Principal Bolen explains End of Course assessments |  |
With the enactment of Senate Bill 1 in 2009, changes in high school testing and accountability have become a focal point in Kentucky high schools. The biggest change for high schools in Kentucky is the new End-of-Course (EOC) testing in Algebra II, English II, US History and Biology. These four EOCs now serve as the primary accountability for secondary schools in the Commonwealth. In addition to these four areas, schools are measured for college readiness with the PLAN and ACT. On-demand writing continues in the 10th and 11th grades. ACT has a rigorous set of classes marketed as the Quality Core, a trademark brand for a multi-faceted program designed to raise the rigor of high school core courses. From this Quality Core, the state of Kentucky will test high school students in the content areas of Algebra II, English II, US History and Biology. These courses and the others within the Quality Core are completely aligned with the College Readiness Standards and the national ACT exam. Therefore, the Kentucky Board of Education awarded the state contract for EOC testing to ACT. Legislation in Senate Bill 1 left room for the Kentucky Board of Education to add additional EOCs in the days ahead. With this in mind and given the fact the new accountability system does not address the 9th grade, George Rogers Clark opted to purchase additional Quality Core classes for its students. The renewed focus on college and career/workforce readiness along with the changes in accountability had has led the school to focus upon College and Career Readiness like never before. A new vision statement, “ALL Students, College and Career Ready” emphasizes the school’s commitment. Recent changes in board policy allowed middle school students the opportunity to earn high school credit while in middle school. The addition of Algebra to the eighth grade for 2011-12 necessitated a uniform and seamless curriculum for that course. To help facilitate this endeavor, the district and high school purchased the Algebra I Quality Core program for implementation during the 2011-12 school year. With this in mind, GRC followed suit with the addition of English I, English III and Geometry. George Rogers Clark has historically struggled in the domains of math and science as evidenced by previous test scores and the low percentage of students meeting benchmark on the PLAN and ACT. Upon review of school testing data and meetings with teachers/department chairs, it became apparent that students were not being subjected to a rigorous curriculum nor were they being taught the content standards, concepts and skills that would enable them to become successful. | With these things considered, the Quality Core became a viable option. School leadership held numerous discussions with schools in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee that were already implementing the program. These schools all cited an initial drop in grades during the first grading period as students and teachers became adjusted to the increase in rigor. These schools also noted a positive upward trend in student achievement as the course continued. With these facts and other information obtained from schools and ACT, GRC opted to move forward with the Quality Core and add additional subjects -- Algebra I, English I and Geometry. GRC's EOC assessment will be weighted at 20%, per SBDM and Clark County Board of Education policy. Currently only 42% of graduating seniors are deemed to be college and career ready. Recent PLAN test data reveals that over 75% of sophomores are not on track to either perform well on the ACT or meet the required benchmarks to avoid non-credit bearing, remedial courses upon entry in college. Current data from KHEAA verifies this, with less than 60% of GRC graduates being able to maintain their KEES money after their first year in college. Last year GRC began its first year in the Advance Kentucky Initiative. This program focuses on strengthening individual student abilities through challenging and rigorous pre-AP and AP courses. During the 2010-11 school year, GRC had 337 students enrolled in AP classes taking a total of 626 exams. Students obtaining qualifying scores totaled 270. Students earning AP credit in either a math, science or English amounted to 172. These students earned monetary awards totaling $17,200. Building upon the success of last year and with our implementation of the Quality Core Program, we firmly believe that GRC will increase the learning potential of our students, which will, in turn, increase the number of students becoming college and career ready. Clearly, these students will have greater college opportunities and stand an increased chance of maintaining their KEES and scholarship monies throughout their post-secondary schooling. Grading Criteria: 1st nine weeks - 20% of final grade 2nd nine weeks - 20% of final grade Semester Exam (December) – Not Weighted 3rd nine weeks-20% of final grade 4th nine weeks-20% of final grade End-of-Course Exam (May) - 20% of final grade |
