College Readiness

The East Texas STEM Center is working to improve College Readiness for the students of Texas.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has proposed a variety of initiatives aimed at improving College Readiness for Texas students.  In 2008 the state released College Readiness Standards.  The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is dedicated to helping Texas meet the goals of the state’s higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015.

The ETXSC, through a series of initiatives, is implementing a systemic effort to improve the College Readiness for Texas High School students.  The ETXSC is assessing the state standards of curriculum (TEKS) in high school math and science and their alignment with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s recently published College Readiness Standards to help educators prepare high school students for success in higher education.  In addition, we are partnering with Institutions of Higher Education, (University and Community College),  Local Education Agencies (Secondary Schools), and Businesses to identify gaps in the curriculum that may affect college readiness and design targeted interventions to ameliorate those deficits.  This collaboration is also working to expand the access to higher education through the establishment of a college-going mentality among students who have not historically had access.

ETXSC Initiative: Alignment of Instruction, Standards, Assessments
The East Texas STEM Center is using the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum (SEC) to determine the alignment of instruction with the state standards and/or assessments. This particular application assists schools in answering the following types of questions: To what degree are the content topics and expectations on the state standards being taught in the classroom? Is the content being taught with sufficient rigor or depth? Are the expectations for students, as reported by their teachers, consistent with the defined expectations on the state assessment? To what degree might the misalignment of instruction be related to lower student achievement?  Is the curriculum aligned to address the College Readiness Standards?

For more information about the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum:

http://seconline.wceruw.org/secWebHome.htm