Tuesday, October 3, 2023

AV #264 - Colorado’s new graduation guidelines – early warning signs that they fall short

                                                                            2023  -  UPDATES – October                          

                                                                                                Part 2 

State’s Menu of Options: greater flexibility – and a lower bar

 Case in point: District Capstones (where we have no “guidelines”) 

   Colorado offers districts 11 ways to ensure students “demonstrate readiness for college and career based on at least one measure in Reading, Writing and Communicating, and one measure in Mathematics” (CDE - Menu of College and Career-Ready Demonstrations[i]). As I showed in Part 1, three options: the SAT, Concurrent Enrollment, and the District Capstone, may be the most widely accepted “pathways” in place in our 185 school districts and BOCES.

   Our graduation guidelines state clear benchmarks on only one of the three, the SAT. “The purpose of the SAT is to measure a high school student's readiness for college.”[ii] Most Colorado students are not college ready, especially in Math; definitely not if we go by the College Board’s benchmark (530[iii]), but still well short if we use our guidelines’ less stringent minimum score (500[iv]). The state average SAT Math score was 484 in 2023. Colorado Public Radio’s report on SAT results found “just 35 percent [of students] are college ready in math.” Most alarming, see Addendum A, my list of 30 high schools where the average SAT Math score these past two years was 410.5, almost 90 points below the SAT minimum score in our guidelines.

   Let’s be direct: such schools (and their districts) want options with lower academic expectations. Concurrent Enrollment and District Capstones provide that. For both, what is defined as “demonstrating readiness for college and career” is left to the districts to determine. Addendum B is my attempt to capture different expectations among 10 districts on both options. Concurrent Enrollment has one benefit; it is tied to “college level classes” and to grades, even if “passing” or receiving a “C- or better” are not always the same thing. (Question: is that C- good enough?)

   (Someday some enterprising journalist will examine the quality–i.e. the academic rigor–of Concurrent Enrollment classes in Colorado. Something like this recent study in Texas: “The Rise of Dual Credit - More and more students take college classes while still in high school. That is boosting degree attainment but also raising doubts about rigor.” See more in Endnote.[v] In Colorado, are Concurrent Enrollment classes really asking for “college level” work? My experience makes me extremely dubious.)

   But it is the District Capstones, as Addendum B makes clear, where we see the greatest variation in what districts expect students to demonstrate. This is the main reason for the skepticism I hear on this option, as you will see. I am fully aware of the lack of hard evidence in what I present, “merely” concerns from several skeptics. Perhaps, though, they present “canaries in a coal mine.” Telling us to stop. To turn back.


Defining our terms – the Graduation Guidelines are flexible and expansive, but here is what they SAY

   The Colorado Department of Education’s “Menu of Options” states: “Students must demonstrate readiness for college and career based on at least one measure in Reading, Writing, and Communication, and one measure in Mathematics.” It defines a District Capstone as:


  the culminating exhibition of a student’s project or experience that demonstrates academic and intellectual learning. Capstone projects are district determined and often include a portfolio of a student’s best work.                                                                                        

   “District determined” is the key phrase. For most of the other 11 options on the “Menu,” we see a “Minimum Score Required” for demonstrating Reading, Writing and Communicating, and for Math. In Math we see a number; for example, SAT Math - 500; ACT Math - 19; Accuplacer Math61. Even the ASVAB and ACT WorkKeys options give hard numbers as the minimum score needed to pass.

   But for the District Capstone, as CDE’s Menu of Options shows, there is no Minimum Score. It simply states: Individualized. Districts determine their own criteria. Thus the problem. We have no clearly defined minimum expectation for the quality and depth of the “academic and intellectual” learning in English and in Math that students will be asked to demonstrate. We allow for 185 ways to “demonstrate competency.”

Hearing from educators and leaders

   If you wish to hear how a district has been thoughtful and gone all-in with Capstone projects, I suggest you look to Canon City. A school leader there made a strong case to me for why it has good reason to be proud of what it has put in place these past several years. Other than that, I hear doubts about the wisdom of including Capstone projects as among the state’s 11 Menu of Options.

   At least two districts in Colorado do not provide* this option: District 27J and Roaring Fork Valley.  A school leader in District 27J explained their reluctance: “The Capstones I’ve seen only required a signature from a department chair, who reviews the classes the student had taken and passed in high school, and said that was enough to ‘earn’ the student a passing mark.” This long-time educator asked the question for me: “Are the students prepared for college? No.” And added: “I want some proof.” (*District 27J does allow its charter schools to use this option. In 2022, 119 charter school students in the district successfully completed a Capstone project.[vi])

   Roaring Fork expects students to produce a Capstone project, and yet, as the district’s former Superintendent Rob Stein wrote me, it is not a measure of graduation readiness.” Instead, it is a course requirement. He expanded: “Our capstone was a way for students to demonstrate that they could identify a question or goal of their own choosing, pursue it with some discipline, and present their learning to an appropriate audience. So it was a demonstration of the kind of college readiness that schools mostly avoid: figuring out what you're interested in and going for it.”

  Educators in Jefferson County Schools and Aurora Public Schools raised questions about how objective the evaluation of a student’s project will be. Can it be sufficient when it comes down to one teacher’s judgment? Especially by a teacher who has worked with that student and wants him/her to graduate? “It’s completely subjective,” one educator told me. “I don’t know how they’re being assessed.” Of the students who “pass” the Capstone: “Do I think the students have reached graduation requirements? Absolutely no.”

   A personal note (maybe a surprise). I am a huge fan of capstone projects. Since 2015 I have served on ten panels “judging” or responding to student presentations at high schools in Adams 12, Denver, and Jeffco. (Such projects were not tied to our new graduation guidelines.) Often 10 minute talks; then a 10-15 minute q and a session. At times, really impressive; at times, not—but I cheered the effort. To present to and hear from a panel can be a powerful learning experience for our juniors and seniors. (Eons ago, I taught at the Emma Willard School in New York. “Signature” projects are now a central feature there.[vii]) 

  But I find it crazy to make this event into something grandiose, and claim: With this one “culminating exhibition,” a senior will “demonstrate readiness for college and career.” It puts more weight on one project than it can bear. This was a flaw in our new guidelines from day one. It does not belong.


The State Board of Education – an overdue review

   No matter how limited this update, I believe it shows the need for a substantive review of how the new guidelines are playing out, in particular with District Capstones. There were high hopes for the Capstone when we started down this road several years ago. Perhaps it might become an option students would choose, eager to explore an independent study senior year. Where do we see this today?  

   Any review would refer to the dissertation on District Capstones by Amy Spicer, Vice President of Implementation Design, Colorado Education Initiative. In 2019, Spicer warned that “capstones and portfolios could be used as a less rigorous pathway or pass-through option to ensure students can graduate on time without a real assurance of college and career readiness” (Education Week, March 4, 2019). Over three years later, her presentation to the Colorado Association of School Boards was even-handed; the District Capstone, she noted then, “is being implemented as a rigorous option in limited cases” (“An Implementation Study of Colorado’s Graduation Guidelines,[viii] Dec. 2, 2022, slide 33). But this past summer she raised a concern to me that the Capstones might become an option that adults were choosing for students who are in danger of not getting their degree.

2013 to 2023 – Progress? Clarity?

   Eight years ago my opinion piece in The Denver Post showed little correlation between graduation rates and student achievement in Colorado’s high schools.

Huidekoper: “High school graduation rates aren’t necessarily a reason to celebrate,” (July 2, 2015)[ix]

There I noted the effort which began in 2013, and then under way, that has led to the new Graduation Guidelines examined in these two newsletters, AV #263 and #264. I asked:

Shouldn’t we insist on clear expectations of what it means to be a high school graduate in Colorado? Most states do a better job of this. A recent report by National Public Radio commended Colorado for moving in a positive direction, thanks to changes approved by our state board in 2013 “spelling out what Colorado students must do to earn a high school diploma.” 

But several board members were already raising concerns. I wrote:

 

However, the current majority on the state Board of Education seems skeptical of that plan. Many worry the board will renege on expectations agreed to two years ago, leaving us in even worse shape when it comes to giving real meaning to a high school diploma. 

  Eight years later, the evidence I have gathered tells me we have not accomplished our goal. I conclude that our Graduation Guidelines do not provide a clear definition what it means to be a high school graduate in Colorado.

  Along with many others, I am keen to see the State Board, at long last, put our Graduation Guidelines on its agenda and ask: Is this progress? Are we now clear? Is this what we intended? 

 

Addendum A

The SAT’s value declines. In some schools, the SAT test may feel irrelevant.

(Accountability Task Force, take notice! When students have no reason to try, is this a good measure?) 

   Seven years ago I began to draw a contrast between low test scores and high graduation rates (“High school graduation rates aren’t necessarily a reason to celebrate,”[x] July 2, 2015). My newsletters since then updated my findings and concern. I assumed districts and schools believed their SAT scores actually meant something.

“COLLEGE ADMISSION TESTS are becoming

a thing of the past. More than 80 percent 

of US colleges and universities do not 

require applicants to take standardized tests – 

like the SAT or the ACT.”

(Jan 26, 2023)  

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/opinion/fewer-colleges-

relying-on-standardized-tests/#:~:text

   Maybe that is no longer true. With the graduation guidelines in place, most Colorado high schools probably see the SAT Math “minimum score” as out of reach. A school leader told me how thoroughly unmotivated students can be. A high percentage of juniors know how poorly they did on PSAT tests freshmen and sophomore year. They sense they have no chance to meet that 500 target on the SAT, and so they hardly try. (One result: the school’s woeful SAT results become even more unreliable.) Is it any wonder these students, and their schools, will look, for another option in order to claim be “college and career ready”?

 

   Moreover, this school leader added, for the college-bound, success on the SAT is less important—to the colleges themselves (see box). In 2023, what percentage of students believe their SAT scores really matter?  

 

SAT (Graduation Guideline Minimum)

Math

500

 

 

SAT Math scores at 30 Colorado high schools

 

On average, the SAT Math scores at these schools were 62 points or more below the minimum score on the graduation guidelines, both years.

 

Average score in 2022 - close to 410.

 

Average score in 2023 – close to 411.

 

 

This is almost 90 points below the SAT minimum score on our graduation guidelines.

 

 

 

As one principal suggested to me, these 15 districts and these 30 schools know how unlikely it is that they will see their SAT MATH score rise to 500 in the foreseeable future, if ever.

 

 

 

So if that 500 target looks unrealistic, is it any wonder schools like these might be inclined to ignore the SAT option on the new graduation guidelines? And turn their focus, instead, to options that do not require a reliable measure of academic knowledge and skills?

 

This is another reason why we need to examine whether the District Capstone fulfills the goals of our graduation guidelines. If it does not, if it merely becomes the way low-achieving high schools are able to avoid any accountability for the academic performance of their students, then we cannot continue to allow the District Capstone to be an option. 

 

(By the way, aren’t 10 options enough?)

 

2023

2022

STATE AVERAGE

484

483

Denver Public Schools

 

 

Abraham Lincoln H.S.

388

405.4

Bruce Randolph H.S.

424

401.9

John F. Kennedy H.S.

425

420.8

Manual High

406

392.2

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Early College

406

407.1

Aurora Public Schools

 

 

Aurora Central H.S.

381

382.0*

Aurora West College Prep Academy

383

401.9

Gateway H.S.

391

398.9

Hinkley H.S.

407

385.1

Jeffco

 

 

Jefferson Jr/Sr H. S.

404

389.5

Alameda Intn’t Jr/Sr H.S.

409

422.9

Arvada H.S.

408

405.5

Pueblo 60

 

 

Central

427

416.1

East

424

413.9

South

438**

432.5

Adams 14

 

 

Adams City H.S.

394

396.9

Mapleton

 

 

York International

428

406

Mapleton Expedition. School of the Arts

406

425.1

Sheridan

 

 

Sheridan H. S.

425

410.4

Englewood

 

 

Englewood H.S.

426

435.3**

Westminster

 

 

Westminster H.S.

415

417.3

Adams 12

 

 

Thornton H.S.

415

414.5

Harrison

 

 

Harrison H.S.

424

421.8

Sierra H.S.

413

407.0

Co. Springs

 

 

Mitchell H.S.

408

408.7

Fort Lupton

 

 

Fort Lupton High

415

427.6

Greeley 6

 

 

Greeley Central H.S.

431

431.7

Jefferson Junior/Senior H.S.

375*

387

District 27J

 

 

Prairie View H.S.

433

431.5

Huerfano

 

 

John Mall H.S.

393

398

AVERAGE

411

410

 

*Lowest score of these 30 high schools

**Highest scores of these 30 high schools 

 

Addendum B – From the Graduation Guidelines in 10 districts 

A variety of expectations and/or “benchmarks”

All errors here are mine. I used district websites and links at CDE’s website (http://www.cde.state.co.us/postsecondary/grad-capstone) for data, but I doubt all here is up-to-date. It is sufficiently accurate, though, I believe, to make a point about the variety in expectations.

CDE

Concurrent Enrollment

District Capstone

STATE

Definitions & descriptions here taken from CDE’s Fact Sheet on Graduation Guidelines.*

For “students… [who] enroll in postsecondary courses, earning high school and college credit. School districts & institutions of higher education each determine passing grades for credit and concurrent enrollment.”

A capstone is the culminating exhibition of a student’s project or experience that demonstrates academic and intellectual learning. Capstone projects are district determined and often include a portfolio of a student’s best work.

Canon City Schools

Grade of a “C-” or higher in one of PCC-F’s approved English courses.”

Ditto … “in one of PCC-F’s approved math courses.”

“Successful completion of District Approved Capstone” for English, and for Mathematics.

The capstone project is part of the district’s Pathways Program, a three-year curriculum. The capstone is required of ALL STUDENTS. 

District 27J

Eng – Passing grade

Math – Passing grade

At present, only available to charter school students in the district.

“Completion of an approved capstone which demonstrates a student’s grade-level competency in English language arts.”

Math - Ditto

Dolores School District RE-4A

Eng - Grade of at least a C

Math – Grade of at least a C

Eng - “Completion of the district capstone project and approval by the district-designated team.”

Math - Ditto

Douglas County School

District

Eng – Passing grade

Math – Passing grade

Eng – Passing score

Math- Passing score

Jeffco Public Schools

Eng – Passing grade

Math – Passing grade

Eng – Passing

Math- Passing

Park County School District Re 2

“ … course that demonstrates English readiness –

-Grade of at least a “C”.

Ditto - Math

Eng - “Completion of the district capstone project and approval by a district-designated reviewer.”

Math – Ditto

Poudre School District

Eng - “Passing grade is C or higher”

Math- “Passing grade is C or higher”

Scoring –

“individualized”

 

Pueblo 70 School District

“Concurrent enrollment course that demonstrates English readiness, as approved by the district and included in the student’s academic plan of study or Individualized Career and Academic Plan (ICAP).”

-Grade of at least a “C”.

Ditto - Math

“District capstone project that demonstrates academic and intellectual learning in the subject area of English.”

Ditto – Math

 

 

 

Roaring Fork Valley School District

Grade of at least a C in an approved English concurrent enrollment course.

Ditto - Math

NOT INCLUDED – Instead, a Capstone Project is a district course requirement.

Thompson School District

N.A.

“Capstone is a culminating exhibition of a student’s experience while in Thompson School District that demonstrates academic and intellectual learning in English language arts and/or Mathematics. Demonstration of learning for Capstone is incorporated in coursework and assessments in Financial Algebra and English 12 courses.”

  

More detailed information/link to websites on Capstone Projects from these 10 districts

Canon City

The Cañon City Pathways Program is a three-year curriculum, inclusive of a graduation capstone, that is designed to "inject relevance and engagement to learning, and prepare students for postsecondary education and the workforce." 

“A Capstone project is a multifaceted graduation requirement for all students that challenges them to think critically, solve challenging problems, and develop life skills. Projects are interdisciplinary, requiring students to apply skills across many different subject areas. These projects encourage students to connect their projects to community issues and to integrate outside-of-school learning experiences including activities such as interviews, scientific observations, and internships.”

From The Pathways at Canon City High School. Pages 2-4. http://www.cde.state.co.us/postsecondary/cchspathwayshandbook

See also https://www.canoncityschools.org/schools/high-school/news/1761207/cchs-capstone-scholarship-winners  (March 2023). Students have been working on their Capstone projects since the first day they stepped into Canon City High School. These are culminating projects meant to show the traits and skills that students have learned over their high school career.”

https://campussuite-storage.s3.amazonaws.com/prod/1559007/be93858e-5cb0-11ea-aec8-127d75a5caed/2209019/e70cdc8e-4eb5-11eb-b938-02c4231b06fd/file/File%20IKF-2-E%20-%20Canon%20City%20Schools%20Graduation%20Requirements%20-%20Exhibit.pdf 

District 27J

At present, this option is available to students in 27J charter schools, not in the district’s high schools.

https://www.sd27j.org/cms/lib/CO01900701/Centricity/domain/566/instruction/IKF-2%20Graduation%20Requirements.pdf 

Dolores

https://doloresschools.org/wp-content/uploads/boardpolicies/i/IKF-E-1.pdf

 

Douglas County

The district has created an AP Capstone Diploma -

https://www.dcsdk12.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=13912378

 

https://www.dcsdk12.org/cms/One.aspx?portalId=220484&pageId=5769340 

Jeffco

“The development and implementation of District Capstones in Jeffco Public Schools are designed at the school level. Capstone work undertaken by schools and students will include:

● A portfolio of work which reflects the student’s self-selected Capstone project

● A public demonstration of learning

● Intentional connections to the student’s Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) ● Authentic mentor experiences

● Clear connections to Jeffco’s prepared graduate success skills, as identified below…”[xi]

More at Graduation Capstone Essentials: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1r-O00hC9NbeXyblNf5_FmD0ME208_Seisj6Uf4sAB-o/edit#heading=h.qa1qjp2gj54o

 

https://jeffcopublicschools.org/academics/graduation_requirements

 

Park County

 

http://www.cde.state.co.us/postsecondary/parkcountygradrequirements

Poudre

PSD approved capstone template (not available to all)

“A Capstone Project is a multifaceted assignment that serves as a culminating academic, intellectual, and personalized learning experience for students. Capstone experiences are offered at each high school.” https://www.psdschools.org/academics/academic-standards-graduation-requirements

https://www.psdschools.org/academics/academic-standards-graduation-requirements/assessments-measures

Pueblo 70

“Examples of approved capstone projects and CTSO competitive events are in Exhibit IKF-2-E-2.”

“In addition to completion of approved capstone projects, the District will consider above average accomplishments in Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) Performance or Objective Competitive Events as demonstrations of Career and College readiness in English or Math.” 

https://www.district70.org/pdf/Board_Policies/IA-IML_Instruction/IKB-IKFB_homework_and_graduation/IKF-3%20Graduation%20Requirements.pdf

 

Roaring Fork

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rLKAGCiaEDy4ySuY73EQmAiN4uFN9mEs/view

 

Thompson School District

R&W -https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1686923058/thompsonschoolsorg/wvucudlmvpqlehfsn4jp/ELACapstone.pdf

Math

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1686923057/thompsonschoolsorg/pmqonlplfte8yaitqj2t/MathCapstone.pdf

 

https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1688122397/thompsonschoolsorg/lsq2ls8pn0ptazcxybrl/IKF.pdf

 

 Endnotes


[iii] “SAT Suite of Assessments,” College Board, SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks:

  • Evidence-Based Reading and Writing: 480
  • Math: 530

https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/k12-educators/about/understand-scores-benchmarks/benchmarks

[iv]More high school students are ready for college English, but not in math.” “But math scores are still 3.8-points below where they were before the pandemic. Just 35 percent are college ready in math.” “Colorado’s Measures of Academic Success scores are out. Here’s how students did,” by Jenny Brundin, Colorado Public Radio, https://www.cpr.org/2023/08/17/colorados-measures-of-academic-success-scores-student-results/.

[v]James Grossman, the American Historical Association’s executive director, said that with dual enrollment courses, unlike in International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement classes, ‘there is no common assessment’ to make sure that what students are learning is comparable. ‘So you are really at the mercy of the oversight of the teacher and the teacher’s syllabus.’

  “In Texas, where more than 200,000 students participated in dual credit last fall, Raymund Paredes, the state’s former commissioner of higher education, has called for slowing the growth of dual enrollment, warning the state has ‘oversold the potential of dual credit courses.’

  “‘… there’s no way all those students could be college ready, or even close to college ready,’ he said in an interview.”

--

“…states and schools will … need to come up with new ways to demonstrate the quality of their programs, as the debate over the rigor and quality of dual credit courses rages on, with no end in sight.” “The Rise of Dual Credit,” by Kelly Field, Education Next, Winter 2021, https://www.educationnext.org/rise-dual-credit-more-students-take-college-classes-high-school-degree-attainment-rigor

[vi], Email to me from Karla Reider, Director of Curriculum, Assessment, and Instruction, District 27J, July 25, 2023.

[vii] “Signature is Emma Willard School’s capstone program for juniors and seniors centered around exploring a personal interest.” Emma Willard School, Troy, N.Y. https://www.emmawillard.org/academics/curriculum/experiential-learning/signature

[ix] “High school graduation rates aren’t necessarily a reason to celebrate,”  Huidekoper, The Denver Post, July 2, 2015, https://www.denverpost.com/2015/07/02/huidekoper-high-school-graduation-rates-arent-necessarily-a-reason-to-celebrate/ 

 

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