Texas College Readiness Standards
Improving Alignment Between Texas High Schools and Colleges
The Texas College Readiness Initiative is a three-year project designed to improve alignment between secondary and postsecondary education in Texas. The project is sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and will be conducted in three phases:
Phase I:
The development of College Readiness Standards (CRS) by vertical teams in four subject areas (English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science) to identify what students must know and be able to do to succeed in entry-level courses offered at Texas institutions of higher education. The CRS underwent a six-week period of public comment from October through December 2007. The vertical teams then reconvened to consider the comments and developed a final version of the CRS, which was submitted in January 2008 to the Commissioner of Higher Education and to the Commissioner of Education for adoption.
Phase II:
The purpose of the second phase is to validate the College Readiness Standards and to identify "reference courses" to exemplify the content and rigor of entry-level college courses. First, an alignment analysis will be conducted to compare the College Readiness Standards to existing course instructional priorities and practices in entry-level courses at institutions of higher education in Texas. The results will identify the college courses most aligned with the College Readiness Standards. Additional course materials, including syllabi, assignments, and student work samples will be collected to identify the elements of entry level college "reference courses". These elements will be disseminated statewide.
Phase III:
In the final phase, assignments will be developed that will help twelfth graders prepare better for college. EPIC will work with vertical design teams and pilot instructors to create high school senior assignments, scoring guides and accompanying instructional strategies. These assignments may be used by high schools and in developmental education courses to help students enhance their college readiness and also to determine the degree to which high school seniors and incoming college students are meeting college readiness standards.
This project will enable students, parents, faculty and administrators in public high schools and higher education institutions in Texas to have a clearer understanding of what it takes to be ready to succeed in Texas postsecondary institutions and will help high school educators, students, and parents make better decisions about the educational activities that will lead to college readiness.
