Ensure Students Have the Essential Skills for
Academic and Career Success
Identify students’ strengths and areas for improvement in the foundational skills that are essential
to their success in secondary school and beyond — critical thinking, problem solving, and written
communication.
College and Career Readiness Assessment (CCRA+) for Grades 6–12
Traditional multiple choice assessments miss the mark on providing data about the foundational skills that are essential to students’ academic and career success — critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication. The performance-based CCRA+ provides actionable insights into students’ areas of strength and opportunities for growth so that instruction, programs, and supports can be implemented to help students develop these essential skills.
STUDENTS & FAMILIES
Students and their families will learn which skills are needed to do well in school today and to take on whatever life holds after graduation.
Their personalized assessment results report will outline:
The characteristics of strong critical thinking, problem solving, and written communication so they can work with their teachers to develop a plan to build those specific skills
How they’re developing in all three essential skill areas as well as six subsets of those skills
How their skills compare to their school’s average as well peers across the country so they can set goals for growth
TEACHERS & SCHOOL COUNSELORS
CCRA+ provides teachers and counselors with critical insights to help improve their students’ essential skills as well as their ability to do well with secondary school course content.
Teachers and counselors can use the data provided in student and institution data reports to:
Better understand factors that may be contributing to academic difficulties
Incorporate class-wide guidance and instruction focused on building critical thinking, problem- solving, and written communication skills
Provide targeted intervention and supports to students who have greater opportunities for growth
DISTRICT & SCHOOL LEADERS
District and school leaders receive school-wide reports that identify student growth across grade levels and show how students compare to national averages.
These data are useful to:
Identify gaps in curricula and programming
Inform professional learning for teachers to support specific skill
building schoolwide or at specific grade levels
Support tracking of district-wide goals for college and career readiness
Ensure students are developing the skills established by state or district graduate profiles
CAE Also Supports Student Growth With:
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Critical thinking instructional
materials and practice
performance assessments
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Professional development on
how to use performance tasks in
the classroom and how to
integrate essential skills into
course content