Exam measures readiness for college
The Cal State system’s optional Early Assessment Program test can help reduce the need for remedial math and English later Cal State University’s Early Assessment Program test is optional for high school juniors, to determine if they are prepared for college-level English and math. Going in prepared has a lot to do with who comes out of college with a degree. Readiness has improved since Cal State began offering the exam 6 years ago.
Students in Jen Varney’s 11th-grade English class at Norco High School were assigned to read a non-fiction essay on racial profiling from The New York Times for homework.
(You see, in school is where they're taught how to call others racists, it's part of the indoctrination)
In class, she asked them to read it again. This time, they pulled out yellow highlighters and ballpoint pens to scribble notes in the margins and mark key words.
“Look through that paragraph and circle the charged words — words that either affect you emotionally or that are powerful,” Varney instructed.
It’s a procedure Varney repeats throughout the year to prepare her students for the Early Assessment Program exam, an optional spring test designed by California State University to help determine whether high school juniors are ready for college.
The system of reading, re-reading and analyzing non-fiction work helps her students develop critical thinking skills, Varney said.
“On the first read, they don’t get through the layers of what’s written,” she said. “They’re learning through this process how to read closely, take notes and have good class discussions.”
Varney, an English teacher at Norco High for 10 years, was among the first in the region to adopt the curriculum, which was developed by the CSU to help boost college readiness among high school students.
Results of the 2011 Early Assessment Program test show many of the state’s high school juniors are not prepared for college-level English and math.
In
Riverside County, just 19 percent of students were considered ready for college English classes. In math, 9 percent of students were deemed ready, while another 47 percent received a conditional mark. Cal State recommends that students who receive a conditional score take an additional math course in their senior year to make sure their skills remain strong.
In
San Bernardino County, 16 percent of students were prepared for English, while 10 percent were classified as ready for math courses. Forty-four percent were conditionally ready.
Students who pass either portion of the test can skip the Cal State placement test for that subject when they enroll in classes. Some community colleges have begun using the exam results to determine class placement, as well. Results are not used for determining admission.
The test is optional for high school juniors. The hope is that those who don’t meet the standards can use their final year of high school to improve their skills, said Faye Wong, coordinator of the program at Cal State San Bernardino.
Readiness rates have improved since Cal State began offering the exam six years ago. It was developed in an effort to boost college-readiness and reduce the number of remedial classes needed by students entering the Cal State system.
Along with the exam, Cal State officials created a new English curriculum focused on expository reading and writing, which is writing used to explain or convey information. Reading comprehension, particularly of non-fiction work, and analysis of persuasive writing, such as how a writer puts together an argument, are some of the areas where students need better preparation, CSU officials found.
Help also is available for high school math teachers to help bridge the gap between what students are learning in high school and what they need in college, including more emphasis on solving complex problems, Wong said.
The effort has begun to pay off, Cal State Chancellor Charles B. Reed said during a September news conference to announce the 2011 results.
“We are now offering
slightly less remedial work,” he said. “Although
the level of readiness is not what we want it to be … high school students in California are moving in the right direction.”
Students who aren’t ready for college-level work must take remedial classes that don’t count toward their degrees, so it takes them longer to finish school. Students who must take remedial classes also are less likely to complete their degrees, Reed said.
“If students start prepared, then they have a clear pathway to graduation,” he said.
In the Corona-Norco Unified School District, teachers and administrators use results from the exam as a guide for changing how English and math are taught. Jan Stallones, a teacher on special assignment, works with district English teachers to use Cal State’s expository writing curriculum.
In the past, high schools have offered British literature
(now Chicano literature or homosexual literature would be acceptable, along with communist/socialist. Classics are so old fashioned in today's progressive education) as the standard 12{+t}{+h}-grade English class, though very few students major in literature in college, Stallones said. Now schools in the district are adding more expository reading and writing, which will benefit students regardless of the field they choose after high school, she said.
“Workplaces are telling us we need people who can read reports, can write reports and can analyze information,” she said.
(how come those that studied the classics in school before the 80's can read reports and such, but not today? Can you even give a thought to the fact that some schools are teaching half the time in Spanish? Yes, they are, and our students are suffering as a result)
Students in Varney’s class say the system has helped them, not just in English, but in other classes.
“The skills I use here I also use in history class,” said 16-year-old Brian Dingle, a junior who plays basketball and hopes to become a pharmacist. “It helps you organize your thoughts.”
http://www.pe.com/local-news/reports...or-college.ece