Education Week - December 4, 2013 - 7

Cambridge Academic Program Makes Inroads in U.S. Schools
Critical thinking,
writing are central
By Caralee J. Adams
For more than 800 years, the University
of Cambridge has been educating
students on its stately and
historic campus in the heart of England.
But the esteemed British institution's
reach goes much farther,
and it's now working aggressively to
expand a menu of precollegiate offerings
in U.S. schools.
The university owns and operates
the Cambridge International
Exams, part of a nonprofit division
that provides academic courses of
study in various subjects with a
focus on promoting critical thinking,
in-depth analysis, and strong writing
skills. It currently serves more
than 9,000 schools in 160 countries
and students ages 5 to 19.
Cambridge is still a relatively
small player in the United States,
especially in comparison with the
ubiquitous Advanced Placement program.
But it has seen rapid growth
in recent years. It now provides college-preparatory
curricula for about
230 U.S. schools at the elementary
and secondary levels in 27 states, up
from 80 schools in 2009. This year,
50,000 Cambridge exams were taken
by high school students here, a 50
percent increase from 2012.
Some districts seem eager to em-
brace the prestigious Cambridge
brand in hopes it will give students
an edge in college admissions and
readiness. Last spring, for instance,
the Miami-Dade County district in
Florida announced plans to expand
use of the Cambridge program from
16 to 70 campuses.
"We have a very international
community," said Robert D. Strickland,
the director of school choice
and parental options for the
345,000-student district. "This program
is recognized on the world
level. [Parents] like to know that
and feel that their child can compete
on the global level."
Analyzing and Synthesizing
While most programs are in public
high schools, Cambridge offers curricula
for elementary and middle
schools, too. At all levels, students
are assessed on their progress at
year's end, with high school courses
culminating in extensive exams that
can translate into college credit.
Michael J. O'Sullivan, who joined
Cambridge International Exams last
spring as the new chief executive officer,
has high hopes for its foray into
the U.S. market. He notes that the
nation's decentralized education system
and emphasis on school choice
make it attractive. And he's also
making the case that the Cambridge
program dovetails closely with the
Common Core State Standards adopted
by all but four states.
"I'm really excited about our prospects
in the U.S.A.," he said. "As I
see it, it's not just another market
for Cambridge International Examinations.
... One day, it will be
Sophomore Christine Williams, center with glasses, and several classmates gather in a hallway at Federal Way
High School to analyze a short story for an English class assignment. The course is part of the Cambridge
curriculum offered at the public school in Washington state and a growing number of other U.S. schools.
another home for us."
Cambridge's work at the precollegiate
level dates back more than
a century. But Cambridge International
Exams, a division of Cambridge
Assessment, only got its start
in this country in 1995.
The Cambridge approach is designed
to be rigorous and deep. In
history courses, for example, rather
than memorize dates and take multiple-choice
tests, students dig into
research through primary sources,
develop arguments, and present
their findings. End-of-course exams
require analyzing and synthesizing
information in a writing-intensive
format.
Math and science instruction is
often integrated to allow students
to apply what they've learned across
courses. A math course might include
various topics, and, in some courses,
teachers can customize the syllabus
to choose a combination of pure math,
statistics, and mechanics to build a
path to the exam, based on the needs
and interests of students.
At the elementary and middle
school levels, the Cambridge program
is focused on English/language
arts, math, and science. At
high school, however, it offers some
70 courses, including biology, economics,
and world literature.
For high school students, the
Cambridge exams last six to eight
hours over a few days. Multiplechoice
questions are limited, with
a focus instead on essays, analysis,
and even hands-on science labs included
in assessments.
Despite the increased Cambridge
presence in U.S. schools, it is dwarfed
by the AP program, which gave 3.4
million exams to U.S. public high
school students last year. And while
Cambridge operates in more schools
globally than the International Baccalaureate
program-which is seen
as another competitor-Cambridge
falls well short of the nearly 1,500
U.S. high schools now served by the IB.
Still, the United States is the fastest-growing
market for Cambridge,
according to Mr. O'Sullivan, the CEO.
Angela R. Rainey, a senior at
North Marion High School in Citra,
Fla., said she likes that Cambridge
exams award points for demonstrating
knowledge through writing,
rather than deducting credit for
missing multiple-choice questions.
"If you do the work and study
hard, you aren't dreading the
exams," according to Ms. Rainey,
who says Cambridge courses have
been much harder for her than dualenrollment
classes she takes from a
local community college.
Dana C. Spencer, who coordinates
the program at North Marion, said
about 300 of the school's 1,240 students
participate in Cambridge. It
can be a difficult transition for some
9th graders, she said, with some
initial "weeding out." Still, most students
stay with the program, she
said, and teachers spend extra time
helping them before and after school.
"It does pay off," she said. "Our
students have really responded."
In Florida, students can earn up
to 45 college credits for their high
school performance on Cambridge
exams. A Cambridge diploma credential
also qualifies a student for a
state-funded college scholarship.
Examine the Claims
To become a Cambridge school,
schools must pay a registration fee
and annual membership dues to have
access to online materials and training.
There's also a charge for each
exam. The high-school-level exams
typically run between $78 and $86
per student, per subject. The norm is
for students to take three or four.
But before outsourcing curriculum,
Jack Schneider, an assistant professor
of education at the College of the
Holy Cross in Worchester, Mass.,
cautions that school officials closely
examine the claims of programs.
Cambridge, in particular, has a
prestige factor that needs to align
with the merits of the program, notes
Mr. Schneider, who has researched
college-prep curricula.
"It might look better than it really
is. What are people really excited
about? Are students actually learning
more, or are parents excited to
have a branded program?" he said.
A 2011 study of the Cambridge program
in the United States, published
in the College & University Journal,
said students generally described the
program as motivating and stimulating,
and more challenging than other
curricula. Teachers said the courses
prompted students to form their own
opinions and gain real-world application
of subject knowledge.
Meanwhile, a 2011 case study fo-
cused on the academic achievement
of freshmen at Florida State University
who had successfully earned a
Cambridge diploma credential. The
research, published in the Journal
of College Admissions, suggests the
program may offer some academic
benefits later on, but it was not an
experimental study.
How schools choose to offer the
Cambridge program varies. Some
high schools have students take a
full schedule of Cambridge courses,
while others give students the choice
to take a class or two in their areas
of strength. If students take a certain
number of exams in various
subjects, they can earn a Cambridge
diploma credential.
In Arizona, Jamie D. Sheldahl,
the associate superintendent for the
Yuma Union High School District,
said he thought there might be some
resistance to bringing in a program
designed in another country.
"We intentionally downplayed that
it was British," he said. "We did play
up that Cambridge was internationally
normed and the largest provider
of education in the world."
The Cambridge program is most
prevalent in Florida, but there also
is a concentration in Tennessee and
Arizona, among other states.
In the Miami-Dade district, the
Cambridge course of study has been
offered for several years. Within
three years, the program will expand
to include 41 elementary, 27
middle, and 12 high schools.
The decision to offer Cambridge
more widely in Miami-Dade, which
also offers AP and IB programs, is
part of the school system's strategy
to compete with charter schools and
attract families with a menu of options,
according to district officials.
In the Federal Way district, just
outside Seattle, Cambridge programs
are offered in primary, middle,
and high schools. While two
high schools in the 21,000-student
district have the AP program, Federal
Way High School, where 60
percent of students are eligible for
a free or reduced-price lunch, only
uses Cambridge for its college-prep
curriculum.
Students have the choice of taking
a single Cambridge class or getting
a Cambridge diploma, which
requires passing six exams. In the
1,500-student high school, 300
earned a Cambridge diploma last
year and 2,200 Cambridge exams
were taken by students in grades
9-12.
"It's really prepared our students
for college," said Chelsea Gallagher,
the school's Cambridge coordinator.
"You can't do minimal work. It requires
you to think critically."
Diving Deeper
When Cambridge was first introduced
there eight years ago, it was
seen as another avenue for students
who weren't in AP or IB and who were
looking for a curriculum that was
more hands-on and focused on problem-solving,
said Diana Graddon, a
program specialist with the district.
This is the third year that the
10,650-student Yuma district has
had Cambridge as the core, default
curriculum for all 9th and 10th graders.
The district kept AP as the college-prep
curriculum for juniors and
seniors. At the end of the school year,
about 40 percent of students who
complete the Cambridge coursework
take the official end-of-course Cambridge
exams. But Mr. Sheldahl said
he's not troubled by this.
"Access to the curriculum ... is the
critical piece," he said. "The actual
assessment piece is secondary."
The district has provided tutor-
ing to help students handle the increased
rigor of the Cambridge approach,
and early indications show
performance is improving, especially
among struggling students, he said.
"We are finding it's paying divi-
dends," Mr. Sheldahl said. "The curriculum
is engaging and relevant.
It's built in that you have to dive
deeper."
Special coverage on the alignment
between K-12 schools and postsecondary
education is supported in part by
a grant from the Lumina Foundation,
at www.luminafoundation.org. Education
Week retains sole editorial control
over the content of this coverage.
EDUCATION WEEK | December 4, 2013 | www.edweek.org | 7
Mark Mulligan for Education Week

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Education Week - December 4, 2013

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