Research
The College and Career Readiness project relies on a substantial body of P-16 and college and career readiness research to inform its efforts. The project also produces various benchmark reports such as standards gap analyses to help guide the progress of the initiative. Many of these materials are available on this page, and new ones will be added periodically over the life of the initiative.
Vertical Teams in each of the four core content areas have compared the existing Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) to the new college and career readiness standards and identified any areas where there are gaps in the existing instructional standards. These analyses appear below. Any gaps are being eliminated as refined TEKS are adopted by the State Board of Education.
English Language Arts Gap Analysis
Vertical team members found strong alignment between the College and Career Readiness Standards in English language arts and reading (ELAR) and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Professional development on the new ELAR TEKS will include a focus on the College and Career Readiness Standards.
Mathematics Gap Analysis
Vertical team members found strong alignment between the College and Career Readiness Standards in mathematics and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for secondary mathematics. The State Board of Education appointed a writing team to conduct a limited-scope review of the secondary math TEKS to ensure alignment with the College and Career Readiness Standards. Revisions to the secondary math TEKS are scheduled for adoption by the State Board of Education in January 2009. Professional development on the new math TEKS will include a focus on the College and Career Readiness Standards.
Science Gap Analysis
Vertical team members found adequate but not strong alignment between the College and Career Readiness Standards in science and the draft Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for secondary science. The science TEKS writing teams used the gap analysis to prepare their final recommendations to the State Board of Education. New science TEKS are scheduled for adoption by the board in March 2009. Professional development on the new science TEKS will include a focus on the College and Career Readiness Standards.
Social Studies Gap Analysis
Vertical team members found varying degrees of alignment between the College and Career Readiness Standards in social studies and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for secondary social studies. Generally, team members indicated some degree of alignment (strong or adequate) between most of the standards contained in the CCRS and the social studies TEKS.
CCRS-TEKS Alignment Project
In a joint letter to Commissioner Paredes and Commissioner Scott, Senator Shaprio and Representative Eissler requested that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) work together to create a plan of action to further specify the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS) in the English language arts, reading and mathematics Texas Essential Knowledge Skills (TEKS).
The goal of this further definition is to more explicitly define these standards in terms of performance expectations. This will allow the standards to be used more beneficially for teacher preparation, professional development, instructional materials and assessment. The TEA and THECB plan of action divides the work into two phases.
Phase I: Using the TEKS and the CCRS as the core referent, a group of content experts analyzed the gap analyses developed by various vertical teams, reviewed descriptions of what it means to be college ready, compared the identified critical college-readiness skills to national college-readiness skills (e.g., SAT, ACT, ADP, etc.), and developed performance expectations associated with each critical college-readiness skill for English III and Algebra II.
Phase II: Leveraging the work of Phase I, a broader spectrum of high school educators and higher education faculty validated the performance expectations associated with each critical college-readiness skill identified for English III and Algebra II. This validation involved the review and (if necessary) the modification of initial material created in Phase I. Specifically, the committee did the following:
- Compared the TEKS for English III and Algebra II with those of the College and Career Readiness Standards (CCRS)
- Reviewed performance expectations for clarity and accuracy
- Validated the performance expectations after reaching consensus on modifications (if any)
The end result of this effort is that performance expectations may now be used to more accurately inform teacher preparation, professional development, instructional materials and assessment development. The documents below reflect the work of the Phase I and Phase II teams.
Phase 1
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Phase 2 |
The following are some of the research resources that have informed the College and Career Readiness initiative’s work.
College and Career Readiness Standards approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Commissioner of Education for incorporation into the curriculum by the State Board of Education.
College Readiness Program Overview presentation describing the primary components and tasks of the College and Career Readiness Program.
Achieve and the Education Trust report that American high schools face mounting challenges due to global competition and the need for increased student skill levels.
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills reports that the 21st Century economy is being driven by rapid innovation and every level of the American educational system must retool to respond.
“A Coordinated Effort to Prepare Students for College” by Michael Cohen, Paul E. Lingenfelter, Thomas C. Meredith, and David Ward, in The Chronicle Review, December 15, 2006
"Getting Serious About College Readiness” by Dave Spence, in Inside Higher Education, March 22, 2007.
Redefining College Readiness by David T. Conley, Education Policy Improvement Center, 2007.
Help Wanted: Advanced Education and the Challenging Workforce by Anthony P. Carnevale, Education Commission of the States, 2005.
Ready for College and Ready for Work: Same or Different? ACT, 2006.
Connecting Education Standards and Employment: Course-taking Patterns of Young Workers by Anthony P. Carnevale and Donna M. Desrochers, The American Diploma Project.
The resources below offer good starting points for an overview of college and career readiness-related efforts in Texas.
Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board College Readiness website (House Bill 1 implementation).
Commission for a College Ready Texas appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to receive broad input and develop consensus around the skills and knowledge Texas students must possess to be college ready.
Center for Educational Policy Research education policy research center publishing college readiness research.
House Bill 1 (creates the College Readiness Initiative)
TEA HB 1 resources
THECB HB 1 resources
TEA/THECB P-16 Strategic Action Plan
TEA P-16 resources
THECB P-16 resources
TEA related initiatives and grants
THECB related initiatives and grants
