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123rf.com
Higher Ed Dive
Community colleges dropped test scores for class placements amid pandemic: report
Natalie Schwartz
Jan. 20, 2021
Dive Brief:
The pandemic forced several community college systems to move away from
solely using standardized tests to determine whether students need
developmental education, explains a new report from the Center for the
Analysis of Postsecondary Readiness.
CAPR researchers looked at community colleges in four states that used
multiple measures systems — which include two or more indicators such
as GPA, soft skills assessments and test scores — to place students
into the appropriate math and English classes.
Community college systems and state higher education boards can help
schools adopt new placement practices, the researchers suggested.
Dive Insight:
Many community colleges have been using a variety of other measures as
a growing body of research reveals that standardized testing alone
frequently misplaces students in developmental courses. That creates
serious consequences for learners, who may experience graduation delays
or burn up their financial aid.
As standardized testing became impracticable during the pandemic,
community colleges in several states seized the opportunity to find or
expand their use of different ways to place students. In some cases,
higher education systems helped colleges quickly adopt new practices,
the researchers wrote.
The Virginia Community College System, for instance, waived a policy
last spring requiring class placements to be based on at least one
standardized test. In place of that policy, the system guided schools
on using students’ high school GPA and information about courses they’d
previously taken. It also provided questionnaires so nontraditional
students could place themselves.
Meanwhile, Ivy Tech Community College, in Indiana, scaled a knowledge
assessment tool called EdReady across its 45 campuses. Students can
complete the assessment to determine their class placements, or they
can receive personalized learning assignments through the EdReady
platform to gain access to a higher-level course.
Testing these new approaches is also important, the researchers wrote.
In Texas, a policy requiring all college students to take
state-approved assessments for course placements was waived through the
2021-22 academic year for those who couldn’t take them. During this
period, the state’s higher education board is tracking colleges’
alternative placement methods and examining how they impact student
outcomes.
Some states moved away from using only standardized testing long before
the pandemic. As of 2018, two in five states used multiple measure
systems, according to the Education Commission of the States.
This method may prove better for students. In a 2020 study from CAPR, a
system that used measures including high school GPA and test scores
placed 80% of students in college-level English. Standardized testing
alone placed only 46% into a credit-bearing class. Students slotted
into the higher-level courses were also more likely to complete
college-level English within three semesters than those who weren’t.
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