April 30, 2004
Dear County Superintendents, High School and Unified District Superintendents, District School Boards, and High School Principals:
EARLY ASSESSMENT PROGRAM
A JOINT EFFORT OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND
THE CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
The Early Assessment of Readiness for College English and Mathematics, now referred to as the Early Assessment Program (EAP), is the result of an extraordinary collaborative effort between the California State University (CSU), the California Department of Education (CDE), and the State Board of Education (SBE).
Initially announced in October 2003, the EAP augments the California Standards Tests (CSTs) administered in grade 11 for English-language arts, Algebra II, and Summative High School Mathematics. The EAP questions relate directly to the CSU's placement standards. The October announcement may be viewed on the CDE's Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/ps/documents/eapbulletin.pdf.
Every junior - and in particular every junior who has set a college admission goal - should be encouraged to participate in the EAP.
A junior may participate in the EAP for College English by completing 15 CSU-specified, multiple-choice English questions and an essay.
A junior taking either the Algebra II CST or the Summative High School Mathematics CST may participate in the EAP for College Mathematics by completing 15 CSU-specified, multiple-choice mathematics questions.
The CSU-specified, multiple-choice questions are being administered as an augmentation to the CSTs. The essay will be administered separately. Each junior will able to use the EAP results to tailor his or her senior year coursework so as to graduate from high school better prepared for postsecondary education or the workforce.
The EAP not only will strengthen comprehensive, high-school-based, college preparation programs, but also will allow each public high school and CSU to determine the college preparation status of individual students. We have collaborated with the CSU to develop resources and information to assist schools with effective implementation. This information and frequently asked questions regarding the EAP can be found on the CSU's Web site at http://www.calstate.edu/eap/index.shtml (Outside Source). I encourage you to consult this resource periodically. It will be continuously updated to assist you.
In my role as a member of the CSU Board of Trustees, I am well aware that too many of our high school students are graduating under-prepared for college-level work. The EAP provides an excellent opportunity to begin remedying this situation and is an important component of my own proposal to improve high schools. The outline of my proposal is available on the CDE's Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/se/yr04stateofed.asp. The first and most critical goal of my proposal is to raise expectations for all students and provide support for students to reach those expectations. There are related goals to create and support successful transitions from middle school to high school and to nurture and develop a community of support for high achievement. Student achievement on the statewide tests provides schools essential information for improvement of instructional programs.
We owe it to our children to maintain the successful reforms that are in place and to progressively raise our expectations for student achievement, particularly in our state's high priority schools. We must continue to focus on closing the achievement gap, and the EAP will be an important tool in that regard. I look forward to engaging Californians in general, and the education and business communities in particular, to improve our high schools. Please join me by supporting the EAP and encouraging your juniors to participate.
If you have any questions regarding the EAP, please contact Ron Fox, Administrator, Intersegmental Relations Unit, at (916) 323-6134 or via e-mail at rfox@cde.ca.gov or Joy Salvetti Wolfe, Education Programs Consultant, Intersegmental Relations Unit, at (916) 323-5635 or via e-mail at jsalvett@cde.ca.gov. For general questions regarding the CSTs, please contact the Standards and Assessment Division Testing and Reporting Office, at (916) 445-8765 or via e-mail at star@cde.ca.gov .
Sincerely,
JACK O'CONNELL
JO:jsw
1430 N Street
Sacramento, CA 95814