More Kudos for Cal-PASS
Research award lauds connection of K-16 educators
EL CAJON – The awards keep rolling in for California Partnership for
Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS), the data-sharing resource that had its
genesis as a Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District partnership with San
Diego State University and is now a state-funded network of more than 7,000
institutions from elementary schools to universities.
With undreds of millions of student records in its database – anonymous and
encrypted information that participating schools, colleges and universities have
agreed to share – Cal-PASS produces targeted studies on myriad issues and brings
together faculty for monthly meetings to improve student success in English,
math, science, English as a Second Language, and career/technical education..
Cal-PASS has been awarded the 2009 statewide Excellence in Research Award for
one of its studies which found that the California Standards Test – a test taken
by every 11th-grader – could help determine college readiness.
“Cal-PASS has been an enormous asset to statewide education for shedding light
on barriers to student success and developing meaningful changes,” said Dr.
Cindy L. Miles, GCCCD chancellor. “In these difficult budget times, an added
benefit is that it isn’t costing institutions anything to join and participate.
We take great pride in the fact that this innovation got its start in our
college district as a development of our staff. Cleary, its expansion statewide
shows that educators value what Cal-PASS represents: using accessible data to
make good decisions about student progress.”
Statewide, more than 1,400 educators in 67 groups meet each month to target the
problems and to find ways to make grade- and institutional-level transitions
more seamless so students are better prepared as they progress in their
education.
“I’m very grateful to the RP Group (Research and Planning Group for California
Community Colleges) for its recognition of the work we are doing in partnership
with thousands of educators and support staff throughout the state,” said Brad
Phillips, Cal-PASS executive director and former senior director of
institutional research for the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District.
Early-warning system
The Cal-PASS study receiving the latest research award was funded by the William
and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Used in conjunction with high-school grades, the
study states, the California Standards Test is a useful predictor of students’
likeliness to succeed in college-level math and English. As schools search for
answers on how to better prepare students for college, the Cal-PASS study
suggests the CST can be a tool to help reduce the need for remedial education in
community colleges.
For students, the CST could serve as an early-warning system of sorts, letting
them know if they should seek extra help in basic math and English while still
in high school to avoid having to retake those classes when they enter community
college. A multiple-choice test given to all students attending public schools
in the second through 11th grades, the CST measures progress toward
meeting state standards in a variety of subjects.
“It is a disservice to educators and our community if students are taking or
retaking classes unnecessarily,” said Grossmont-Cuyamaca district Governing
Board President Bill Garrett, who noted that using the CST in combination with
a student’s grades from high school in determining readiness for college-level
courses would streamline the assessment process currently used by community
colleges.
“The Cal-PASS work on CST provides educators with a more effective process that
can help students move through education more rapidly. With the CST study,
Cal-PASS is offering a possible remedy to the multiple approaches currently used
in student assessment.”
Phillips added that if the CST is put into use as an assessment tool, it could
reduce the duplicative testing of all incoming students fresh out of high
school, saving time and resources.
Pamela Burdman, Hewlett Foundation Program Officer for Education, said the value
of the Cal-PASS study is that it offers a practical approach to gauging
students’ likeliness to succeed at college-level work.
“Our Foundation is particularly interested in finding ways to improve
preparation levels of students entering college, as well as to improve colleges'
ability to serve those students who require remedial courses,” she said. “This
study sheds light on a practical approach to measuring readiness that can help
further both goals."
Racking up the awards
The RP Group lauded Cal-PASS for its 2008 study, “An Early Alert System for
Remediation Needs of Entering Community College Students: Leveraging the
California Standards Test.” The RP Group is a professional association for
institutional researchers and planners at the state’s 110 community colleges.
The RP Group’s annual award is the latest recognition for Cal-PASS, which in
March was presented a Practices with Promise Award by the statewide Campaign for
College Opportunity, a nonprofit group promoting access to college.
Barbara McNeice-Stallard, president of the RP Group, said Cal-PASS is
well-regarded among community college researchers and that the award
acknowledges the initiative’s excellent work. At Mt. San Antonio College in Los
Angeles County, where she is director of research, faculty members in the
English and math departments have been working with Cal-PASS for about two
years.
“I think there is great discussion that can take place between the educational
segments on ways to improve student success,” McNeice-Stallard said. “Our
faculty here at Mt. Sac love the dialogue and really value the data that
Cal-PASS produces. One thing about faculty is that 95 percent of the time, when
they have a gut feeling about something related to the classroom, they’re spot
on. With Cal-PASS, they have the data to back up their hunches.”
Locally, Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges are part of the San Diego/Imperial
counties Cal-PASS consortium which includes nearly 40 school and college
districts, and five universities.
Cal-PASS has also received grants from the Walter S. Johnson, the Rosaline and
Arthur P. Gilbert, and the James Irvine foundations for research in targeted
regions and particular populations, such as foster youth. For more information
about Cal-PASS, go to
www.calpass.org.
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