Bridging the Gap to Postsecondary Education
Innovative School Solutions
Discussion Outline
• Key Challenges• Responses to Challenges• Innovative Solutions/Early College ..…What
Have We Learned?• Potential Next Steps • Team Exercise• Information Sharing/Readout• Q& A
Key Challenges
• High School Graduation Rates in US is ~70 % and has held steady for last decade. (Education at a Glance 2003)
• Only ~30 % of US high school students graduate ready for college. (“Toward a More Comprehensive Conception of College Readiness” by David Conley)
• 40 % of all students entering college must take remedial courses. (same as above)
• Data indicates that 1 out of 2 students who start college never complete any kind of postsecondary degree. (same as above)
Key Challenges (Cont’d)
• 65% of College professors report that what is taught in high school does not prepare students for college. (Alliance for Excellent Education, 9/2007)
• High Percentage of jobs require postsecondary education. (“High School Teaching for the Twenty-First Century: Preparing Students for College” from the Alliance for Excellent Education, 9/2007)
• US ranks 10th among industrial nations in the rate of college completions by 25 to 44 year olds. (Education at a Glance 2004)
• Students graduating from both high school and college unprepared for the world of work. Less than 25% OF 400 employers surveyed on work readiness reported new employees have “excellent” basic knowledge and applied skills. More than 50% of the employers who hired employees from high school assessed their overall preparation as “deficient”. (“Are They Ready to Work” sponsored by The Conference Board)
Key Challenges(Cont’d)
• Budget reductions at all levels of public education (K-12, community colleges, and 4- year institutions). Eliminating course offerings and increasing class sizes.
• Increasing enrollments at postsecondary institutions resulting in larger class sizes.
• Dealing with reform initiatives (Fast and Furious).• Teacher (new and experienced) preparedness….21st
Century Skills and measuring effectiveness.
Responses to Challenges
• Pre-college options: “Career and College Promise “(@ CC s), Middle Colleges, STEM schools, and Early Colleges.
• Curriculum modifications (e.g., 4 years of math, GOALS courses).
• Structural Changes (e.g., 9th grade academies, “5th block).
• Shared facilities (i.e., high schools and CCs & colleges).
Responses to Challenges(Cont’d)
• More focused Professional Development.• Aligned school-administrator-teacher
assessments based on performance metrics. Current initiatives in several states and at the national level is pay for performance and the concept of value-added assessments.
• Redesign of schools of education curriculum (in early stages).
Early College AlternativeInnovative Solution
• What have we learned over the past 7 plus years from the EC experiences?
+ Value & need for schedule flexibility + Class sizes do matter!!! + Flexibility in curriculum design + Power of the site (on college campuses) + Value of collaboration between and among
HS & college faculty
Early College Alternative(Cont’d)
What have we learned….. + Cost efficiencies (associated with shared
facilities) + Students expectations of themselves
increased with respect to the need and value of postsecondary education
+ The need and value of minimizing the time gap between HS core language arts and math classes and college equivalents
Early College Alternative(Cont’d)
• What have we learned…… + Need & Value of Comprehensive Personal
Education Plans on all students + Need & Value of a informed decision-making
seminar in preparation for selecting a college major and/or a career choice
+ Value of a community service component + Value of using EC as a laboratory for learning
(best practices)
Next Steps?
• Seek ways to leverage what is working in each school. • Promote interdisciplinary collaboration.• Treat EC as a learning laboratory.…an incubator for
new ideas.• Engage faculty and school administrators on key
metrics which drive student academic growth and achievement.
• Evaluate/modify curriculum and course content focusing on relevance and rigor. (Oppty given reduction in State mandated EOCs)
Team Exercise(Teams of 6 to7)
• In Wilkes County Schools……• what are the challenges you face in meeting your
individual and school-wide goals (list 4 -6)?• how are you and your school addressing the
challenges noted above and the challenges identified in this presentation (list 4 -6)?
• what 3 or 4 actions can you and your school take this school year to address these challenges?
Team Exercise
Readout: Information Sharing
Q&A
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