The Recent Evolution of Key High School-to-Postsecondary Policies and Practices

1. The Recent Evolution of Key High School-to-Postsecondary Policies and Practices Andrea Venezia, WestEd

2. Context: Of every 100 kindergartners hs grad some college degree Asian 94 80 49 White 93 62 29 Af. Amer. 86 48 15 Latino 61 31 10 Amer Ind. 58 not available 7 Source: “Youth at the Crossroads,” The Education Trust, 2001. Washington, DC.

3. Context for secondary-postsecondary divide • Almost 90% of 8th graders aspire to postsec • 80% of students and 85% of institutions are broad access • About 60% in broad access IHEs in remediation • Completion rates over 80% in competitive IHEs, but much lower in broad access IHEs • Racial/ethnic minorities suffer the most

4. 2003: • No organized groups lobbies for K-16 linkages. • No data or accountability systems regarding K-16 performance. • Nobody loses a job for poor K-16 linkage or performance. • Programmatic responses, such as Outreach programs, are often fragmented and rarely evaluated.

5. 2003: • Historic separation of policy and practice between postsecondary education and K-12. • Student standards are established in separate orbits. • High school and postsecondary faculty rarely work together. • No institutionalized entity at the state or regional level to make policy or integrate K-16 practice.

6. State Policies Perpetuate Disjunctures between K-12 and Postsecondary Education (2003): • Multiple and confusing assessments; • Disconnected curricula; • Lack of connected, longitudinal, data; • Few K-16 accountability mechanisms; • Insufficient K-16 governance mechanisms.

7. Student, Parent, and K-12 Educator Understandings about College Preparation (1996-2003): • Students’ college knowledge is vague and varies by student group; • Teachers’ college knowledge is incomplete and they play a major role; • College resources and connections with colleges are inadequate; • College preparatory opportunities are inequitable; and, • There is a lack of college counseling for all students.

8. Messages Students Receive (2003) • It’s better to take easier classes in high school and get better grades. • My senior year in high school does not matter. • I don’t have to worry about my grades or the classes I take until sophomore year of hs. • I can’t start thinking about financial aid until I know which college I’m going to. • I can take whatever classes I want to when I’m in college.

9. What do we know about college success? (2008) • The more credits college students earn in their first year, the more likely they are to complete. Earning 20 credits is an important milestone. • Passing certain gatekeeping courses (college math and first-year writing) is related to success. • Combining basic skills with Student Life Skills appears to increase likelihood of success. • Non-delayed entry, continuous enrollment, and full-time enrollment are all related to success. • Course withdrawal/repeats have negative effects. • Comprehensive, well-supported, support services have positive effects on student success. Sources: see, for example, research by Adelman, Bailey, Calcagno, Hoachlander, Terenzini, Shulock, and Jenkins.

10. What do we know about college success? (2008) Dual enrollment/credit • Several promising support components: • Social/emotional • Academic • Motivational • Difficult to evaluate

11. Minding the Gapby Hoffman, Vargas, Venezia, and Miller • Argument for the integration of grades 9-14 • Alignment/integration of standards, assessments, and curricula • Current pathways • Emerging pathway issues • Next steps for state policy • Accountability, data systems, financing

12. Integration of grades 9-14 • Next step after Double the Numbers • Threshold requirement of some kind of postsecondary education for all and equity concerns. • Integration is defined as: • Shared responsibility across and between education sectors • Multiple pathways • State policies and practices in such areas as accountability, finance, and governance are connected.

13. Alignment/Integration of Standards, Assessments, and Curricula • Profiled: • Achieve • O*Net • The Development of College Readiness Knowledge and Skills • Early Placement Testing

14. Pathways Profiled: • LaGuardia’s Middle College and the Science, Technology, and Research ECHS • Another Route to College in Holyoke, MA • University Park Campus School in Worcester, MA • College Now Emerging issues: • Pathways for struggling students • Supportive state policies • Return on investment

15. Quote • “We do not have the tools to change intentions or perceptions, or to orchestrate affective influences on students’ decisions. The events of students’ life course histories through their 20s lie largely beyond the micromanagement of collegiate institutions. But we do have the tools to provide increased academic intensity and quality of pre-collegiate curricula, to assure continuous enrollment, to advise for productive first-year college performance, and to keep community college transfer students from jumping ship to the four-year institution too early.” • –Adelman, Answers in the Toolbox