[regional_school] Fw: NCLB: What is College &/or Career Readiness

  • From: Dan Drmacich <dandrmacich@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: Denise Bartalo <denisebartalo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Bill Bendschneider <bamboo789@xxxxxxx>, Carolyn Bennett <cwriter85@xxxxxxx>, Mary Berger <mpresber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Wasa Bouphavong <daboupha@xxxxxxxxx>, G Brown <gjb0145@xxxxxxxxx>, Amy Brown <scottvbrown@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Pat Cavanaugh <cavanaughpat22@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Jason Charno <jasoncharno42@xxxxxxxxxxx>, A Colon <aacolon@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Rochelle Corey <archer14611@xxxxxxx>, Kelly Damick <kelli2478@xxxxxxxxx>, Deana Darling <jddarling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Deana Darling <darlin3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Brian Erway <brian_erway@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Tracey Farmer <Tracey.Farmer@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Karen Fisher <fishekh@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Dennis Francione <d.francione@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Shalanda Garfield <Shalonda_Garfield1@xxxxxxxxx>, Lynn Gatto <lynn.gatto@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Nancy Gersh <nancygersh@xxxxxxx>, RJ Glomboski <parallax@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Synthia Green <sng4979@xxxxxxxx>, Richard Greene <richard_greene@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Gretchen Haag <gretchenhaag@xxxxxxxxx>, Shawn Haarer <drhaarer@xxxxxxxxx>, Kate Hathaway <kaytea@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Kyra Hawn <khawn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Joseph Henderson <jhenderson11@xxxxxxxxx>, Sara Hughes <sara@xxxxxxxxxxxx>, Julia Kantor <julia.kantor@xxxxxxxxx>, Doug Klick <douglasklick@xxxxxxxxx>, Jack Langerak <jlanger0@xxxxxxx>, Barb Lemcke <b_lemcke@xxxxxxxxx>, Joan LoCurto <locurto135@xxxxxxxxx>, Tom Mackey <tmackey@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Jennifer Malinchak <jenjenfuller@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Katheryn McCullough <katmccullough@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Gena Merliss <merliss@xxxxxxxxx>, Jessica Metras <jessicametras@xxxxxxxxx>, Nancy Monachino <nmonachino@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Gwynne Mosch <Gwynne.mosch@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Barbara Moynihan <barbara.moynihan@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Kevin Murray <kmurray@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Jessie Nimeh <jgnimeh@xxxxxxxxx>, Maureen Nupp <Maureennupp@xxxxxxxxx>, Rich Ognibene <richard_ognibene@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Tom Pappas <tjp18@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Sheila Pearlman <yspearlman@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Norreen Pelusio <njpelusio@xxxxxxx>, Todd Pschierer <psch811@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Kari Ritter <kritter84@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Rosemary Rivera <rrivera@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Emily Roberts <emilymarkelle@xxxxxxx>, Peter Rosenthal <prosenthal@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Scott Schaefer <mister_schaefer@xxxxxxxxx>, Chojy Schroeder <chojy.schroeder@xxxxxxxxx>, Sharon Silvio <ssilvio@xxxxxxx>, Steve Skidmore <steve.skidmore@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Pete Smith <petersmith71@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Ralph Spezio <rspezio@xxxxxxxxx>, Gail Stoddart <stoddart.g@xxxxxxxxx>, Mathew Taber <sundevil108@xxxxxxxx>, Leslie Vermeulen <ldvermeulen@xxxxxxxxxxx>, Jennifer Wheeler <jennifer_wheeler@xxxxxxxx>, Mary Wilkins <mtkwilkins@xxxxxxxxx>, Ruth Young-Card <cardjrb@xxxxxxx>, Lee Zelazny <lee.zelazny@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:58:05 -0700 (PDT)










No Child Left Behind embraces 'college and career readiness' 

The current buzz phrase in education is 'college and career readiness.' It's 
even part of Obama's vision for a revised No Child Left Behind law. But what 
does it mean? Is it real progress in education reform?






 


Students work in a common area at Quincy College, in Quincy, Mass. Many schools 
have shifted their focus from graduation rates to career readiness.
Taylor Weidman/The Christian Science MonitorEnlarge 





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
By Amanda Paulson, / Staff writer / March 23, 2010 
Chicago 
Read any article on education these days, and chances are you'll come across 
the words "college- and career-ready." It's the catchphrase du jour – the goal 
of almost every education reformer on both the right and the left.Skip to next 
paragraph 

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It's also the aim of the Common Core State Standards for student academic 
achievement across America, a draft report released earlier this month by the 
National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers.
In addition, the Obama administration's recently released proposal for 
rewriting the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 calls for doing away with 
the 2014 goal of 100 percent proficiency in reading and math in favor of 
getting all students college- and career-ready by the time they graduate from 
high school.
Many education advocacy groups have already shifted their focus from simply 
raising graduation rates to making sure that students who graduate are ready 
for the next step.
But it's not always clear how such a shift toward college- and career- 
readiness standards would change the current education system.

What does 'college- and career-ready' mean?

Loosely, it means ensuring that students are prepared for college-level courses 
upon matriculation, or for a job that can support a family.
Another definition, suggested by Marc Tucker, president of the National Center 
on Education and the Economy, is whatever skills are required to succeed in 
credit-bearing courses at the community-college level.

Shouldn't graduation from high school mean that students are ready for the next 
step?

Currently, between 30 and 40 percent of students enrolling in college require 
at least one remedial class. Such courses don't give credits, don't qualify for 
tuition aid, and contribute to America's abysmal college completion rate: About 
half of all students who start college never finish. In a survey that the 
standards-advocate group Achieve conducted several years ago, employers said 
that about 40 percent of the high school graduates they hired didn't have the 
skills to advance in their jobs.

Is there agreement on what the standards should be?

The Common Core standards are the ones with the most buy-in so far. They 
emphasize cognitive skills – such as the ability to analyze a text coherently; 
write clearly and logically; and demonstrate precise, strategic mathematical 
thinking – in addition to core subject knowledge.
Some educators say an even broader range of attributes is necessary to succeed 
in college.
Any true measurement of college readiness has to include self-management skills 
and knowledge about the culture of college – including how to choose and apply 
to the right one – as well as academic skills and content knowledge, says David 
Conley, director of the Center for Educational Policy Research at the 
University of Oregon in Eugene.
Page: 1 | 2 
What students need to know in high school is not every detail," says Professor 
Conley. "They need a structure of knowledge, big ideas, and large organizing 
concepts."Skip to next paragraph 

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Is there a difference between college and career readiness?

It depends on whom you ask. The skills needed in college and at a job with a 
viable career path are very similar, says Mike Cohen, president of Achieve. 
This indicates, he adds, that high schools should be preparing every student 
for college-level work.
Others say there are some distinctions between college and job preparedness, 
although less research has been done on career readiness.
"They need to be a little more clear about what jobs they're really 
referencing," says Michael Kirst, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford 
University in California, who adds that the lack of specificity about "career 
readiness" is a weakness of the proposed common standards.

What progress has already been made?

Thirty-one states now have college- and career-ready standards, according to an 
Achieve report this year. That's up from the three that the organization 
counted five years ago.
Eight states, meanwhile, have signed on with Mr. Tucker's organization to begin 
measuring how well students measure up to such standards.

What tools do we have to measure college and career readiness?

Very few, which leads some critics to say that reformers are getting ahead of 
themselves. Almost everyone agrees that the current exams – generally 
computer-scored, multiple-choice tests designed for efficiency – are poor at 
measuring the sort of complex analytical skills and reasoning that are key to 
college readiness. The Obama administration has promised $350 million to help 
states develop good assessments.
Conley, of the University of Oregon, envisions a combination of teachers' 
assessments of skills that are hard to measure on tests and exams that require 
more sophisticated student responses, which will be graded partly by the 
teacher and partly by the state.
"It's harder to measure these skills, but it's not impossible," says Tucker. 
"The only way you can find out if students can write a decent 20-page history 
research paper is to ask them to write a 20-page research paper."

Is this a real change or just a repackaging of old goals?

Changing the standards without changing curricula, teacher training, and 
accountability would do little, but most advocates of college and career 
readiness hope it will eventually affect every aspect of the current system.
"Up until this time, our testing system has been designed as normative tests: 
Compare student A to all other students," says Tucker. "Now we're saying, 
here's a fixed standard and we have to get all or almost all kids to it. That's 
a shift of enormous proportions."
The change is much needed, says Conley. "If we don't get this right, I have a 
hard time seeing how the United States economy is going to maintain its place 
in the world. If we create two classes of people in this society – those who 
have access to these kinds of cognitive strategies and knowledge jobs and those 
who don't – the gap is going to continue to grow dramatically."
Page:  1 | 2


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