Proficiency-based instruction focuses on what students know and can do. Proficiency-based teaching and learning is a teacher-led initiative in Oregon that began in the early 1990s with efforts to establish a proficiency-based admissions requirement system for Oregon's state colleges and universities. Meanwhile, many public alternative schools…

This paper is part of a series investigating the implementation of competency education. The purpose of the paper is to explore how districts and schools can redesign grading systems to best help students to excel in academics and to gain the skills that are needed to be successful in college, the community, and the workplace. In order to make the…

This individual profile provides information on Oregon's high school exit exam standards and policies. Some of the categories presented include: (1) State exit exam policy; (2) Type of Test; (3) Purpose; (4) Major changes in exit exam policy since the 2009-10 school year for financial reasons; (5) Subjects tested on exam; (6) Grade exam first…

This paper provides information about Oregon State Assessment System. Its purpose is to assess proficiency in the Essential Skills for the purpose of earning a regular or modified high school diploma. Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills is also used for federal accountability purposes under No Child Left Behind. [For the main report,…

An increasing number of state leaders have begun to grapple with one of the significant challenges of K-12 reform: how to substantially increase the percentage of young people graduating from high school while also continuing to bring academic standards into alignment with the skills and knowledge required for success in higher education and…

By adding courses in math, science, English, foreign languages, and geography to their admission standards, colleges and universities in many states are fostering further fragmentation of high school curricula and forcing some schools to add class periods or short-change vocational, music, and art students. Michigan, Oregon, Colorado, and New York…

This paper examines the relationship between the grades teachers give their students and the scores external raters give the same students' work when using a common set of standards and criteria. Data were collected from 78 high school teachers participating in the Proficiency-Based Admission Standards System (PASS) project to establish standards…

This paper presents the current PASS (Proficiency-based Admission Standards System) Proficiency Standards in English and answers the question of what students should be able to do upon admission to the Oregon University System. The PASS standards in the paper are aligned with and complement the standards, scoring guides, and test specifications…

The Standards-based Education Project (STEP) was conducted as part of the Eisenhower Initial Teacher Professional Development Program in Oregon, under the Proficiency-based Admissions Standards System (PASS). STEP focused on the development of a framework of teacher knowledge, skills, and materials for pre-service and practicing teachers. High…

The achiever is published monthly during the school year for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. The following articles are contained in this issue: (1) Spellings Focuses on English Language Learners; (2) Around the Country--Maryland and Oregon; (3) Calendar; (4)…

The Oregon Business Council (OBC)-David Douglas Model District Project was undertaken for two reasons: (1) to create a model for a district's accelerated implementation of all the elements of school reform as mandated in Oregon House Bill 3565; and (2) to learn lessons about school reform that would inform OBC member companies and school districts…

The experiences of 10 states described in this paper illustrate how higher education can be a constructive force for change in the schools, and how the changes taking place in school-based curriculum and assessment provide valuable lessons for collegiate reform. The 10 states profiled are California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, New…

This document provides a framework for academic and career/technical teachers who want to raise students' achievement through real-life projects reflecting the rigorous academic and technical standards needed for further learning in the workplace and postsecondary education. The document begins with definitions of the six A's of project-based…