Maryland College and Career Readiness Empirical Study

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Ensuring that secondary students are adequately prepared for college and career pathways after high school remains a critical priority for schools, education systems, and policymakers. In response to policy mandates for more explicit College and Career Readiness (CCR) requirements in K–12 academic standards, states have responded with varied approaches to measure, monitor, report, and validate their students’ CCR.

The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future, passed by the 2021 Maryland General Assembly, requires that a CCR standard be set for Maryland public school students that “certifies that by the end of 10th grade, and not later than the end of 12th grade, a student has the requisite literacy in English and math to be successful in first-year, credit-bearing coursework at a Maryland community college or open enrollment postsecondary institution”.

AIR's Analysis of Maryland’s CCR Standard

For this project, the Maryland State Department of Education contracted with AIR to conduct the empirical study required by the Blueprint. The empirical study includes two components:

• A predictive validity analysis to determine whether the interim CCR standard predicts whether a student is ready to progress toward postsecondary success.
• A content and standards alignment analysis to determine the levels and types of literacy in English language arts and math needed for postsecondary success.

The study’s final report includes findings from both components:

• Final Report: Maryland College and Career Readiness Empirical Study (PDF, September 2023)
• Final Report Appendices: Maryland College and Career Readiness Empirical Study (PDF, September 2023)
• Supplemental results from the predictive validity analysis: searchable database for high school CCR rates, postsecondary progress rates, and predictive validity metrics

Preliminary findings are available in two interim reports that were presented to the Maryland State Board of Education:

• Maryland College and Career Readiness Empirical Study: Interim Report on the Predictive Validity Analysis (PDF, April 2023)
• Maryland College and Career Readiness Empirical Study: Interim Report on the Content and Standards Alignment Analysis (PDF, June 2023)