Transcript Slide 1

The American Diploma
Project Network
Nebraska P16 Council
Executive Committee Meeting
Michael Cohen
August 26, 2009
Creating a High School
Diploma that Counts
American Diploma Project
 About Achieve
 Overview of the American Diploma Project Network
 State Progress Advancing the ADP Policy Agenda
 Changing National Landscape
 Achieve Support to ADP Network States
 Key Lessons and Next Steps for Nebraska
About Achieve
 Is independent, nonprofit, & bipartisan
 Was founded by governors and business leaders at 1996
National Education Summit
 Helps states raise academic standards to prepare students for
college, careers and citizenship
 Provides independent quality reviews of state standard and
assessments
 Sustains political support for standards-based education
reform
 Organized National Education Summits in 1999, 2001, 2005
Jobs in today’s workforce require more
education & training
Change in the distribution of education /
skill level in jobs, 1973 v. 2001
-9%
-23%
+16%
+16%
Source: Carnevale, Anthony P. and Donna M. Desrochers, Standards for What? The Economic Roots of K–16
Reform, Educational Testing Service, 2003.
Too Many Students Graduate from High
School Unprepared for College and Work
 30% of first year students in postsecondary education are
required to take remedial courses
 40% - 45% of recent high school graduates report
significant gaps in their skills, both in college and the
workplace
 Faculty estimate 42% of first year students in creditbearing courses are academically unprepared
 Employers estimate 45% of recent high school graduates
lack skills to advance
 ACT estimates only half of college-bound students are
ready for college-level reading
Had high schools demanded more, students
would have worked harder
If your high school had demanded more of students, set higher academic
standards and raised the expectations of how much coursework would be
necessary to earn a diploma, would you have worked harder?
100%
82%
80%
75%
 Wouldn’t have worked harder
 Would have worked harder
 Strongly feel I would
have worked harder
50%
64%
63%
25%
15%
18%
0%
High school graduates who
went to college
High school graduates who
did not go to college
Source: Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge:
Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005
OVERVIEW OF THE
AMERICAN DIPLOMA PROJECT NEWORK
American Diploma Project Research Phase:
2002 - 2005
 Partnership of Achieve, Education Trust, Fordham Foundation
and National Alliance of Business
 Initial ADP research study conducted in Indiana, Kentucky,
Massachusetts, Nevada and Texas.
 Involved wide variety of K-12, higher education and
business representatives.
 Examined the work high school graduates do in the college
classroom and on the job, and the preparation they needed to
do the work.
 Identified “must-have” knowledge and skills graduates will
need to be successful in college and the workplace.
Convergence of College and Career Readiness
 ADP research found a common core of knowledge & skills
in math and English that are necessary for success in
postsecondary education and in “good jobs.”
 ACT Study Ready for College Ready for Work: Same or
Different?:
 Whether planning to enter college or workforce
training programs after graduation, high school
students need to be educated to a comparable level
of readiness in reading and mathematics.
ADP Research Documents An Expectations Gap
We haven’t expected all students to graduate from high
school college- and career-ready
 State standards reflect consensus about what is
desirable, not what is essential
 Only 2 states required algebra II for graduation
 State tests measure 8th and 9th grade knowledge and
skills
 High school accountability rarely focuses on graduation
rates or on college- and work-readiness
ADP Network launched at 2005 Summit: 13 states
committed to improving student preparation
ADP Network today: 35 states now
committed to improving student preparation
VT
WA
ND
MT
WY
MI
PA
IA
NE
UT
NY
WI
SD
NV
CO
IL
KS
OH
IN
VA
KY
NC
TN
OK
NM
SC
AR
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
FL
AK
HI
RI
CT
NJ
DE
WV
MO
CA
AZ
NH
MA
MN
OR
ID
ME
MD
DC
ADP Network Policy Agenda
 Align high school standards and assessments with the
knowledge and skills required for success in postsecondary
education and work.
 Require all students to take a college- and career-ready
curriculum aligned with standards to graduate from high
school.
 Administer a college- and career-ready assessment, aligned
to state standards, to high school students so they get clear
and timely information and are able to address critical skill
deficiencies while still in high school.
 Hold high schools accountable for graduating students who
are college- and career-ready, and hold postsecondary
institutions accountable for their success once enrolled.
STATE PROGRESS
ADVANCING THE ADP AGENDA
State Progress on Adopting Policies To Ensure That High
School Students Graduate College- and Career-Ready
23
Standards
4
7
8
4
14
8
45
21
Graduation
Requirements
8
5
6
2
8
29
10
Assessments
6
2 11
23
33
12
P–20 Data Systems
3 2
4
0
3
9
10
50
29
20
30
40
In Place by 2006
In Place by 2007
In Place by 2008
In Place by 2009
Anticipated in Place by 2010
In Process or Planning
50
23 states have aligned standards
VT
WA*
ND
MT
OR
MI
PA
IA
NE
UT
NY
WI
WY
NV
CO
NH
MA
MN*
SD
ID
ME
IL
KS
IN
NJ
DE
WV
VA
KY
MO
CA
OH
RI
CT
MD
DC
NC
TN
AZ*
OK
NM
SC
AR
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
FL
AK
HI
Aligned
verified
Aligned
verified
standards formally
by Achieve
standards not
by Achieve
*Only math standards aligned
19 states have a college- and career-ready
diploma for all students
VT
WA
ND
MT
OR
MI
PA
IA
NE
UT
NY
WI
WY
NV
CO
IL
KS
OH
IN
VA
KY
NC
TN
OK
NM
SC
AR
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
FL
AK
HI
RI
CT
NJ
DE
WV
MO
CA
AZ
NH
MA
MN
SD
ID
ME
MD
DC
10 states administer tests aligned with
college and career expectations
VT
WA
ND
MT
WY
MI
PA
IA
NE
UT
NY
WI
SD
NV
CO
IL
KS
OH
IN
VA
KY
NC
TN
OK
NM
SC
AR
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
FL
AK
HI
RI
CT
NJ
DE
WV
MO
CA
AZ
NH
MA
MN
OR
ID
ME
MD
DC
Few states hold high schools accountable for
college & career readiness
12 States have P-20 longitudinal data systems
and match student data at least once annually
VT
WA
ND
MT
OR
MI
PA
IA
NE
UT
NY
WI
WY
NV
CO
IL
KS
OH
IN
VA
KY
NC
TN
OK
NM
SC
AR
MS
TX
AL
GA
LA
FL
AK
HI
RI
CT
NJ
DE
WV
MO
CA
AZ
NH
MA
MN
SD
ID
ME
MD
DC
CHANGING NATIONAL LANDSCAPE
Common Core of Standards
Common Core State Standards Initiative
 National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of
Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) initiated a state-led
process, in partnership with Achieve, ACT, and the
College Board. 46 states have committed to the process,
with both the governor and chief education officer signing
on.
 Effort is voluntary and led by states; different from
“national standards” or previous efforts.
 Goal is to create K-12 common core English and
mathematics standards that are:
 Internationally benchmarked
 Aligned with career and post-secondary expectations
 Include rigorous content and applications of knowledge
 Research and evidence-based.
15 States are Participating in a
Common Algebra II EOC test
State Leadership for
Common Standards & Assessments
A byproduct of the work of ADP states has been:
 A common core of mathematics and ELA standards across a
growing number of states, on a voluntary basis
 A common Algebra II exam developed by a partnership of
states, on a voluntary basis
An outgrowth of this work has been:
 Support and momentum for the common standards movement
 Emphasis on college and career readiness in Race to the Top
 Incentives for common state assessments
ACHIEVE SUPPORT TO STATES
IN THE ADP NETWORK
Achieve Support to States
 Research and Development
• Reports, case studies, fact sheets, power point presentations
 Technical Assistance and Networking
• State Leadership Team policy development support
• Annual meeting, topic-based conference calls and meetings
• Policy audits
 Advocacy
• Web-based tools
o
www.achieve.org, www.biztools4schools.org, www.postsecconnect.org
• Testimony
 Multi-State Institutes to Provide Strategic and Technical Policy
Development Support
• Alignment Institute, College & Career-Ready Policy Institute
KEY LESSONS & NEXT STEPS FOR
NEBRASKA
College- and Career- Ready Standards
 Achieve recently reviewed Nebraska’s end of high school
standards
 Critical role for higher education
 Common core state standards
Raising Graduation Requirements
 Content standards need to drive the core curriculum.
• Content matters more than course titles.
• Determine statewide mechanisms to ensure consistency and quality of rigor.
• Provide districts flexibility to organize curriculum into different courses.
 Provide a system of intensive and sustained student supports.
• Ramp up efforts as plan for policy implementation.
• Build an early warning indicator system to identify students who are offtrack and provide targeted supports.
 Ensure that teachers have access to aligned training,
professional development and instructional tools.
• Provide guidance to teachers to ensure that rigorous courses are more
engaging and relevant for students.
 Encourage proficiency based approaches.
Building college- ready anchor assessments:
Proficient should mean prepared
 College-ready assessments measure student performance
on high-level college- and career-ready standards
 College-ready assessments provide information to signal
whether a student is ready to take credit-bearing courses
 Not just more assessment—better assessment
•
Examples:
o
ADP Assessment Consortium Algebra II End-of-Course Exam
o
California State University’s Early Assessment Program
o
ACT
Broadening Accountability Indicators to Value &
Incentivize College & Career Readiness
Along the way
toward college
and career
readiness
Along the way
toward college
and career
readiness
Exceeding collegeand career
readiness
Course
completion
and success
-Timely credit
accumulation
-Credit recovery
-Successful
completion of
college- and
career-ready
course of study
-Participation in AP,
IB and dual
enrollment
Achievement
-Performance on
aligned
assessments early
in high school
-Meeting standards
on anchor
assessment
-Postsecondary
remediation rates
-College-level
performance on AP
and/or IB exams
Attainment
-Graduation
-Earning a collegeand career-ready
diploma
-Earning credits in
dual enrollment
courses
-Application to and
enrollment in
postsecondary
ADP Policy Agenda: A Foundation for Reaching
Nebraska’s Goals
 Close achievement gaps
 Increase high school graduation rate
 Boost college access and college going rate
 Decrease time to postsecondary degree completion and
increase postsecondary graduation rate
 Increase production of STEM teachers
These goals require a high school diploma that counts
For more information on Achieve,
please visit Achieve on the Web at
http://www.achieve.org