LADDER: Linking Assessment Data Directly to Entry Standards (LADDER PK-16)
About LADDER Proficiency Benefits PK-16 Development Project Goals Project References Documents

The Benefits of Proficiency

High school assessment data on student proficiency might be used to make admission as well as subsequent class placement decisions.

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This is particularly true in Oregon where the seven OUS institutions employ a variety of class placement measures that do not necessarily connect with and build upon prior successful learning experiences in high school. LADDER will identify placement strategies that have the potential of:

  1. Increasing access and insuring success in general education coursework.
  2. Eliminating the repetition of high school learning in entry level classes.
  3. Reducing the need for remedial coursework.

Specifically, LADDER will examine how Oregon's Proficiency-based Admission Standards System (PASS) and the use of high school assessment data impacts student access, success in general education coursework and retention beyond freshman year. The general viability of identified strategies will contribute nationally to the work of all those in the K-12 and higher education community and will inform the growing national debate about the lack of information provided about student learning from the traditional measures of high school achievement (Carnegie units met, grade point average, class rank, SAT scores).