Achieve, Inc. - Connecting Education and Careers

2. Who is Achieve, Inc.? • Created by the nation’s governors and business leaders, Achieve, Inc., is a bipartisan non-profit organization that helps states raise academic standards, improve assessments and strengthen accountability to prepare all young people for postsecondary education, careers, and citizenship. • In 2004, Achieve published, Ready or Not, English and mathematics benchmarks which reflect the knowledge and skills high school graduates need to have to be successful in college and career. In 2005, Achieve launched the American Diploma Project (ADP) network, a coalition of states committed to improving student preparation.

3. ADP Network launched at 2005 Summit: 13 states committed to improving student preparation

4. ADP Network today: thirty-three states now committed to improving student preparation

5. Closing the Expectations Gap: ADP Network Policy Agenda • Align high school standards with college and career expectations. • Require all students to take curriculum aligned with standards. • Include “college-ready” tests, aligned with state standards, in high school assessment system. • Hold high schools accountable for graduating students college- and career-ready, and hold postsecondary institutions accountable for student success. 

6. The ADP Recommended College- & Career-ready Curriculum • Achieve’s research suggests that for high school graduates to be prepared for success in postsecondary settings, they need to take: • Four years of challenging mathematics—through the content typically taught in Algebra II, or its equivalent, and beyond, and • Four years of rigorous English aligned with college and career ready standards. • In 2005, only 2 states had graduation requirements at this level. • As of May 2008, 19 states plus the District of Columbia have graduation requirements at the level.

7. Nineteen States & DC Require a College- & Career-ready Diploma (as of May, 2008)

8. State Mathematics Requirements 2005

9. State Mathematics Requirements 2008

10. Closing the Mathematics Expectations Gap Achieve Projects to Assist States In Improving Mathematics Achievement: • Algebra II End-of-Course Exam • Algebra I End-of-Course Exam • Achieve-UT Dana Center joint website www.utdanacenter.org/k12benchmarks math benchmarks, back mapping, model courses, sample instructional and workplace tasks • Achieve Advocacy Tools—Math at Work Brochures and other advocacy tools making the case for advanced mathematics for ALL students www.achieve.org/mathatwork

11. Emerging mathematics themes • Algebra II is the new Algebra I, but not your grandpa’s Algebra II. • More states and districts are contemplating organizing high school mathematics in integrated courses rather than the traditional sequence. • Finding new ways to present and make mathematics relevant to students (integrated courses, CTE) without diluting rigor will enable more students to be prepared for college and good careers.

12. Emerging Mathematics Themes • Employers and postsecondary faculty place a high value on statistics, probability and data analysis. • States are increasingly interested in ensuring that their mathematics standards are internationally benchmarked to the highest performing countries in the world. Achieve is currently conducting a study to benchmark our mathematics standards and NAEP against the standards of the world’s highest performing countries. • Teacher capacity is one of the greatest challenges in making more advanced mathematics classes available to more students at the secondary level.