Alignment between the California Common Core Content Standards for Higher Mathematics (9-12) and the California State University Entry Level Mathematics placement test

Six subject matter experts rated the alignment between the California Common Core Content Standards for Higher Mathematics (9-12) and the California State University (CSU) Entry Level Mathematics (ELM) placement test using the Webb alignment analysis method and Marzano scale of cognitive demand, and found partial alignment in content, cognitive complexity, and breadth of knowledge. Content was aligned in Number and Quantity, Algebra, and Interpreting Functions. The ELM included too few items to align in Geometry or Statistics and Probability. Cognitive complexity was aligned at the lowest levels of cognitive demand. Eighty-four percent of the test items assessed the two lowest cognitive levels, requiring rote memorization/recall and comprehension. Fifteen percent of the items assessed higher order thinking skills requiring analysis. Zero items assessed the highest level of cognitive demand requiring knowledge utilization. Rather than assessing three years of rigorous high school math, including Algebra I, Algebra II, and Geometry as the ELM intended, reviewers found the majority of placement test items measured middle school math skills (Algebra I). The range of topics covered in the ELM was narrower than the range of topics addressed in the standards. The standards were distributed equitably in the assessment items. A review of a 2010 ELM validity study showed that entering CSU students who scored below the ELM placement test cut-score, but enrolled in entry-level baccalaureate math courses without remediation were just as successful as students in the baccalaureate courses who scored above the cut score. The ELM failed to predict students who would succeed in the college-level math courses based on CSU success criteria, but was an effective predictor of highest performance (A and B grades).