Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation

1. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation John Fischetti, Sally MacKain and Robert Smith UNCW October 2009

2. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • In 1876, when Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, he summoned his assistant, Watson. • “Mr. Watson, Come Here...” • Bell did not realize that Watson heard him talking through the phone. • He did not yet know what his invention worked.

3. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • As early colleges move their first classes forward toward graduation, our preliminary data show that there may be enough promise in the innovation to revision not only the high school curriculum as we know it, but middle school and university curricula as well. • Bell changed communication forever. Can the early college be the spearhead for an overhaul of the P-16 continuum?

4. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Although there are currently 200 early colleges in existence, the research on the outcomes of early colleges is limited and mostly anecdotal (Born, 2006; Glick, 2006). The study investigated: • How do students in this Early College perform academically compared to traditionally-aged freshmen? • How do students in this Early College perceive their academic, social and emotional readiness for university work?

5. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Isaac Bear Early College (IBEC) is one of 61 early colleges in North Carolina created through funding provided by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the New Schools Project. • The main goal of early colleges is to ensure that students graduate from high school with the knowledge and skills they need to be ready for college, careers and life (New Schools Project, 2008). • A core principle of these colleges is a commitment to serving students underrepresented in higher education, particularly low-income youth, first-generation college goers, English language learners and students of color.

6. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The main concept of an early college is that high school and college are blended in a rigorous, yet supportive program, compressing the time it takes to complete a high school diploma and the first two years of college (Early College High School Initiative, 2009a). • Some programs enable students to start college classes as freshman in high school while others phase-in the college courses in the sophomore or junior year. • Nationwide, 72% of the partnerships are with community colleges, and 28% with four year universities (Early College High School Initiative, 2009b).

7. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Unlike traditional high schools, most early colleges do not offer typical high school electives, extracurricular activities, or sports. • The curriculum at Isaac Bear focuses intensively on academics, with students completing in two years the high school-level math, English, science and social studies requirements normally taken over four years.

8. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Now in its fourth year, the school has: • 69 seniors • 70 juniors • 48 sophomores • 62 freshmen • Participants include 63% from underrepresented groups including 45% who are first generation to attend college • 35% students of color • 24% who are eligible for free or reduced lunch.

9. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • To see how participants of the Isaac Bear Early College High School compare to typical freshmen nationally in terms of self-reported academic readiness and college adjustment, 70 students in their third year of the early college high school completed two surveys during a “Freshman Seminar” course in the first semester of their college experience.

10. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • 39 of the participants were female, • 31 male • 33 percent were minority • 39 percent first generation college • 58% were minority or first generation or both

11. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The college version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI; Weinstein, Palmer, & Schulte 2002) was administered during the second week of classes • The Student Adjustment to College Questionnaire (SACQ; Baker & Siryk, 1986) was completed during the last week of classes in the same first-semester course.

13. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The similarities between the IBEC and normative samples indicate that the early college students perceive themselves to have about the same academic readiness of traditional freshmen.

14. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation

15. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • In terms of adjustment to college, mean scores on the SACQ subscales for IBEC students were similar or higher than the other college populations, with the possible exception of attachment to the institution.

16. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The similarities between the IBEC and normative samples indicate that the early college students perceive themselves to have about the same academic readiness of traditional freshmen. • In terms of adjustment to college, mean scores on the SACQ subscales for IBEC students were similar or higher than the other college populations, with the possible exception of attachment to the institution.

17. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • An alternative method of examining the SACQ data may be to examine the number of IBEC students receiving T-scores below 40, cited as the threshold for clinical significance by the SACQ authors. • Using this criterion, few students appear to require help with academic needs, but nine students, or nearly 13% might benefit from counseling or other intervention to help address emotional distress.

18. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation

19. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The higher levels of psychological or emotional distress among women as compared to men in their first year of college (girls and boys, in this sample), appears not to be unique. • IBEC female students scored lower on the Anxiety subscale of the LASSI (M = 23.17, SD = 7.6) than did males (M = 28.38, SD = 6.32) t (68) = 3.11, p = .003 (two-tailed). • While the national norms indicate a gender advantage for females on the social adjustment variable, no differences emerged in the IBEC sample.

20. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation

21. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The mean GPA for IBEC students in the fall semester was 3.123 compared to UNCW freshmen GPA of 2.93. • In the spring semester the mean GPA for IBEC students dropped to 2.54 and was lower than the mean GPA for UNCW freshman (2.81) in their second semester. The average college freshman has a GPA of 2.3 in the U.S. as a whole.

22. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation

23. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Based on available norms, IBEC students’ self-reported preparation for college (LASSI scores) and early adjustment to college (SACQ scores) appear to be consistent with those of the typical freshmen. • The greater personal distress and anxiety expressed among female students on the Anxiety and Personal-Emotional attachment subscales of the LASSI and SACQ, respectively, is consistent with the national norms. • However, it appears to signal a need for interventions such as stress management, cognitive-behavioral interventions and other supportive counseling services.

24. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation The drop in IBEC students’ mean GPA from 3.16 in the fall to 2.55 in the spring may be explained: • High grades in separate Isaac Bear sections of the freshman seminar fall semester that virtually all students earned grades of A or B. The grades in this single course may have inflated mean GPA’s for IBEC students who were taking a reduced number of credit hours. • IBEC students’ solid performance in the fall encouraged nearly all students to take more college classes in the spring, with the average number of credit hours increasing from 9 to 11.6. • The freshman seminar curriculum provided specific support and feedback to guide their transition to college, which were missing in the second semester. • It is also possible that students’ high GPA in the fall made some students overconfident in what they could accomplish. • Are IBEC students fully prepared for large, lecture classes?

25. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • First, the study shows that it is possible for the core high school curriculum to be successfully completed in two years. • This may be the light at the end of the tunnel that Skerrett & Hargreaves (2008) refer to as “an age of inflexibility and nonresponsiveness in North American secondary schooling that may finally be running its course” (p. 945).

26. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Sixteen-year-old students successfully completing their first year of university coursework challenges the roles of high schools and higher education. • The study not only questions the use of age as a basis of distinction between high school and higher education, but also the appropriate curriculum for these “levels.”

27. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Further, while the study supports the urgency of the P-16 education movement it also suggests that a more radical rethinking of P-16 education may be required.

28. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • What kind of middle grades curriculum is needed to prepare people for early college? • Do we need the early high school, at least in foundational mathematics, science and writing? • What should change about university “basic studies” or the core curriculum, which is a repeat of the high school curriculum in many respects?

29. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • The power of tradition also represents a significant barrier to change. “The rituals of high school, whatever their shortcomings, appeal to many people who suspect that substantial reform would undo the essence of teenhood” (NAASP, 1996, p. 4). • Many parents and students support the tradition of four years of high school, the broad range of courses, electives, extracurricular activities, clubs and sports

30. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • In addition, some parents will oppose their child attending college at an early age. • Consequently even with additional positive results from early colleges, such programs may not pose a serious challenge to the existence of the traditional comprehensive high school. • Is the early college just an anomaly, a boundary-crossing institution that leaves both systems of education untouched?

31. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • A key question is whether the early college and other P-16 reform efforts will simply be appendages to existing systems (Hess, 2008)? As the Gates Foundation funding is moved to other reforms, is there sufficient success to sustain the efforts long enough to study the model? Will those in leadership positions in schools and universities make decisions without good data to inform the future of the model?

32. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • If the early college fulfills the promise of students completing high school and as much as two years of university requirements in four years—by age 18, while offering college credits free of charge—it is a model that could change the high school curriculum and the design of the first two years of college. • In doing so, the early college could profoundly change P-16 American education the way the telephone changed communication.

33. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • We are analyzing survey data from parents, students, teachers and UNCW faculty who had IBEC students in their classes to complement this research. • Thus far, those data tell us:

34. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • There is a connection between size, personalization, teacher quality and student achievement • A high level of parent support for innovation is possible for secondary schools • The alignment of the high school and college curriculum is possible in smaller units • Maintaining small learning communities involves a commitment to the teachers and administrators who are leading these efforts. It is exhausting and intense work • Students and their families are motivated by the perks of technology and college credit more than by innovative curricular approaches

35. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation • Plus One • Early college high school juniors perform academically about as well as any other freshmen in terms of GPA during their first year of college

36. “Mr. Watson, Come Here...”

37. Five Plus One Early Learnings for High Schools and Teacher Preparation from an Early College Evaluation John Fischetti, Sally MacKain and Robert Smith UNCW October 2009