Group items tagged

Commentary by Jordon Horowitz of the Institute for Evidence Based Change on the need for stronger HS-higher ed alignment. Features CAL-PASS system as example

Story on how colleges are increasing online learning and block scheduling options because of increasing fuel prices.

Summarizes state progress on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and careers, with respect to standards, graduation requirements, P-20 data systems, assessments and accountability. (Achieve, March 2010)

Discusses partnership between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the Council of Chief State School Officers and the State Higher Education Executive Officers, which aims to to help the Common Cores Standards Initiative succeed. Will focus on: aligning the standards with college admission and placement requirements; and ensuring that colleges better prepare K-12 teachers to help students meet the standards. (Inside Higher Ed, 12/17/10)

Story on a new report by the Center for Education Policy that indicates that many states are a long way from implementing common core and that many have not explored aligning the standards with higher education

This brief makes a case for using cohort and momentum point data, disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, and institution, to improve program practices and community college system policies in California. Findings indicate that too few students reach transfer, retention, and completion milestones, and that a large percentage of students do not always follow enrollment patterns or degree checkpoints, as intended by policy. The brief outlines three recommendations: improving campus data collection practices, creating accountability structures through new funding models and assessment policies, and using data to align institutional and system-level efforts (Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy at California State University Sacramento, October 2010).

The study follows a cohort model and tracks the course-taking patterns of first-time community college students over a seven-year period. The data suggest that aspirations, age, ethnicity, and institutional factors affect students' completion of a developmental course sequence. After presenting the descriptive data, the authors outline five policy implications for their research. Three are particularly relevant to policy discussions we have had at Getting Past Go: using common assessments and early interventions to reduce the need for developmental education; identifying delays in course-taking to develop better-aligned support; and, addressing the issue of students not completing remediation from the lowest course levels.

In a press release, Connecticut Higher Education Commissioner Michael Meotti and State Education Commissioner Mark K. McQuillan discussed the work of the state's P-20 Council. The council works in three areas: building partnerships between school districts and higher education institutions, aligning data across all educational units, and strengthening the preparation and professional development of teachers and principals.

The Web site for the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) that was funded by the U.S. Department of Education to develop assessments aligned with the Common Core Standards.

Provides a framework on how states can more effectively align education, workforce and economic development policy

Executive Summary from MDRC on their latest research on the scaling up of strategies at community colleges to instruct students, particularly basic skills students, in learning communities. Findings have more to do with coordination of the scale up, than actual results. Findings consistent with earlier research that the learning communities did not result in effective curriculum integration or alignment.

Document outlining state policy priorities for states participating in the developmental education initiative. Addresses, K-12 curricular alignment, funding, assessment and placement, data and performance measurement, academic support services

Monograph from the Gates foundation on how to improve teaching, in alignment with the common core standards.

Report from ACT assessing the alignment between the common core and ACT college readiness standards.

Annual survey summarizes whether states and the District of Columbia have adopted standards, graduation requirements, assessments and accountability systems aligned to the expectations of two- and four-year colleges and employers. (Achieve Inc., January 2011)

Urges states to track how well high school graduates perform in college so that the schools can better prepare students for and succeed in postsecondary education. States should track postsecondary enrollment, remediation and credit accumulation. Recommends four actions for states to take to track and publish these data. (J.B. Schramm and E. Kinney Zalesne, October 2011)

This analysis of data from the DEI Self-Assessment Tool covers policy changes between 2009 and 2010, the first year of the initiative. Includes summaries from Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and Texas. (Jobs for the Future, October 2011)

Documents the partnerships between high schools and community colleges and provides evidence of the early assessment and intervention programs to reduce college remediation. The pilot programs are part of the Illinois College and Career Act.

Summarizes how community college pilot sites have addressed goals of the Illinois law, including reducing remediation through early assessment and intervention.

Story on the Ohio Adult Basic Literacy and Education program that works with students who place at the lowest levels in academic readiness for higher education.