College and Work Readiness Assessment (CWRA)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is the CWRA?

A: The CWRA is the College and Work Readiness Assessment, a different type of test administered online to high school students and college freshmen. The CWRA measures critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication, essential skills for success in college and work in the 21st century.

The CWRA is not a multiple-choice test. It is a performance task with a real-life problem and related documents that students must analyze before writing responses to open-ended questions. To answer the questions on the CWRA, students will need to examine the strengths and weaknesses of different points of view or courses of action. In addition, they may need to weigh different types of evidence, evaluate the credibility of the evidence, and identify questionable assumptions.

Q: What is the SLE?
A: The SLE is the Scholastic Level Exam™, a 12-minute multiple-choice test of academic ability that all students must take in order for them to obtain CWRA scores.  Sample SLE questions are available at http://www.platt.edu/downloads/pcsd_sle.pdf .

Q: Who is required to take the CWRA?

A: All Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) students enrolled in the courses listed below, must take the CWRA. Students with allowable accommodations will also take the CWRA.

Q: How will students enrolled in Online English 11 be expected to participate in the CWRA?

A: Each student enrolled in Online English 11 will participate in the CWRA at his or her home school. Each school's School Improvement Specialist (SIS) will make arrangements with students regarding a time and place to test.

Q: When will the CWRA be administered? Will make-up tests be offered?

A: The CWRA will be administered during the second half of January. Make-up tests will be given to all students who miss their scheduled examination time in January. It may be necessary to schedule make-ups for students who have extended time or other accommodations because of the possibility of the CWRA extending past the dismissal time.

Q: What types of "real-life" problems are on the CWRA?

A: Some of the problems, or scenarios, that have been on the CWRA include the following:

• In "Crime Reduction," the student assumes the role of consultant to a mayor running for reelection against a city councilman whose ideas for fighting crime are drastically different from those of the mayor.
• In "Sweetgrass," the student is a journalist writing an article about a new high-fructose sugar made from sweetgrass. The documents include a weekly news magazine article about obesity, a journal article on sweetness and obesity, a food industry review on sugar metabolism, and medical journal article abstracts.
• In "Museum," the student is a museum curator assigned with designating various works of art (paintings, photos, poems) to different walls that represent the positive, negative, and ambiguous effects of technology.
• In "Airplane," the student is an executive assistant at a company that makes precision electronic instruments. The company's sales department is about to buy a small private plane (SwiftAir 235) when suddenly an accident involving another SwiftAir 235 occurs. The student must make a recommendation whether to buy the plane based on information about the accident and the performance characteristics of the SwiftAir 235, as well as other information including an FAA report on single-engine airplanes.

Q: Which CWRA scenario will my class get to take?

Because CWRA scenarios are assigned at random, students in the same class can expect to see different CWRA scenarios.

Q: How will my results of the CWRA be used?

A: The CWRA will not count as an English grade. Students who actively participate in the CWRA and the SLE will receive results that will compare them with other students who took the CWRA at their high school as well as all VBCPS juniors who took the CWRA. Scores will be sent home to students at the beginning of the following school year.

The results of the CWRA will also be used to improve instruction and learning in critical thinking, analytic reasoning, problem solving, and written communication at your high school and across VBCPS.

Q: Where can I get more information regarding the CWRA?

A: For information about the CWRA, go to http://www.cae.org. A demonstration CWRA performance task is available at http://clademoevent.starttest.com.

Q: What do students and teachers in Virginia Beach City Public Schools have to say about the CWRA?