What’s New in Assessment

1. What’s New in Assessment Presented by:Sandra Pritz, Senior ConsultantNational Occupational Competency Testing Institute

2. Treasure What We Measure • We can’t manage what we can’t measure • Assessments must authentically reflect both the the CTE program and workplace demands—do these align? • Multi-faceted assessments needed for faithful representation

3. Assessment of technical literacy in career-technical programs • State/national academic standards demand attention. • High school students must pass academic tests for graduation. • Workplace demands for technical literacy are increasing. • Academics in context tend to be student-friendly.

4. How Should Career-Technical Programs Assess Academic Skills? • In the context of the students’ career-technical program • In alignment with state and national academic standards • In ways that help students translate to other tests they will need to take • Embedded In their career-technical tests, such as end-of-course or program

5. Value Added to Career-Technical Programs by Tests • External and effective • Critical competencies benchmarked to industry standards • Correlated to state and national academic standards

6. Critical Competencies Are Central • Students should recognize them as learning objectives with standards, move toward self-assessment. • Teachers should teach to them in learning activities. • They should be assessed—in multiple ways—with the results used to help focus instruction, for the group and for individuals.

7. Process to Use Multiple Tests to Improve Instruction • Written tests—practice at all levels by including in assignments; mirror types of items on HSTW tests, include academics embedded in the technical industry/program

8. Performance Tests • Practice by including scenarios in assignments • Mirror real job tasks, time, tool selection, procedures • Open-ended, can apply a rubric, and can easily assess at higher levels • Some aspects yes/no, some scaled, some qualitative judgment by experts

9. Coupling Written and Performance Tests • Reflects reality better than one or the other alone • Provides for multiple forms of assessment • Gives all students a chance to succeed • Enables mutual reinforcement of learning • States and schools using NOCTI tests have documented improvement in instruction from using analyses of test results.

10. Academic Skills Measured in Context Career and Technical Skills Academic Skills Academic Skills + Career Technical Skills Comprehensive Assessment

11. NOCTI Academics Correlation Project • 7 NOCTI job-ready tests correlated to academic standards for math, science, and language arts - National standards (NCTM, NSES, NCTE) - State standards (NY, CA, FL) • Several business/industry tests correlated to national standards

12. Academics Identified • Written tests contain embedded academics that match standards in all three disciplines. • Performance tests contain a higher percentage of embedded academics than written tests, and the items tend to be at higher levels of proficiency.

13. Ways NOCTI can help • By providing performance as well as written tests, NOCTI can help assess academics at higher levels. • NOCTI can respond to the need to reinforce academic and employability instruction through assessment, can customize tests and test reports to isolate academics scores. • NOCTI can provide states the service of cross-correlating its tests to their state standards.

14. Ways NOCTI can help (cont.):Workplace Readiness Test • NOCTI Workplace Readiness Test measuring employability skills is being up-scaled • A large and stellar Subject Matter Expert Team has rated the critical competencies • Career Cluster Foundation Skills will be assessed

15. For Tech Prep Programs • NOCTI’s critical competency lists can be used to document curriculum alignment for secondary and post-secondary articulation. • NOCTI can validate student mastery of competencies at the secondary level for transition to and possible credit at the post-secondary level.

16. States Career Cluster Initiative Moves to Assessment Stage • NASDCTEc has named NOCTI a developer and the provider of its cluster, pathways, foundation tests. • NOCTI is administering the test developed for the National Health Sciences cluster. • NOCTI is developing 3 pathways tests in construction for PA, to be used nationally. • NOCTI is developing a Workplace Readiness foundation assessment.

17. How Data from NOCTI Score Reports Can Drive Program Improvement • Score Reports • Coordinator’s Report • Individual Student Reports • Customized Reporting Available—e.g. integrated academics • Statistical Information • Group Data • Site Data • State Data • National Data • Student Certificates • Personalized Contact Assistance Note: All results are broken down into duty, category and total scores.

18. Pre and Post Test Gain Analysis

19. Thank You