Connecticut Academic Performance Test

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Connecticut Academic Performance Test
Spotlight on Assessment University of
Connecticut Neag School of Education March 28,
2008
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Connecticut Academic Performance Test

• The purposes of the CAPT are to
• establish high performance standards for all high
  school sophomores on a comprehensive range of
  important skills and knowledge
• emphasize the application and integration of
  skills and knowledge in realistic contexts
• promote better instruction and curriculum by
  providing information on students, school, and
  district strengths and weaknesses and
• provide an expanded measure of accountability for
  CTs educational system at the high school level.

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Connecticut Academic Performance Test

• Generation of the test time period when the
  skills and knowledge assessed by the test and the
  test design are consistent across years.
• First Generation 1995 2000
• Second Generation 2001 2006
• Third Generation 2007 - ?

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CAPT Third Generation

• Reading Across the Disciplines
• Response to Literature
• Reading for Information
• Writing Across the Disciplines
• Interdisciplinary Writing, Session 1 and 2
• Editing Revising
• Mathematics
• Science

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CAPT Third Generation

• Response to Literature
• Students read a published short story and respond
  to four open-ended questions.
• Four dimensions assessed forming an initial
  understanding, developing any interpretation,
  making connections, and taking a critical stance.
• Four questions scored holistically on a 1 to 6
  scale. Two readers score each response for a
  total of 2 12 points.
• Administration time 70 minutes.

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CAPT Third Generation

• Reading for Information
• Students read three non-fiction articles and
  respond to a total of 6 open-ended (2 points
  each) and 12 multiple-choice questions ( 1 point
  each).
• The test measures how well students interpret or
  explain each article and evaluate the way the
  authors wrote the articles.
• Administration time 45 minutes.

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CAPT Third Generation

• Interdisciplinary Writing, Session 1 and 2
• Students read two non-fiction articles on a
  contemporary issue and write a persuasive essay.
• The test measures how well students take a clear
  and persuasive position on the issue and use
  information from the articles to support their
  position.
• Each essay scored on a scale of 1 to 6. Two
  readers score each essay for a total of 2 12.
• Administration time 65 minutes for each session.

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CAPT Third Generation

• Editing Revising
• Students read three passages and answer a total
  of 18 multiple-choice questions.
• The test assesses a students ability to correct
  common errors in organization, word choice,
  syntax, capitalization, punctuation, usage, and
  spelling.
• Administration time 25 minutes.

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CAPT Third Generation

• Mathematics
• Test assesses a students ability to compute and
  estimate, solve problems, and communicate their
  understanding across four content standards
• Algebraic Reasoning
• Numerical and Proportional Reasoning
• Geometry and Measurement
• Working with Data Probability and Statistics
• Test includes 8 open-ended and 24 grid-in items.
• Administration time150 minutes.

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CAPT Third Generation
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CAPT Third Generation

• Science
• Test assesses students understanding of
  important scientific concepts and their
  application to realistic problems.
• Five Content Strands
• Energy Transformations
• Chemical Structures and Properties
• Global Interdependence
• Cell Chemistry and Biotechnology
• Genetics, Evolution and Biodiversity
• Test includes 5 open-ended and 60 multiple-choice
  items.
• Administration Time 100 minutes

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CAPT Third Generation
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CAPT Third Generation
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CAPT Third Generation

• Who must take the test?
• All grade 10 students must take the CAPT.
• Students who are English language learners in
  their first year in a U.S. school may be exempted
  from Reading and Writing (must take the
  Mathematics and Science tests).
• Accommodations are available for special
  education and 504 students.

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CAPT Third Generation

• Who scores the test?
• The CAPT testing contractor scores the test using
  trained readers various sites throughout the
  country.
• All scoring criteria and training materials are
  developed by Connecticut advisory
  committees/state department staff.

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CAPT Third Generation

• Are any alternate assessments available?
• Students with significant cognitive impairment
  are assessed through the CAPT Skills Checklist.
• Coming Soon a modified assessment for certain
  low-ability special education students.

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CAPT Third Generation

• What reports are issued from the test?
• Each student receives an individual student
  report, labels, and Certificate of Mastery (if
  they reach the Goal level or Above).
• Various school and district reports are also
  generated.

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CAPT Third Generation
www.captreports.com
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CAPT Third Generation

• What additional CAPT resources are available?
• Go to www.ct.gov/sde
• Teacher Handbooks
• Released Items
• Program Overview
• Interpretive Guide

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CAPT Study Predictor of Success in College

• First Steps An Evaluation of the Success of CT
  Students Beyond High School (Coelen and Berger,
  2006)
• Major Findings
• CAPT scores were more consistent than SATs in
  predicting academic success in college.
• The higher the CAPT score, the more likely the
  student would
• go to college
• avoid remediation
• get a higher grade point average
• graduate from college

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Raised Bill No. 411 (February, 2008)

• The Board of Governors of Higher Education shall
  establish a program to provide scholarships for
  attendance at public institutions of higher
  education for students who perform on the tenth
  grade state-wide mastery examination pursuant to
  section 10-14n of the 2008 supplement to the
  general statues and in high school. Under the
  program, each student who (1) scores in the top
  twenty-five percent of students in such students
  school district on all of the components of such
  mastery examination, as determined by the
  Commissioner of Education, and (2) had at least a
  B average in high school shall receive a
  scholarship in the amount that equals the sum of
  the tuition and fees charged by the public
  institution of higher education at which the
  student is accepted and enrolls. (to be
  effective July 1, 2008)

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CAPT and No Child Left Behind

• CAPT is used as the high school assessment for
  Adequate Yearly Progress under NCLB.
• NCLB Goal all students proficient in Math and
  Reading by 2014.
• Each district and school is expected to make
  adequate yearly progress toward meeting state
  standards. Progress is measured for all students
  by sorting test results for students who are
  economically disadvantaged, from racial or ethnic
  minority groups, have disabilities, or have
  limited English proficiency.
• If the district or school continually fails to
  make adequate progress toward the standards, then
  they will be held accountable.

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CAPT and No Child Left Behind

• AYP Status for 2007
• Of 805 elementary and middle schools, 265 did
  not make AYP an improvement over last years
  290.
• Of Connecticuts 182 public high schools, 50
  did not make AYP 10 more than last year.
• Of the states 171 school districts, 32 did not
  make AYP the same as in 2006.
• See 2007 No Child Left Behind press release for
  further information.