Benchmark 5: Academic Rigor and Readiness

Purpose of Academic Rigor and Readiness

The Early College High School shall administer a Texas Success Initiative (TSI) college placement exam (as defined by TAC §4.53) to all accepted ECHS students to assess college readiness, design individual instructional support plans, and enable students to begin college courses based on their performance on the exam.

Design Elements

All ECHSs must implement and meet the following requirements:

1. The ECHS shall provide a TSI assessment to accepted students as early as incoming 9th graders (however, not as a prerequisite for admissions to the ECHS).
   1. The ECHS shall implement a plan for TSI success, including academic preparation classes for accepted students, academic interventions for students who do not pass TSI, and assessments fee waivers for all administrations of the TSI test.
   2. The ECHS shall publish on their website the dates, time, and location that the TSI will be administered.
   3. The ECHS shall review TSI testing data, particularly the number/percentage of students who have currently passed each section of the TSI assessment, to ensure the ECHS is on track to meeting outcomes-based measures (see below).
2. The ECHS is a TSI assessment site, or is in the process of becoming a TSI assessment site, allowing frequent testing and access to raw data that can be used to identify student weaknesses, and create tailored interventions and individualized instructional plans to improve student readiness and success.
   1. The ECHS shall provide opportunities throughout the year to take the TSI assessment.
   2. The ECHS shall leverage diagnostic data to prescribe accelerated instruction to support students.
   3. Interventions (e.g., tutorials, workshops, testing strategies) and accelerated instruction shall be provided before retesting students.
3. The ECHS provides a bridge program (an intensive academic preparation program that provides opportunities to strengthen academic skills necessary for high school and college readiness) to prepare students for TSI and provide academic interventions for those who do not pass TSI.

Activities

• All products shall be published on the ECHS’s website and made available to the Texas Education Agency (TEA) upon request.
• All products shall be maintained in accordance with the local records retention policy.

Products

• Calendar of TSI scheduled test administration dates, sign-up process, and intervention expectations
• Aggregate reports of TSI exam performance
• Tutoring and bridge program schedules
• Bridge program curriculum