Amanda Caple Melton, NROC Staff
January 22, 2021
In a recently published research brief, the Center for the Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness (CAPR) detailed Ivy Tech Community College's rapid scaling of EdReady to support the state's multiple measures assessment. The singly accredited community college in the state of Indiana (45 campuses and sites) is effectively utilizing NROC's adaptive, personalized learning tool in lieu of a high-stakes placement exam.
From Implementing and Scaling Multiple Measures Assessment in the Context of COVID-19:
Evidence suggests that the use of multiple measures assessment can be one of the most promising avenues for improving student success. Indeed, a range of multiple measures assessment models has been shown to increase the rate of placement, enrollment, and completion in college-level courses as compared to single test-based systems. Importantly, regardless of the specific model or measures used, the most effective and equitable multiple measures assessment systems are those that move more students—particularly students of color and low-income students, who are disproportionally referred to developmental education programs—into college-level courses and supports.
We've long maintained that high-stakes standardized testing deepens institutional inequities, hampers recruitment efforts, and fails to provide instructors with the information they need to effectively support students' success in credit-bearing courses. That's why institutions are advocating for low-stakes systems that demonstrate student learning across a period of time or in various ways.
As a nonprofit technology organization that collaborates with educators to solve thorny problems, we created EdReady to give students the opportunity to check what they know today and, through in-platform practice and review, master and revisit core skills at a cadence that suits them. What's more, administrators and instructors gain real-time access to robust student performance data, and the tool can be readily scaled to support in-person, online, and hybrid learning.
"The pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives, and students were especially impacted. Many students will have covered less material, in less effective ways, than expected. Furthermore, traditional high-stakes tests have been cancelled or deferred, leaving institutions with a paucity of data available to understand the level of preparedness of incoming students. Rather than panic, this situation provides a golden opportunity for educational institutions and systems to follow Ivy Tech's lead and implement a vastly improved model for evaluating, supporting, and placing students into appropriate college and career programs," said NROC President Ahrash Bissell.
Read the research brief, check out Inside Higher Ed's take, and watch members of the Ivy Tech team explain why they redesigned college placement.
