Improving Alignment and Transitions: The Role of P-20 Education Commission of the States for the...

Improving Alignment and Transitions:

The Role of P-20

Education Commission of the Statesfor the

NASDSE Annual ConferenceOctober 18, 2009

Education Commission of the States

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


What is P-20?• It’s about alignment & transitions• 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


Why P-20?


Passing the Buck

4-year institutions

2-year institutions

High schools

Middle schools

Elementary schools

Pre-K programs

Employers

Parents

What we’ve heard: P/P-3

• Brain growth doesn’t correlate with investment of resources

• Many kids in some type of “out-of-home” environment

• Achievement gaps are there at kndg

• Need array of efforts – silver “buckshot”


What we’ve heard: Early Transitions

• Between public and private

• Between home-based & center-based

• Between “P” teachers and K-12 teachers

• Between levels of quality


What we’ve heard: P-20

• Sectors have grown apart & have deep divisions

• Standards established in separate orbits

• No data, unaligned data or not the right data (metrics)

• Programmatic responses small & fragmented


What we’ve heard – K-12/H. Ed.

• State policies perpetuate disjuncture

• Little curriculum mapping

• Alignment not reaching course or college placement levels

• Little attention to placement exams & analysis of exams

• No one is accountable for alignment


What Data Helps Align?

• Results of interventions?

• High schools analyze which courses taken, patterns of course-taking and what’s in those courses?

• Number and remediation rates by high school?

• Persistence, transfer?


What data do YOU need?

? ?

? ?Education Commission of the States

No one “owns” alignment.

No one “owns” transition points. No one lobbies for P-20.


The P-20 Councila potential “owner”



Councils: Method of creationAccording 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


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)

• OthersSource: www.ecs.org/P-20


Creating a P-16 council just the starting point

• Some councils leverage little change

• Essential elements to consider:– Actors– Agenda– Appropriation of

resources


Actors

• Goldilocks: Not too big, not too small

• Early learning

• Legislative

• Gubernatorial

• Business community

• Clarity re: council mission and roles

• Meet at least quarterly


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


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)


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


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


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


FL benchmarks: Sample view


Appropriation of resources

• Financial resources– Communications can build public support

• Human resources– Research policy solutions– Support policy/program implementation


Financial resources

• State funds (leg. appropriation or built in agencies’ budgets) – 22 states

• “Other” funds – 10 states– Foundation– Business– Federal

• “Sustainability”: NE, WY


Human resources

• Council supported by min. .5 FTE: 21 councils

• Include councils that have made substantial gains


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


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


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: Back mapping K-12 standards,

assts. from “postsecondary ready” def.• AR, FL: Let HS students take

placement exams


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)


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


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)


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)

Date post:	13-Dec-2015
Category:	Documents
Upload:	susan-norman
View:	213 times
Download:	0 times

Improving Alignment and Transitions: The Role of P-20 Education Commission of the States for the...

Documents