Governor’s Commission on College and Career Success

1. Governor’s Commission on College and Career Success Making Pennsylvania Competitive: Educating the Next Generation of Workers, Innovators & Entrepreneurs

2. Our workforce needs have changed with the global economy Unskilled jobs are disappearing

3. Pennsylvania schools face international competition • Our students compete against peers in China, Singapore, India and Europe • In 2004, the U.S. graduated 70,000 engineers, while… • China graduated 500,000 • India graduated 200,000 • Fewer than 1 in 3 U.S. undergraduates receive a degree in science or engineering, compared to 59% in China and 66% in Japan

4. Our high schools must improve to meet the needs of our economy • Employers say 39% of high school graduates who have no further education are not prepared for their current job and that nearly half cannot advance in their companies • Only 7 percent of college instructors at two-year institutions say that most of their students come to college extremely or very well prepared. • 35% of companies provide remedial math instruction to their workers

5. Restoring Meaning to the High School Diploma • Every student needs to graduate with the skills for college and for careers • Schools must prepare students who can succeed in our fastest-growing, high-tech industries • Schools need to connect students to post-secondary success – college, the workforce, technical training, etc.

6. The Dual Challenge before the Commission • Ensuring that all students graduate with the skills that they need to be successful in college and career • Ensuring that greater numbers of students graduate

7. Commission Recommendations • 12 interdependent recommendations • Focused on ensuring that graduates have the skills they need • Focused on supporting students, teachers and administrators in achieving these skills

8. 1 • Require all Pennsylvania high school students to demonstrate proficiency on Pennsylvania's academic standards to graduate. Students can demonstrate proficiency by scoring proficient or advanced on the 11th grade PSSA or by passing a series of state-developed Graduation Competency Assessments.

9. Recommendation 1: Statewide Graduation Requirements • GCAs are: • Close to the point of instruction • Can be thought of as “final exams” for students • Will be offered multiple times a year • Won’t require students to do seat time to cover content that they already know

10. 2 • Require all school districts to record PSSA scores and Graduation Competency Assessments on all student transcripts, and further recommends that postsecondary institutions and employers in the commonwealth be encouraged to use this information for admission, placement and employment

11. Recommendation 2: The High School Transcript • Reporting requirements ensure: • Businesses will know the skill-set of all job applicants that have a PA high school diploma • Colleges will know where to place students based on their skill level in core areas

12. 3 • Accept the definitions of college and career ready in mathematics, English and science developed by the Commission for use in the review of standards, development of assessments, and development of curriculum

13. Recommendation 3: Defining College and Career Readiness • Definitions of college and career readiness created by Commission: • Developed by institutions of higher education and businesses in Pennsylvania • Vetted nationally • Reflect the skills businesses need in their employees

14. 4 • Expand the definition of college and career ready content areas to include social studies and develop model curricula and Graduation Competency Assessments in this area in addition to the standards, curriculum, and evaluations that support math, science and language arts

15. Recommendation 4: The Importance of Social Studies • Commission’s charge was to focus on science, Mathematics and English • Commission felt that core competency in social studies was also required to prepare students for college and career

16. 5 • Develop preK-12 model curricula, including inquiry-based pedagogy, through which students can achieve academic standards and proceed on track to demonstrate proficiency on PSSA and Graduation Competency Assessments

17. Recommendation 5: Creation of Model Curriculum • Model curriculum aligned to the Graduation Competency Assessments • Not a mandate, but rather a resource for all teachers and administrators • Will focus on the skills that employers and institutions of higher education think are most important

18. 6 • Develop and implement a preK-16 student information system that is designed to collect information on student performance

19. Recommendation 6: Seamless Information System • Better connect K-12 and institutions of higher education • Provide detailed information about how PA high school graduates fair in college • Enable every high school to zero in on specific areas requiring improvement

20. 7 • Identify early on those students in danger of falling behind in their achievement of academic standards. Provide additional instruction and support services to put those students back on track for success. This early warning system should begin no later than the sixth grade

21. Recommendation 7: Early Warning System • Identify no later than 6th grade those students at risk of dropping out: • Provide supports so that at-risk students can be successful in high school • Intervene before students fall too far behind

22. 8 • Take all necessary action and expend adequate resources to redefine the role of guidance counselors and student service coordinators as school-wide facilitators of student advising to ensure that all high school students are well advised in school concerning post-graduation expectations and how to transition successfully into both college and career.

23. Recommendation 8: Refocusing Guidance Counseling • Guidance counseling should mean: • Helping students identify postsecondary opportunities related to college and career • Facilitating relationships between students and teachers so that every student is strongly supported

24. 9 • Establish new regional alliances of business, high schools, and higher education institutions where necessary and more fully utilize existing alliances to address specific challenges in preparing students to be college and career ready. These challenges, perhaps unique to specific regions, will be overcome most effectively with local stakeholders working in concert with statewide efforts to achieve college and career readiness

25. Recommendation 9: Regional Business, Higher Education and High School Partnerships • High school doesn’t happen in a vacuum • High school teachers need the feedback and support of businesses and higher education institutions to make sure their students are getting the skills that they need • High school students need access to outside opportunities to make good decisions about what they would like to do after graduation • Businesses and institutions of higher education should help shape the education offered at their local high school so that it meets their needs

26. 10 • Increase and enhance the number of educational options available to high school students to achieve high standards with particular attention to career and technical education

27. Recommendation 10: Multiple Pathways • While all high school pathways must be rigorous, there is no one best system • Career and technical education has a valuable place in preparing students for high-tech, high-skill careers

28. 11 • Facilitate the coordination of existing, and the development of new, programs designed to encourage economically and educationally disadvantaged students to attend, be retained and complete their postsecondary education programs.

29. Recommendation 11: Increasing Access to Postsecondary training • 2 out of every 3 new jobs require some higher education • All students need to be able to access post-secondary training: • Affordability • Preparation

30. 12 • Build systematic approaches to re-engage and re-enroll former dropouts in high-quality programming that yields a high school diploma and leads to college and career success. The Pennsylvania Department of Education should lead this statewide effort in cooperation with other relevant commonwealth agencies

31. Recommendation 12: Re-engaging Drop Outs • Our economy demands a high skill workforce • Graduation Competency Assessments provide former drop-outs with the ability to gain an important credential: a true high school diploma

32. Ensuring that all students graduate from high school ready for college and career means that policymakers must implement ALL of the Commission’s Recommendations.

33. Pennsylvania can and must develop the high-skills workforce that our global economy demands