1 / 26

About ECS

Improving High School to College Transitions: The Role of P-20 Jennifer Dounay Education Commission of the States For “Bridging the Gap to Promote High School & College Alignment” New England Board of Higher Education Worcester, Massachusetts January 29, 2009. About ECS.

linneac
Download Presentation

About ECS

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Improving High School to College Transitions: The Role of P-20Jennifer DounayEducation Commission of the StatesFor “Bridging the Gap to Promote High School & College Alignment”New England Board of Higher EducationWorcester, MassachusettsJanuary 29, 2009

  2. About ECS • 50-state education compact est’d 1965 • Nonpartisan, nonprofit • Serves all state-level education policymakers and their staffs: • Governors • Legislators • State board members • State superintendents • SHEEOS and higher education leaders Education Commission of the States

  3. What is P-20? • It may include a council • It can (and should be) more than a council: • Data systems • Funding mechanisms • Ways of thinking • Public support • Legislation, rulemaking, executive decisionmaking Education Commission of the States

  4. Why P-20? Education Commission of the States

  5. 4-year institutions Passing the Buck Middle schools Elementary schools Parents Pre-K programs High schools Employers 2-year institutions Education Commission of the States

  6. Councils: Method of creation According to ECS P-16/P-20 database (www.ecs.org/P-20): • Govs: 11 states • Legislatures: 10 states • State boards: 2 states • Voluntary efforts: 14 states These have changed over time: GA, IL, MD, NV, others Education Commission of the States

  7. P-16/P-20 council membership • Governors (8 councils, with rep. on 19 councils) • Legislators (19 states) • Chiefs • SHEEOs, 2- and 4-year presidents • Business and labor • Ideally, early learning reps. (18 states) • Others Source: www.ecs.org/P-20 Education Commission of the States

  8. Creating a P-16 council just the starting point • Some councils leverage little change • Essential elements to consider: • Actors • Agenda • Appropriation of resources Education Commission of the States

  9. Actors • Goldilocks: Not too big, not too small • Early learning • Legislative • Gubernatorial • Business community • Clarity re: council mission and roles • Meet at least quarterly Education Commission of the States

  10. Meet at least quarterly • Reduces inertia, “amnesia” b/w mtgs. • Increases urgency of council to-dos • 29 states meet at least quarterly • Include AZ, CO: states that have made gains in relatively short time Education Commission of the States

  11. Agenda • Not too broad (5 issues or fewer) • Specific (not “improving student success”) • Something each agency can’t do alone • Specific, measurable goals (16 states) • Balanced scorecard (Georgia) Education Commission of the States

  12. Common areas of activity • High school to postsecondary transitions: 26 states (can take many forms) • Data systems, use of data: 19 states • Teachers: recruitment, preparation, retention, prof. devt.: 19 states • Postsec. retention/transfer/completion: 13 states • Early learning: 8 states Education Commission of the States

  13. Setting goals • Don’t know if you’re getting there if you don’t know where you’re going • Numeric goals, based on reliable data • 16 states • Most goals re: HS or PS completion Education Commission of the States

  14. Florida’s Next Generation P-20 benchmarks • Approved by state board Dec. 2008 • Six “focus areas”, including: • Improve college/career readiness • Expand opps. for PS degrees and certs. • Align resources to strategic goals • 2007-08 baseline data • Annual perf. measures FY09 to FY15 • www.fldoe.org/Strategic_Plan/pdfs/StrategicPlanApproved.pdf Education Commission of the States

  15. FL benchmarks: Sample view Education Commission of the States

  16. Appropriation of resources • Financial resources • Communications can build public support • Human resources • Research policy solutions • Support policy/program implementation Education Commission of the States

  17. Financial resources • State funds (leg. appropriation or built in agencies’ budgets) – 22 states • “Other” funds – 10 states • Foundation • Business • Federal • “Sustainability”: NE, WY Education Commission of the States

  18. Human resources • Council supported by min. .5 FTE: 21 councils • Include councils that have made substantial gains Education Commission of the States

  19. Promising practices: HS to PS transitions “Promising,” not “best,” because: • Many initiatives new • Student data lacking Include: • Better alignment of HS exit/college entry courses, standards • Better awareness of PS testing expectations • Teacher and counselor issues • Dual enrollment/early college high schools Education Commission of the States

  20. HS/College course alignment • IN, OK, SD, OH*: HS grad reqts. aligned with 4-year admissions reqts. • IN: End-of-course to measure to state expectations • TX, others: Rigorous expectations for all • MN, RI: Integration of college-ready English and math expectations in HS standards • CO, SD, TX: Informing all students of 4-year admissions requirements Education Commission of the States

  21. HS awareness of PS testing expectations • ACT (CO, IL, KY, MI, TN, WY), SAT(ME) for all • ID spring 2011: ACT, SAT or COMPASS • SD, TN, TX: What ACT, SAT scores matter • TX: College-ready items in HS tests • CO: Backmapping K-12 standards, assts. from “postsecondary ready” def. • AR, FL: Let HS students take placement exams Education Commission of the States

  22. Teacher and counselor issues • Info on PS placement exams in teacher preservice/inservice (No state doing this?) • Explicit training on college prep. in counselor certification, PD programs (No state doing this?) • College admissions info in teacher preservice/inservice (CO grant program comes close) • Use state policy to ensure counselors spend time on college prep. activities (CO grant program) Education Commission of the States

  23. Dual enrollment • www.ecs.org/html/hsdb-de • No state has “perfect” policy… yet • State policy should address: • Off. mandatory or voluntary? • Funding K-12 and PS equitably • Fair student eligibility requirements • Student/parent notification • Instructor, course quality • Institutional reporting • Program evaluation Education Commission of the States

  24. Early college high schools • Relatively new approach • Early college HS: diploma + AA in 5 yrs. • Aimed at at-risk students • Emerging research ► positive student outcomes • Few in New England? • State-level policies in 6 states (CO, MI, NC, PA, TN, TX) Education Commission of the States

  25. ECHS: Model policy components • Access and support • Instructional and curricular quality • Finance and facilities • Alignment with 2- and 4-year institutions • Program accountability and evaluation • ECS state policy database:www.ecs.org/hsdb-echs • ECS Oct. 2008 report:“Improving Outcomes for Traditionally Underserved Students Through Early College High Schools” (search “7863” on www.ecs.org) Education Commission of the States

  26. Now for more about the state perspective…

More Related