HB 206-HIGH SCHOOL ASSESSM'T/POSTSECONDARY CLASS    9:53:36 AM CHAIR SEATON announced that the final order of business would be HOUSE BILL NO. 206 "An Act establishing a career assessment requirement in public schools; and relating to postsecondary courses for secondary school students." 9:53:50 AM CHAIR SEATON reminded the committee that the questions for Department of Education and Early Development were regarding aligning WorkKeys with state standards and a national evaluation that might align with college entrance scores. 9:54:33 AM LES MORSE, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Commissioner, Department of Education and Early Development (EED), stated that he previously served for five years as the Director of Assessment and Accountability in the department. He offered to discuss previous questions the committee had on WorkKeys and state standards. He began by addressing the question on WorkKeys relative to the alignment to the state standards. The department previously reviewed the competencies that are tested on WorkKeys and have compared them to the competencies tested in the state's testing program. He stated that most of the competencies assessed on WorkKeys match and offered to provide a chart to lend clarity. Most of the standards match and many are slightly lower on the WorkKeys than the requirement on the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam (HSGQE), but about 4 of 24 language arts standards are slightly higher than those required on the testing program at the HSGQE level. In terms of the math standards, the 17 math standards tested in WorkKeys do not appear to be more difficult than those in the HSGQE, he stated. 9:56:46 AM CHAIR SEATON offered his belief that WorkKeys has various levels, and asked whether the highest level of attainment on WorkKeys is equivalent or slightly below the minimum competency on the graduation requirements. MR. MORRIS clarified that excludes the Platinum level, which is a newer level not available for comparison at the time the study was done. There are four levels on the WorkKeys: Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Since the Platinum level is so new information was not available for comparison, but he anticipated that Platinum level would be above the others. The concepts will be similar concepts but may be more challenging in the higher level. However, none of the concepts would be different than curriculum taught, although the rigor might be different. 9:58:06 AM REPRESENTATIVE P. WILSON asked whether a student who is working towards the Platinum level would know the standards of the Platinum level. MR. MORSE remarked he could only speculate, but he imagined the Platinum level would be the higher level of mathematics required in the higher level work and career areas. 9:59:04 AM MR. MORSE related that the same analysis is not available regarding the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Test (ACT). The SAT does indicate first year college success primarily via the written essay activity, followed by the high school GPA, the SAT math, critical reading, and advanced placement (AP) exam performance. The SAT study consisted of 150,000 students, which provided research data to support their findings. The study also looked at gender bias or ethnicity and determined the test to be fair for predictive uses. In response to Representative P. Wilson, Mr. Morse noted the fourth indicator was AP exam performance, which is a product of the same company. 10:01:04 AM MR. MORSE pointed out that the ACT publications speak to the importance of rigor of courses beyond the core as being highly predictive of first year college performance. Finally, neither of the test publishers suggests using a score of a test alone as a predictor. Thus, the department is looking at a combination of factors, including a test score, grades, and rigor of the courses. The score alone would be a misuse of the score, per the publishers, since courses taken and GPA would also be relevant. On the topic of cut scores, Mr. Morse said that not enough work has been done at this time on cut scores on the exams to share, but the department would certainly review data from Alaskan students. Students currently take the SAT/ACT throughout the state and enough have taken the WorkKeys exam so performance levels can be considered. The state does not receive individual student assessment results in terms of the SAT/ACT but can work with the publisher to establish the appropriate level for a cut score and make necessary decisions. He cautioned that the decisions would not be isolated decisions, but would be made in combination with course work taken and the GPA. 10:02:52 AM CHAIR SEATON asked whether comparisons by other states are available that can indicate WorkKeys versus the SAT/ACT scores. MR. MORSE responded he will work with the publisher as he is certain the information will be available. He offered to provide it to the committee. CHAIR SEATON pointed out that this information will be helpful for the integration of WorkKeys into the high school curriculum since every 11th grader will be taking this test. 10:04:20 AM REPRESENTATIVE GARDNER said that in general terms it would be assumed that students who are performing at an A level would do well on the SAT/ACT. She asked whether the department can provide data indicating a correlation between classroom grades and GPAs on standardized test scores. MR. MORSE said he didn't know that information, but offered to provide it to the committee if it is available. CHAIR SEATON pointed out that a request has been made to analyze the UA Scholar Program, which represents the top 10 percent of students, and determine how these factors correlate to the success of first year students and graduation from postsecondary school. [HB 206 was held over.]