“The BES process is one further step in implementing a curriculum of instruction that will be at high levels for all students. Research shows that by the time this freshman class completes college work in 2019, 70-80 percent of them will need to have a 2 or 4 year post-secondary degree in order to be employed. Other studies also show that these students will have jobs that have not even been created yet, further showing the importance of developing students to be life-long learners at high levels,” said LCHS principal Casey Jaynes.
This new pilot program is a collaboration between the Kentucky Department of Education, the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), and ACT QualityCore, a leading provider of Board Examination Systems. These comprehensive instructional systems include course syllabi, rigorous instructional materials, end-of-course examinations that measure student mastery of the curricula, and quality teacher training.
NCEE, a not-for profit organization based in Washington, D.C., has studied the best performing education systems around the world for more than two decades. Its research demonstrates that countries with the highest student achievement typically rely on academic models similar to Board Examination Systems in order to best prepare their students for success in college and the workforce.
“The Board Examination Program was designed to shift from an education system that prioritizes seat time to one that rewards student achievement and performance,” said Marc Tucker, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Center on Education and the Economy. “The program is informed by years of research examining our top international competitors but tailored to meet America’s educational and workforce needs.”
In an effort to add more rigor to K-12 education, the Commonwealth of Kentucky recently announced that Kentucky high school students will have to take ACT QualityCore end-of-course examinations in Algebra II, English 10, Biology, and U.S. History as part of the state‚s new accountability system. By participating in the Board Examination Systems pilot program, Logan County High School students will gain valuable experience early in their high school career on these examinations, which are a leading predictor of success on the ACT college entrance test that all Kentucky high school students must take. In addition, Logan County’s Board Examination Systems students will benefit from taking a greater number of challenging ACT QualityCore courses than students in the rest of the state.
By 2014, the Board Examination Systems program will be offered to students in all high school grade levels and will feature an instructional system for lower secondary students (freshmen and sophomores) and another for upper secondary students (juniors and seniors). Students who have taken a well-rounded set of lower division core courses in English, mathematics, science, history, and the arts and passed all of their end-of course examinations will have the option of receiving a new performance-based high school diploma as early as the end of their sophomore year. Those students could remain at the high school and take a challenging upper division program designed to prepare them for four-year colleges and universities, enroll in a career and technical education program, or leave high school early and attend an open admissions college.
As part of the Board Examination Systems pilot program, a number of Logan County High School teachers recently participated in ACT QualityCore training that will be ongoing throughout the school year. The training was partially funded by the Kentucky Department of Education.
In addition to Logan County High School, five other Kentucky high schools are participating in the Board Examination Systems pilot this Fall, along with 15 high schools from Arizona, Connecticut, and Mississippi.
Post a Comment
