The National Assessment Governing Board is an independent, bipartisan organization that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Governing Board established the NAEP Program of 12th Grade Preparedness Research to assess what NAEP can report on the academic preparedness of 12th grade students entering college and job training. The Governing Board commissioned EPIC in October 2012 to conduct the College Course Content Analysis (CCCA) study, which used course artifacts to identify the prerequisite knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) in mathematics and reading that are necessary for students to be prepared to qualify for entry-level, credit-bearing courses that satisfy general education requirements.
The CCCA study was designed to answer the following research questions:
- What are the prerequisite KSAs in mathematics and reading to qualify for entry-level, credit-bearing courses that satisfy general education requirements?
- How do these prerequisite KSAs compare with the 2009 and 2013 NAEP mathematics and reading frameworks and item pools?
- How do these prerequisite KSAs compare with previous NAEP preparedness research, i.e., descriptions of minimal academic preparedness requirements produced in the Judgmental Standard Setting (JSS) research?
- How can these prerequisites inform future NAEP preparedness research?
The CCCA study was designed to produce research findings that contribute to the overall NAEP Program of 12th Grade Preparedness Research and that can serve as validity evidence in relation to interpretations of the results from two previous preparedness studies—the Judgmental Standard Setting (JSS) study, implemented in 2011, and the Job Training Program Curriculum (JTPC) study, implemented in 2012. The JSS study followed a modified bookmarking, standard-setting process to identify The CCCA study follows the convergent consensus approach to content analysis of course materials, and focuses on entry-level college courses, as represented by four course titles in mathematics and four course titles in courses with substantial reading demands. Course titles relevant to the NAEP mathematics framework included college algebra, finite mathematics, precalculus/calculus, and statistics. Titles relevant to the NAEP reading framework included English literature, psychology, U.S. government, and U.S. history
2014_National-Assessment-of-Educational-Progress1.pdf (510 downloads)
