Transcript Slide 1

A Policy Perspective on Enhancing
Workforce and Career Readiness
Henry Braun
Lynch School of Education
Boston College
Presented at the
Building Better Students Conference
December 10 2010
What Sort of “Better Student?”
• Model 1
– Greater achievement (e.g. better test scores)
– Higher attainment
– Meeting entry-level requirements for the next stage
• Model 2
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Competencies in academic and soft skills
High levels of motivation/ engagement/ persistence
Productive habits of mind
Success at the next stage
Readiness for lifelong learning
• Model 3
– ???
What is “Life after High School?”
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A world infused with technology
Demands for higher levels of literacy and numeracy
Importance of broader education/training
Value of workplace-appropriate dispositions
Dynamic, highly competitive job markets
Growing complexity of public issues
Increasing individual responsibility for well-being
Mission Control, (do) We Have a Problem !/?
• Substantial (differential) leakage in each segment of
the education pipeline
• Attainment of milestones is a weak signal;
i.e., pervasive and profound deficiencies at each
transition point
• Continuing decline in international comparisons
• No accounting at any level of important components
of a valued human capital portfolio
Myth or Reality?
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Adult literacy surveys (NALS, NAAL, IALS, ALLSS)
NAEP
PISA, TIMSS
High school graduation statistics
Remediation rates in Community and 4-year colleges
Employer surveys
Average literacy scores are expected to decline between 1992
and 2030, with an increase in the amount of inequality.
Less
Proficient
More Proficient
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The Current Landscape
• Common Core State Standards  College/Career Readiness
• RttT: Systemic state reforms and Assessment Consortia
• Reauthorization of ESEA
– Key roles for standardized test results
– Accountability for schools and teachers
– School choice
– More competitive grants?
• Ongoing state and district initiatives
• Macroeconomic situation State/Local budgets
• Longitudinal research studies
• Action research programs
Developing a Policy Perspective on Readiness
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Consensus on general characteristics of readiness
Performance standards
Gaps: Nature, scope and distribution
Contributing factors (historical view and causal analysis)
Exemplars (positive) and existence proofs
Exemplars (negative)
Potential solutions and possible obstacles
Strategic Framework
Political considerations
Implementation planning  The “real” work begins
Skill Frameworks
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SCANS
Equipped for the Future
21st Century Skills
AAC&U
What new frameworks more fully represent what
skills are needed to accommodate, negotiate and
exploit ubiquitous and ever more powerful
technologies… and how do they relate to the more
traditional competencies?
Content Standards
• Equipped for the future
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Communication skills (5)
Decision-making skills (3)
Interpersonal skills (4)
Lifelong learning skills (4)
• Workplace Basics: The essential skills employers want
(Carnevale, et al.)
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The three R’s
Learning to learn
Communication (listening and speaking)
Creative thinking & problem solving
Interpersonal negotiation and teamwork
Self-esteem/goal setting –motivation
Organizational effectiveness/ leadership
College and Career Readiness
• Not just an effort to “raise standards”
• Signals a shift from certification of prior learning to a
prediction of future performance
• Performance standards must be empirically grounded
• Going beyond reading/language arts and mathematics?
• Heterogeneity of prospective contexts makes uniform
standards problematic
• Lessons to be learned from certificate programs
More than a Diploma: Dunbar HS (Ft. Meyers, FL)
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Career academy focused on IT clusters
Students apply by lottery
Combines academics with multiple certificate programs
Strong links to district, tertiary education providers, business
Lessons learned
– Skilled and committed staff essential
– Student-centered policies
– Technology-infused environment
– Flexibility in study paths and scheduling
– Ongoing connections to the world outside
Value of External Certifications
• K-12 schooling is an “hermetically sealed” system
• In many states standards are set with an eye to political
realities
• Students need realistic feedback on how they are doing and
meaningful goals to strive for
• Advanced Placement and corporate or trade group
certification ladders (e.g. Microsoft, Cisco, etc.) are valuable
• Non-degree programs are increasingly popular
But certificates are unlikely to cover the full range of desired
competencies and dispositions ….
Achievement Gaps: 8th Grade Math (2009 NAEP)
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White
293
Black
261
Hispanic 266
AI/AN
266
– Lo density public
– Hi density public
– BIE
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NOTE: Basic = 262 and Proficient = 299
NOTE: Within AI/AN subgroup, gaps remain after
disaggregation by poverty or school location
Understanding Achievement Gaps
• League tables are of limited utility
• The need for longitudinal data (trends) and multi-level
data (patterns)
• Contextual information and qualitative evaluation
provide grist for grounded “causal speculation” and
policy analysis
Examples (NAEP):
• Linking state policy efforts to reductions in the BlackWhite achievement gap
• Using the National Indian Education Study to explore
variations in outcomes for AI/AN students
The Dropout Gap and an Exemplar
• Overall graduation rate of ~ 70% masks substantial variation
race/gender and location
– Black male (on-time) rate ~ 47%
– “Dropout factories” (Balfanz)
• Baltimore story
– Black male (on-time) grad rate: 51%  57.3% over 3 years
– Overall (on-time) grad rate: 60%  66%
– Keeping students in school (prevention), coupled with
bringing dropouts back to school (salvage)
– Dropping out is not primarily a result of intellectual
deficiencies
Reducing the Dropout Gap
• Lessons learned
– Gains require both policy changes and cultural shifts
– Structural changes have to be complemented by personal
outreach: Engagement is a two-way street
• Rochester study
– Multiple risk factors can be met with “gateway protective
factors” provided by school, family, community
– Student success depends on high expectations matched
with targeted support
School Improvement Models:
Consortium for Chicago School Research
A theory-based and empirically validated model of
the essential ingredients in succeeding with highly
disadvantages student populations
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Coherent instructional guidance system
Professional capacity
Strong parent-community-school ties
Student-centered learning climate
Leadership drives change
School Improvement Models:
High Schools That Work (SREB)
Multiple Pathways to reduce dropouts and to enhance
preparation of non-college bound youth
• Provide students in every program of study with a rigorous academic core
curriculum
• High quality career/technical course sequences that blend academic and
technical content in the context of authentic work
• Equip all students with 21st century skills through engaging programs
• Expect all students to meet high standards in academic and
career/technical classrooms
• Provide support students need to meet readiness standards:
– Guidance and mentoring
– Academic and technical assistance
Gates Foundation
• Building a platform to support high level literacy and
numeracy
• Encourages technology-enabled collaboration within
and among schools
• Professional development is a key ingredient
• Ongoing design research that encompasses
infrastructure development, instructional design,
pedagogy, assessment
State Initiatives
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California (CC readiness)
Florida (K-16 system)
Indiana (Scholarship/support program)
Oregon (Expenditure analysis)
Texas (College and career readiness standards)
Policy Targets… And Challenges
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Structure and locus of authority
Coherence in different dimensions
Capacity building at every level
Culture/Beliefs/ Inertia
Data/Evidence/Accountability
Changing Beliefs System-wide
Ontario Ministry of Education issued a white paper on special education:
Essential for Some, Good for All
Resonated throughout the province at all levels: A call to action based on
ethical considerations and professional responsibility
Followed up by a three year initiative with equal funding for all 72 school
boards, with considerable latitude in how to invest $ to best meet local
needs
Elicited a great deal of energy and creativity – buy-in was nearly
immediate because of high degree of school board autonomy
Current Concerns
• Ongoing tensions between the federal government and the states
regarding direction and control of education policy -- playing out in
an increasingly politicized context
• Structural disconnects in educational governance and funding that
impede productive collaboration
• Impact of increasing economic disparities
• Over-reliance on high-stakes, test-based accountability
• Implications of setting rigorous C&CR standards
• Prospects for the assessment consortia
• Building credible assessments for a broad range of skills and
dispositions
• Failure to account for school realities
• Defensive policy stances of teacher unions
Rethinking Policy Approaches
Limitations of top-down policy making
Innovation: Seeding and supporting multiple strategies
School improvement models:
Shifting from fully specified rigid structures to coral reef
models
Designing for continuous improvement and long-term
sustainability
Targeted professional development within communities of
practice
Rethinking Accountability
From relying on coercion to building commitment
Applying principles of system design
Thoughtful use of high quality assessments in conjunction
with relevant qualitative evidence
Comprehensive monitoring of outcomes – addressing
evidential asymmetry