We invite you to participate in an important project that will help your school learn how well your students are learning how to think critically, reason analytically, solve problems, and write well. You will also be participating in an ongoing national project building a database of information about teaching higher order skills to prepare students for college, and for life.
The acquisition of higher order skills is made more urgent today as the Information Age places added pressure on our educational system. While some critics fault secondary institutions for graduating students unready for college and others place the onus on higher education, both need to and can do better. Indeed, all agree on what counts most: the ability to access, structure, evaluate, and use information rather than only accrue facts.
Helping students to develop higher order skills (e.g., critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication) is central to the missions of all colleges, universities and high schools. While these institutions also foster other key competencies, such as artistic expression, civic engagement, moral/ethical reasoning, and environmental stewardship, of paramount importance is helping students to develop intellectual curiosity and a lasting desire for learning. It is within this context that many colleges and universities have participated in the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), an ongoing project that incorporates a breakthrough learning assessment approach developed by The Council for Aid to Education (CAE), (a not-for profit organization) and the RAND Corporation. The CLA approach is to measure an institution’s contribution, or value-added, to the development of higher order skills, including the effects of changes to curriculum and instructional methods.
The CLA is now available to high schools as the College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA), to measure how students perform on constructed response tasks that require an integrated set of critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication skills. The CWRA is delivered entirely over the Internet in a proctored setting.
PARTICIPATING IN THE CWRA PROJECT
- All schools in the project test freshmen in the fall and seniors in the spring. This assessment provides at the end of the first year a measure of change between freshmen and senior years and by following the freshmen for the remaining three years, schools may track the progress of each successive freshman class. Most importantly, the CWRA allows you to compare the value-added results from your school to results at other, similar institutions and to college freshmen in our national sample of colleges and universities.
- The CWRA can be conducted with all the students in a small school or with representative samples in larger schools and allows you to gauge where and when the greatest gains are occurring, both taking a cross-sectional look at the relative performance of different grades that year and tracking the performance of individual students over time.*
The CWRA provides results after each class is tested. After freshmen are tested in the fall, the CWRA reports results that compare your freshman class’s performance to freshman classes at other participating schools like yours. After your seniors are tested in the spring, the CWRA reports your students’ estimated growth between freshman and senior years, including comparisons with other participating schools like yours (reported anonymously). The CWRA also includes findings that compare your seniors to both college freshmen and high school seniors.
Because many high schools have 10th-12th grades only, the CWRA may also be used starting in 10th grade. In addition, schools may want to specifically focus on 11th graders to conduct a “gap-analysis.” A “gap-analysis” allows for a comparison of a school’s outcomes with our national sample of first-year college and university students to determine if there are skill gaps that may still need to be addressed.
By testing every year, you can compare different classes and changes in the estimated four-year growth of students at your school. At the end of the fourth year and thereafter, if you have tested the entire class (or the same sample) as freshmen and seniors, you can also conduct a longitudinal value-added assessment that provides the clearest picture of the contribution of your school to student learning. We report how seniors perform not only in terms of College and Work Readiness, but also relative to their baseline freshmen scores and incoming academic abilities. You will see the demonstrated growth between freshman and senior years for that year’s graduating class, whether this improvement is consistent across your students in this class, and how these results compare to those of graduating classes at schools like yours (reported anonymously).
Here is what seniors at an independent high school said about taking the CWRA in spring 2007:
“The test itself presented us with questions regarding several documents (about 11). In order to answer the questions in full, I had to read all the documents. The questions required comparing and contrasting the contents of the documents. The test demanded a fair amount of reading and comprehending, but above all, I had to critically think to answer the questions in the given time of 90 minutes.”
“I thought the test was an incredible assessment; the problems were engaging and challenging.”
"The test was better than any other standardized test I have ever taken in my high school career. I felt I could really utilize what I have learned here in this test."
“I thought the test was original, thought provoking, and an interestingly different approach to testing.”
“This test was different in that it was an evaluation of one's analytical skills, use of evidence, and writing abilities, as opposed to the more generic demands of the SATs.”
“I actually had to think critically, and assess the problems given. I was not guessing anything, but investigating from the reports given to us.”
“This test asked me to utilize my critical thinking skills rather than just memorizing methods and words. Taking the test, I was truly invested in the topic at hand, and had an informed perspective on the issue”.
“This was a test that you could not study for. I think it truly tested cumulative analytical skills and the ability to think in a challenging and logical way.”
“The CWRA was a much more positive experience compared to the SAT. Shorter, more engaging, and more concise, the CWRA did not leave me bored and agonized. It was not tedious and almost fun.”
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do we give the test? The tests are taken on-line, proctored by your faculty. Testing time is 105 minutes. Proctor training and technical support is provided.
How many students do we test and when? Testing the entire class is recommended. For large classes, a representative sample of at least 100 students may be tested. The freshman class tests in the fall (mid August – late October) and other classes test in the spring (early February – mid April).
What data about our students do we provide? To control for incoming academic ability, we need either SAT or ACT scores for seniors. For comparisons across high school classes, CAE will provide a short equivalent assessment measure.
What results do we get from the annual study? You will receive Institutional Reports and Student Data files. All results are kept in strict confidence, and school results are only reported anonymously. We also conduct web conferences for single schools or groups of schools to explain and help interpret results.
Institutional Reports provide important signals of overall and comparative performance at the school level. Student Data Files can be linked to locally-collected data (e.g., course-taking patterns, grades, portfolio assessments, participation in extracurricular activities, etc.).
How much does it cost to participate in the CWRA study? $40 per student. (For schools testing fewer than 100 students per class, minimums may apply; contact us for more information.)
How can we get more information or sign up? Contact Chris Jackson at (212) 217-0845 or cjackson@cae.org
For more information on how the CWRA is applicable to the high school environment, please read Richard Hersh’s articles on the topic: Teaching to a Test Worth Teaching To and Assessing Critical Thinking, Analytical Reasoning, Problem-Solving and Writing in High School.You may also wish to view a sample CWRA report.
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