in meeting requirements for successful college admission. Teachers and counselors should view this metric for their students at the beginning of each school year, or as often as new course enrollments occur.