EPIC Educational Policy Improvement Center

Texas College Readiness Assignment Field Test Nearing Completion

Over the past fourteen months, EPIC has facilitated the development of 80 College Readiness Assignments in partnership with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). College Readiness Assignments are rich performance-based tasks aligned to the Texas College and Career Readiness Standards (TCCRS). They serve a dual role by both embedding the standards in high school curricula, and assessing the cross-disciplinary standards in a manner transparent to students. The THECB plans to disseminate the final assignments statewide.

College Readiness Assignments were field tested in over 40 classrooms across the Texas during the spring 2010 semester. Field-testers provided initial feedback which EPIC staff is currently using to revise the assignments and develop scoring guides. Further field testing will be conducted during the 2010-2011 school year.

Development of College Readiness Assignment is the third phase of the Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative, a multi-year project funded by the THECB. Work began in 2007 with EPIC’s facilitation of the TCCRS development process and continued with a validating study, which determined the standards to be highly aligned to current entry-level college courses. EPIC also conducted 14 regional workshops in 24 days, promoting secondary and post-secondary alignment across the state.