The Career Preparation Assessment (Tailored Versions): Results and Analyses from the 1998-1999 Cohort.

A study was conducted to determine how the Career Preparation Assessment portfolio (CPA), tailored to be used in local school reform efforts, was implemented in 10 schools in 1998-99. The research was organized and reported using these four clusters of research questions: tailoring the CPA, implementation, student performance and assessment, and whole-school change. The study found that: (1) the tailoring process enabled schools to customize the CPA to their own needs and increase ownership; (2) the tailored CPA can be implemented successfully in schools possessing certain structural characteristics generally associated with schools that are engaged in a whole-school reform; (3) reliable scoring of the CPA requires a commitment to conducting scoring with substantial training; (4) student performance on the tailored CPA was acceptable to implementing teachers; and (5) a strong majority of project teachers believe the tailored CPA is a valuable teaching tool that promotes changes in classroom practice and can support school-wide reform. (Appendices include both original and tailored CPA standards and rubrics, and student, teacher and scorer survey instruments.) (KC)