CCAS Visiting Committee Report for Postsecondary Institutions
Chapter III: Evaluation of the School’s Response to the WASCPostsecondary Criteria
This section provides most of the substance of the Visiting Committee Report and is the section to which each team member makes a contribution. The team report notes whether evidence has been offered to demonstrate that the institution is accomplishing its published objectives and that these objectives are appropriate to postsecondary education and consistent with the WASC Postsecondary Criteria.
WASC Postsecondary Criterion 4: Curriculum
The institution demonstrates a conscious effort to support student learning through the development of a challenging, coherent, and relevant curriculum that allows all students the opportunity to reach Schoolwide Learner Outcomes (SLOs). The school’s curriculum reveals its mission and SLOs and connects directly to current student learning needs. The school pursues current, research-based curriculum development information to keep its programs relevant and effective.
● Provide a brief analytical summary that describes to what extent the school meets or exceeds this criterion.
Indicator 4.1 The institution has a documented curricular map that outlines courses of study necessary to reach stated outcomes, licensure requirements, or certificate expectations.
Because of the variety of the students’ individual needs and of their previous education and training, there is no centralized curricular map for all. The requirements for a GED are made clear in ______. A variety of agencies supply the requirements for the various vocational areas, led by the National Center for Construction Education and Research [NCCER], a ‘not-for-profit education foundation created to develop standardized construction and maintenance curricula and assessments with portable, nationally-recognized credentials.’ The GED path seems the only one with a written pattern for students to follow.
While teachers provide students with a file that clearly outlines course objectives, curriculum appears to be determined by the availability of textbooks and teacher’s editions mandated by the Office of Correctional Education [OCE] in Sacramento. The mandated commercial materials define and drive the curriculum, but teachers also use supplemental resources specifically geared to adult learners. These added materials include such packages as the Phonographics reading intervention program, the New Practice Readers from Phoenix Learning Resources, Fisher’s English Reading and Spelling from Fisher-Hall (primarily for speakers of Spanish), the techniques of the Laubach Literacy program, the Steck-Vaugh and Challenger language builders from Houghton-Mifflin, and Number Power Math from the National Textbook Company.
The curriculum is developed not by the school but by OCE, and corresponding curricular resources are allocated by OCE based on institutional and student need as well as by the mission statements of OCE and CCAS. How the students’ need is determined is unclear. Ultimately, progress toward achievement of the first two of the SLOs is left to be measured by student achievement on standardized tests, including the Test of Adult Basic Education, the GED, vocational certifications, completions, and promotions. Where the other two SLOs work into the curriculum is uncertain and appears to depend on chance and the opportunities teachers find to work them in.
Indicator 4.2 The institution regularly reviews curriculum in order to ensure that the content taught in the classrooms is accurate and relevant.
Curriculum review occurs once every five years. The teaching staff works to supplement with additional materials a mandated curriculum lacks that appears to lack relevance to their audience. Teachers face the challenge of working with a population of adult males required to use state mandated materials designed for K-12 students. They find themselves encouraged to use these supplemental materials to backstop the curricular standards.
In the vocational work areas, the OCE uses a committee of vocational instructors and supervisors to implement the NCCER framework as the curriculum.
Teachers regularly seek current materials they find relevant for their classrooms. They work to enhance the educational program between lunchtime conversations, independent reading, and in-house training. The teachers consistently cite the generosity of their peers as a great asset to the program. In addition to mandatory staff and grade level meetings, peer directed in-service training sessions are held every ______for teachers to share approaches to methods and materials.
The stated mission is to “reduce recidivism by providing incarcerated students with the vocational, academic, and life skills needed to successfully re-enter society.” To that end, teachers enhance the curriculum with opportunities for inmate peer groups to make presentations and by facilitating discussions of relevant issues for incarcerated students in the classrooms. How systematically the program includes such strategies for attaining the last two of the SLOs into the curriculum is not apparent. Groups such as AFLASH and IPEP provide opportunities for meaningful dialog and wellness information beyond the scope of the classroom curriculum.
Indicator 4.3 Students have access to texts, learning materials, and information resources that are sufficient to meet the course learning objectives.
Students have good access to classroom curricular texts and supplemental learning materials. While recent budget constraints have delayed the order and purchasing of new resources, supervisors work efficiently to review and approve teacher created classroom materials, which are then copied in the education office, and made available to students. Teachers seem to be satisfied that non-copyrighted materials are made available to their students in a timely manner when requested. Each teacher has a limited capacity to make emergency copies when necessary.
Budget constraints have reduced the quality and availability of auxiliary educational services. While the libraries on both East and West Facilities are more than adequate in terms of resources and qualified staff, they are not set up to support the students or the classrooms. Reduced hours have led to limited access. Computer labs to support learning have not been supported but not consistently available to students because of staff reductions and licensing issues. The West Facility’s PLATO lab is operational; the East’s Skillsbank lab is out of service.
The television specialist provides educational programming to housing units, including some televised college courses, but media resources are not available to the extent they can or should be. The staff feels that more of the available video capability could be used to address learning needs and increase diversity of teaching modalities. An up to date video library of high interest material would also enhance language learning opportunities, particularly in the case of literacy and second language learners
What are the Institution’s Strengths and Key Issues for Criterion 4?
Strengths:
- The quality of teacher-created materials
- AFLASH and IPEP inmate-sponsored programs
- The identification and use of supplementary texts to provide curriculum access to a diverse student population
Key Issues:
- A more transparent system for establishing curriculum and a more regularized system for its periodic assessment
- Regular and sufficient student access to the general library
- A curriculum and materials clearly seen as developed for an adult audience rather than for younger children and adolescents
- Systematized and strong teacher involvement in curriculum selection and development
Criterion 4 Some questions
1. Are there written curricular paths or patterns for students to follow? (41)
2. When OCE “set up a committee of vocational instructors and supervisors” to deal with the NCCER framework, did they include any CCAS personnel? (41-42)
3. What is AFLASH? (42)
4. “Groups such as AFLASH and IPEP provide opportunities for meaningful dialog and wellness information beyond the scope of the classroom curriculum.” But these activities link directly to two of the four SLOs, right? So can we say they are outside the classroom but not outside the curriculum? (42)
WASC Postsecondary Criterion 6: Use of Assessment
The instructional staff uses established assessment procedures to design, administer, deliver, and evaluate courses, programs, and student learning levels. The institution recognizes the central role of its faculty for improving courses and programs through the assessment instruments and practices used in the school. Assessment is used to measure student progress, to modify learning approaches, and to carry out institutional planning and ongoing school improvement.
● Provide a brief analytical summary that describes to what extent the school meets or exceeds this criterion.
Indicator 6.1 Clear learning outcomes are developed for each course so that success can be measured and students who are struggling can be identified and helped.
OCE mandates learning outcomes for every classroom in order to provide consistency and continuity among all prison education programs. Those outcomes are defined by textbooks and syllabi, and by vocational requirements for certification. Core competencies and specific learning outcomes are mandated with 80% accuracy as the standard for demonstrating competency. ______encourages teachers to use supplemental materials.
The task of identifying struggling students became more difficult when the new curricular models of May 2010 reduced the number of class hours for students. In Adult Basic Education I contact was cut in half—from six hours a day, five days a week to 15 hours a week. ABEII declined to nine hours a week, and ABEIII to six. GED classes met for one three-hour class a week. Around that same time, custody staff reductions in the East facility resulted in rolling lockdowns, preventing students from attending school every other day. The combination of these two developments curtailed the department’s ability to do the best possible job of identifying and helping struggling students. The reduced schedule continued until May 2011.
Indicator 6.2 The institution gathers learning data from multiple sources, disaggregates and analyzes the results, draws conclusions, and makes recommendations for change based on assessment results.
CCAS compiles data from a number of sources. Standardized test results are those from TABE and CASAS tests, as well as Pre-GED and GED examinations. Other data sources include Milestone completions, vocational completions/certifications, and industry certifications. The data are all submitted to OCE. From the TABE information, OCE generates the SPARC report, which documents the educational gains made at all CDCR facilities. Students’ ability to meet the OCE criteria for TABE score improvements can reassures the staff that its services are, in fact, helping students with their educational pursuits.
Teachers also use TABE test results to counsel students on a [regular] ______basis about their progress toward achieving some of the SLOs. Little else, though, is currently being done to analyze the results, draw conclusions, and make recommendations on a larger scale within the educational program at CCAS.
Standardized Evaluation
As part of the reception process, all new inmates take the Reading portion of the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE). Based on their results on that test as well as their educational needs and institutional program requirements, they may be placed as students in Education by an initial classification committee (ICC) of representatives of both custody and education. But securing an education assignment can take years, and so because the scores on which their placements were based have become outdated, many students end up improperly assigned. The staff feels it would be ideal to give inmates the full battery TABE immediately prior to their assignment to ensure proper educational placement.
Once assigned to school programs, all inmates are given a full battery TABE evaluation. Students also take CASAS tests to assess survival literacy development and employability skill awareness. Teachers review TABE and CASAS results with individual students as they identify areas of strength and areas for improvement. This process also helps identify English language learners, who require more assessment.
Students enrolled in education who have attained a 9.0 TABE reading score are eligible for the GED testing process. Students take targeted pre- and post-tests to identify areas of strength and areas for growth and then develop a course of study with GED teachers. Once they have demonstrated aptitude in the five GED subject areas, they take the Pre-GED examination to further pinpoint competencies and needs for improvement. Upon successful completion of the Pre-GED, students are eligible to take the five-subject GED examination
Vocational certification tests are available once students have completed the curriculum. After book review assessments, students must pass manipulative-based practice exams, which include safety and technical competencies. Then they may attempt certification in the vocational program.
Classroom evaluations
Subtest reports are invaluable tools for the faculty Teachers daily use TABE, CASAS, and GED pre- and post-test results to modify approaches to teaching and learning. They evaluate each student’s progress informally daily through student-teacher interaction and graded assignments in the classroom. Results are used to provide feedback to students regarding effort and achievement.
Each student’s progress is also formally evaluated and documented by his teacher quarterly, as well as when he is unassigned. That evaluation uses the educational progress chrono (CDCR128-E) is a standardized form used by CDCR. It includes a behavior assessment section to report students’ initiative, dependability, cooperation, conduct, and adaptability, and it reports Certification units earned in the quarter. It also gives the teacher the opportunity to make comments specific to student need in terms of academic strengths and weaknesses, and it helps determine if a course is too advanced or if a student is academically misplaced. This document is sent to the student’s Central File, Education File, Teacher File, and to the inmate.
Indicator 6.3 Student learning data analysis is used to make institutional changes that enables students to reach educational goals and achieve academic success.
CCAS does a strong job of accumulating and recording learning data, and TABE test results are used extensively to plan, monitor, and progress toward SLOs on an individual basis. However, CCAS has not extended the use of those data to include substantial analysis or recommendations for change at the institutional level.
Indicator 6.4 Assessment results are reported regularly to all stakeholders so that accountability can be maintained and that student learning remains the focus of the school.
When a student is promoted or moves between academic and vocational classes, the custody staff and correctional counselors conduct a program review of the student’s assessment results.
Because the institution is secure and operates under the regulations governing correctional facilities, individual students, their teachers, and the site and state administration make up the only real audience for reports of assessment results. A larger group, though, shares in the annual graduation ceremony that marks the accomplishments of students who earn a GED or complete a vocational program. The ceremony takes place in the chapel, where the graduates wear caps and gowns. The Warden, Chief Deputy Warden, and associate wardens attend, and speakers and musical performances mark the occasion. The entire CMC community takes pride in these events.