Welcome to the Education Commission of the States' High School Database

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High School-Level Assessment

Why this issue matters

Communities benefit when:

• They know how well students can read and write (and how well they know their history, science, etc.).
• Students take assessments more seriously because the tests hold potential personal consequences or personal recognition.

Students benefit when:

• They learn, while still in high school, whether they are prepared for postsecondary education.
• States provide a means of ensuring students' unmet needs are identified early enough to be addressed.
• They have alternatives to standardized tests to demonstrate they have met learning objectives.
• High school assessments are aligned with college entrance expectations. Additionally, students who previously did not have college expectations benefit when they are encouraged to pursue postsecondary education based on the results of statewide mandatory college admission assessments.

Why our methodology matters

• Primary resources: ECS draws its information primarily from state statute, rules and regulations, recently enacted legislation, executive orders and other primary source documents.
• As needed, policies (and their interpretation) are confirmed with state-level staff.
• We believe that policy helps institutionalize practice.
• Our goal is to document where the underlying authority lies and where consensus has been strong enough to adopt a common approach.

Related ECS products

• Exit Exams database
  
• Special Populations in High School Assessments database
  
• Policy brief: Ensuring Rigor in the High School Curriculum: What States Are Doing
  
• Policy brief: Embedding College Readiness Indicators in High School Curriculum and Assessments
  
• Policy brief: Mathematics and Science Education in the States
  
• Recent state policies/activities database and issue site
  
• College Entrance Exams: recent state policies/activities database and issue site
  
• Assessment Reliability/Validity issue site
  
• Exit Exams: recent state policies/activities database and issue site

Staff contact:
Jennifer Dounay Zinth, senior policy analyst
303.299.3689
jdounay@ecs.org

A report containing most information available in the High School-Level Assessment database for a single state.

High School-Level Assessment (all data points for all states) High School-Level Assessments: Subjects tested High School-Level Assessments: Grade level(s) tested High School-Level Assessments: Include college-ready measures (i.e., ACT, SAT, EXPLORE, PLAN, PSAT, aligned with college placement tests, etc.) High School-Level Assessments: Include end-of-course exams High School-Level Assessments: End-of-course and/or exit exam used for NCLB accountability High School-Level Assessments: All students required to take diagnostic exams High School-Level Assessments: Allow for portfolios/performance-based assessment for students who do not have IEPs High School-Level Assessments: State requires ACT or SAT for all students High School-Level Assessments: Purpose(s) of high school-level exam

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Use the diagram below to view the components of state-level high school reform, and their relationship to one another.

Please contact Jennifer Dounay Zinth (jdounay@ecs.org or 303.299.3689) with any questions on the High School Policy Center, or on high school policy and research.