Closing the Expectation Gap

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Closing theExpectation Gap

• Fourth Annual 50-State Progress Report on the
  Alignment of High School Policies with the
  Demands of College and Careers

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Align High School Graduation Requirements with
College- and Career- Ready Expectations
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The expectations gap

• In todays economy, all students need a
  challenging academic course of study to succeed
  in postsecondary education and to get a good job.
• But in many states, students can graduate from
  high school without having what it takes to
  continue learning or to earn a living wage.

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Closing the expectations gap

• To close this expectations gap, Achieve created
  the American Diploma Project Network.
• The Network includes 34 states that together
  educate nearly 85 percent of the nations public
  school students.
• Network states have committed to four policy
  actions to better prepare students for college,
  the workplace and citizenship.

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American Diploma Project Network agenda

• Align high school standards with the demands of
  college and careers.
• Require students to take a college- and
  career-ready curriculum to earn a high school
  diploma.
• Build college-and career-ready measures into
  statewide high school assessment systems.
• Develop reporting and accountability systems that
  promote college and career readiness.

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Requiring a rigorous curriculum is key to better
preparing students for college and careers

• Course-taking matters more for student
  achievement than social problems, family
  obstacles and student ability.
• Nearly every state requires students to study
  specific subjects for a certain number of years
  or take specific courses to graduate, but most do
  not require a college- and career-ready
  curriculum.
• Research by the American Diploma Project and
  others shows that students who go to college and
  students who go to work need the same knowledge
  and skills, particularly in English and math.

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ADP Identifying knowledge and skills students
need to succeed in college and the workplace

• Achieve, The Education Trust, and the Thomas B.
  Fordham Foundation launched the American Diploma
  Project (ADP) to identify knowledge and skills
  students need in English and math to succeed in
  college or get a good job.
• Partnered with Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts,
  Nevada and Texas.
• Involved wide variety of K12, higher education
  and business representatives.

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How American Diploma Project defines good jobs

• Pays enough to support a family well above the
  poverty level,
• Provides benefits, and
• Offers clear pathways for career advancement
  through further education and training.

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What does it take to succeed in good jobs?

• American Diploma Project research found that
• 84 percent of highly paid professionals took
  Algebra II or higher in high school.
• Employees in vast majority of good jobs took four
  years of grade-level English.
• Employers emphasize importance of workers being
  able to think creatively and logically and to
  identify and solve problems.
• Fastest-growing occupations require some
  education beyond high school (e.g., certificate,
  bachelors degree, associate degree, on-the-job
  training).

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To be college- and career-ready, students need to
complete a rigorous sequence of courses
To cover the content American Diploma Project
research shows students need to be college- and
career-ready, high school graduates need to take

• In math
• Four courses
• Content equivalent to Algebra I and II, Geometry,
  and a fourth course such as Statistics or
  Precalculus

• In English
• Four courses
• Content equivalent to four years of grade-level
  English or higher (i.e., honors or AP English)

Cross-disciplinary proficiencies are critical
elements of the math and English benchmarks
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Cross-Disciplinary Proficiencies

• To achieve success in college, the workplace and
  life, American students must not only master
  important content, they must also be adept
  problem solvers and critical thinkers who can
  contribute and apply their knowledge and skills
  in novel contexts and unforeseen situations.
  Specifically, the ADP benchmarks include the
  following cross-disciplinary proficiencies
• Research and Evidence Gathering.
• Critical Thinking and Decision Making
• Communications and Teamwork
• Media and Technology
• Students need a strong content foundation in
  order to master these sophisticated
  cross-disciplinary proficiencies.
  Cross-disciplinary proficiencies are, therefore,
  best taught in the context of rigorous courses in
  the foundational disciplines.

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Taking rigorous high school courses greatly
increases students readiness for college-level
coursework
Percentage of students who meet ACT benchmark for
college algebra by math courses taken in high
school
Source ACT, Crisis at the Core Preparing All
Students for College and Work, 2004.
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Students who had a rigorous high school
curriculum are more likely to earn a bachelors
degree
Source Adapted from Horn, L. and Kojaku, L.K.
High School Academic Curriculum and the
Persistence Path through College Persistence and
Transfer Behavior of Undergraduates Three Years
after Entering Four-year Institutions, National
Center for Education Statistics, 2001.
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Taking challenging courses in high school closes
college completion gap between whites and
minorities
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30
Source Adelman, C. Answers in the Tool Box
Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and
Bachelors Degree Attainment, U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, 1999.
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Minority interest in advanced math far exceeds
availability
Percentage of students
Source National Action Council for Minorities in
Engineering, Progress Toward Power A Follow-Up
Survey of Childrens and Parents Attitudes About
Math and Science. Research Letter, October 2001.
Survey conducted by Harris Interactive, 1999.
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Graduates say they would have worked harder if
high schools had challenged them
If your high school had demanded more of
students, set higher academic standards and
raised the expectations of how much coursework
would be necessary to earn a diploma, would you
have worked harder?

• Wouldnt have worked harder

• Would have worked harder

80
82

• Strongly feel I would
• have worked harder

High school graduates who did not go to college
High school graduates who went to college
Source Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public
Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge Are
High School Graduates Prepared for College and
Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
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Current students agree
Percentage of students who say they would work
harder if high school offered more demanding and
interesting courses
Source National Governors Association, summary
of RateYourFuture.org survey findings, 2005.
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Graduates who faced high expectations in high
school twice as likely to feel prepared for future
Percentage saying they were extremely/very well
prepared
Source Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public
Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge Are
High School Graduates Prepared for College and
Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
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Taking advanced math in high school better
prepares students for math on the job
Percentage of high school graduates extremely or
very well prepared for expectations of
college/work
Source Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public
Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge Are
High School Graduates Prepared for College and
Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
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Students who did more writing in high school feel
better prepared to write on the job
Percentage of high school graduates extremely or
very well prepared for expectations of
college/work
Source Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public
Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge Are
High School Graduates Prepared for College and
Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
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Twenty states require a college- and career-ready
diploma for all
Mandatory college- and career-ready diploma
Default college- and career-ready diploma
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eight others plan to
Planning to raise requirements
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How states are doing it Default curricula (opt
out provision)
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How states are doing it Mandatory curriculum (no
opt out provision)
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What it will take to raise graduation requirements

• States that let local districts set their own
  requirements will need to consider other
  approaches.
• States need to pay more attention to the content
  of the courses that are taught rather than simply
  measure course titles and Carnegie units.
• States need to allow teachers to engage students
  in different ways that match their learning
  styles.
• States need to ensure that there are enough
  teachers who are prepared to teach higher-level
  courses.

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What can we expect?

• Implementation takes time and effort. States
  must
• Monitor efforts.
• Communicate effectively.
• Invest resources wisely.
• Use data to protect investment.
• Build in the necessary supports and incentives
  for teachers and students to ensure all schools
  can provide the rigorous curriculum to all
  students.

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These efforts matter

• All students need and deserve to be prepared for
  success in both postsecondary education and the
  labor market.
• This is not easy work but this is possible
  and this effort is essential.

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