| Oregon: Proficiency-Based Admissions Standards System |
PASS is designed to accomplish three important goals: (1) to prepare more students to do college-level work successfully, (2) to enable students to make better choices concerning their academic program and subsequent careers, and (3) to decrease the time it takes them to graduate from college. |
As mentioned previously, Oregon is different from California and Wisconsin because of its recent efforts to create a seamless and aligned K-16 system of education. Following from the legislatively mandated benchmarks and standards in K-12 schools, higher education institutions are adopting a set of proficiency- based admission standards. In 1991 and 1995, two performance-based certificates, the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) and the Certificate of Advanced Mastery (CAM), were authorized as the principal vehicles for improving student performance and redefining the K-12 curriculum. These certificates are to be awarded based on students' performance of skills, not grades and credits. Both the CIM and CAM focus on student achievement of high academic standards. Additionally, the CAM focuses on application in a career context and transition to post-high school settings.
While much discussion took place in the early 1990s regarding standards and the two certificates of mastery, nothing specifically addressed how the standards would influence or affect the students' admission to institutions of higher education. To this end, the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) and the State Board of Education (SBE), which governs K-12 schools and community colleges, began discussions about creating a "seamless" transition between systems for students. These discussions led to the creation of the Proficiency-Based Admission Standards System (PASS).
By the year 2002, schools throughout the state will be required to offer both the CIM and the CAM. As described in Oregon Standards , a newspaper mailed to every Oregon school and school district which contains the academic content and performance standards expected of students plus other information about state tests work samples, and the CIM and CAM, the CIM is "an award given to students who have met 10th-grade standards on state tests and classroom assignments in English, mathematics, science, social sciences (history, civics, geography, and economics), the arts, and a second language" (Oregon Department of Education, 1998, p. 2). The CAM is "an award given to students who have met 12th grade standards on state tests and classroom assignments in English, mathematics, science, social sciences (history, civics, geography, and economics), the arts, and a second language" (Oregon Department of Education, 1998, p. 2).
The CAM is of particular interest, since it explicitly acknowledges the value of work, community-based learning, and career goals. Students will need to meet career-related learning standards in personal management, problem solving, teamwork, communication, organizations and systems, career development, and employment foundations. Students are also required to participate and learn within an endorsement area of study. Six broad endorsement areas have been identified: (1) Arts and Communications, (2) Business and Management, (3) Health Services, (4) Human Resources, (5) Industrial and Engineering Systems, and (6) Natural Resource Systems. Finally, students are required to participate in career-related learning experiences outside the classroom (Office of Professional Technical Education, 1998, p. 9). These experiences are integrated and connected to the classroom to help students achieve both the academic and the career-related learning standards found in the CAM.
PASS is a clearly specified description of knowledge and skills required for university admission; it is organized into increasing levels of detail in each area of proficiency. Six content areas encompass disciplinary knowledge in (1) mathematics, (2) science, (3) social sciences, (4) foreign languages, (5) humanities and literature, and (6) fine and performing arts. In addition, as students learn the material in the six content areas, they must also apply intellectual and cognitive skills from the following nine processes: (1) reading, (2) writing, (3) communication competence (speaking, listening), (4) problem solving, (5) analytical thinking, (6) integrative thinking, (7) technology as a learning tool, (8) teamwork, and (9) quality work (Conley, 1997, p. 2). Essentially, PASS is designed to accomplish three important goals: (1) to prepare more students to do college-level work successfully, (2) to enable students to make better choices concerning their academic program and subsequent careers, and (3) to decrease the time it takes them to graduate from college.
The leaders of the PASS initiative see its success directly linked to the full implementation of the CIM and CAM assessments and the alignment of all three. Conversely, the prospects for successfully implementing the K-12 education reform movement are substantially enhanced by universities' willingness to adopt new and compatible assessment processes for making admissions and placement decisions. As a transitional strategy, colleges will continue to accept transcripts and conventional college entrance exams until PASS is widely accepted.