September 5, 2010
September 5, 2010
Allow every student the opportunity to select from a variety of interest-based and career-themed pathways of study (such as a career academy, IB Program of Study, early college high school, etc…) to develop their academic skills, core knowledge and success attributes. The program of study selected by the student will leverage an area of personal interest while integrating that area of interest (career and technical education, the arts, literature, science and mathematics) with other core academic knowledge.
Success Factor Resources:
Urge each school district to actively encourage the development of a portfolio of themed-options among small public schools, charter schools, and larger high schools that organize themselves into smaller learning communities. Additionally, ensure that district enrollment policies and transportation are organized to maximize student choice among publicly-supported options, and to encourage healthy competition among schools for program excellence.
Implementation Resources:
Next Generation Learning Communities (NGLCs)
This Web site describes Next Generation Learning Communities -- regional alliances of K–12 schools, businesspeople, postsecondary educators, and community leaders, mobilized to reform education and stimulate local economic development.
NGLCs are guided and supported by the Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company, which also sponsors the implementation of the innovative, hands-on Ford PAS Learning curriculum in schools across the country.
Often employing innovations such as career academies, small learning communities, and use of the Ford PAS Learning curriculum, NGLCs show students the connection education and their future success in the world of work.
Hugh Mehan, Department of Sociology, University of California, San Diego
February 2007
This paper explores a multiple pathways strategy in which academic and career-themed education are blended together as an alternative to tracking, and uses the Preuss Charter School located in San Diego as an example of a multiple pathways strategy wherein all students are prepared for college and career after high school graduation.
MDRC
2008
This landmark study of career academies tracked students beginning in 1993 and examined the results on student achievement, both in education and careers, over an extended period of time. The rigorous evaluation of the career academy approach used a random assignment research design in a diverse group of nine high schools across the United States.
Career Pathways as a Systemic Framework
The League for Innovation in the Community College
2007
This report provides an overview of career pathways and their role in school reform and postsecondary transitions, and discusses core elements and features of implementation.
Lessons from the Field: A Guide to Implementing Small Learning Communities and Career Academies
Career Academy Support Network
2007
This toolkit takes an in depth look at the implementation of smaller learning communities, including key features, system needs, support structures, and evaluation components.
Created in 2003 by the Office of the Governor of North Carolina and the Education Cabinet with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, NCNSP and school districts and educators have started more than 100 innovative high schools. In supporting the planning and initial work of these schools, NCNSP partners with colleges and universities, state and local government and supporters in the private and philanthropic sectors. The Web site provides a comprehensive selection of support services to help create an effective array of high schools.
The Small Schools Project, part of the Coalition of Essential Schools Northwest, promotes the development of small schools committed to:
The Web site provides resources for starting a small school and numerous tips and tools for implementation.
Career Academy Support Network
The Career Academy Support Network (CASN), begun in 1998, is a center based at the University of California, Berkeley. Housed in the Graduate School of Education, the center focuses on high school reform, and in particular supports the growth and improvement of Small Learning Communities (SLCs) and Career Academies (CAs), which many high schools are using to prepare students for college and careers. The Web site provides links to resources and downloadable guides, handbooks, and forms for the implementation of career academies.
Back to TopEncourage every student, as part of their selected program of study, to take a full complement of challenging core academic and elective courses that will prepare them for entrance to postsecondary education.
Implementation Resources:
Rigor at Risk: Reaffirming Quality in the High School Core Curriculum
ACT
2007
This report outlines the need for increased academic rigor in order to prepare students for postsecondary education and work. According to its authors, “The purposes of this report are to examine the gap between secondary and postsecondary education in the U.S. and to focus on successful strategies for eliminating this gap so that all high school graduates learn the essential skills they need to be successful in college and work.
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, U.S. Department of Education
The State Scholars Initiative (SSI) is a national program that motivates students to complete a rigorous course of study in high school, with the goal of better preparing them for success in postsecondary education or training, as well as in their future careers. This Web site describes the program in detail, links to participating states, and provides research on the need for rigorous coursework.
Achieve, Inc.
The American Diploma Project (ADP) is an initiative managed by Achieve, Inc., created to ensure that all students graduate from high school prepared to face the challenges of work and college. 34 states, including Colorado, currently participate in the network and are dedicated to the goals of:
NGA/ACT Pilot Project: Increasing Course Rigor (Final Report)
National Governors Association/ACT
2008
This report describes the results of a 17-month pilot project that was designed to improve the quality of learning experiences in core preparatory high school courses, including English 10, Geometry and Biology. It includes implications for implications for policy and practice, lessons learned and recommendations for next steps.
Closing the Expectations Gap 2009
Achieve, Inc.
February 2009
This is the fourth annual 50-State progress report on the alignment of high school policies with the demands of college and careers. It looks at five elements in each state:
A New Core Curriculum for All: Aiming High for Other People’s Children
The Education Trust
Winter 2003
This report makes the case for a common set of standards for all students, focusing on rigorous academics, and explores the mismatch between students’ educational preparation and aspirations. An agenda for change is outlined with concrete action steps for states and school districts.
Back to TopInclude in all interest-based and career-themed pathways a structured and transparent opportunity to earn a significant amount of college-level credits while still in high school. In order for this initiative to succeed, colleges and schools must develop the effective partnerships to allow for smooth transitions into postsecondary education and the workplace.
Implementation Resources:
The College Ladder: Linking Secondary and Postsecondary Education for Success for All Students
American Youth Policy Forum
September 2006
This report coins the term “Secondary-Postsecondary Learning Options” to describe schools and programs that link secondary education with two- and four-year institutions of higher education and allow high school students to participate in college-level courses for credit and not for credit. This report describes dual enrollment programs, Tech Prep, Middle and Early College High Schools, programs serving disadvantaged youth, and college access programs.
National High School Center
March 2007
This research brief looks at the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI), developed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and examines lessons learned and best practices. It can help inform those interested in developing or implementing dual enrollment programs as a strategy to accelerate learning and help bridge transitions after graduation.
Techniques Magazine – Association for Career and Technical Education
October 2008
This issue of Techniques magazine focuses on the theme of dual enrollment programs. It contains four articles featuring research and best practices on this topic:
National Research Center for Career and Technical Education
October 2007
This in depth research report features results of two of the most well developed dual enrollment systems in the country – in Florida and New York. It looks specifically at why dual enrollment is appropriate for CTE students.
Preparing High School Students for Successful Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Employment
National High School Center
August 2008
This Issue Brief lays out characteristics of selected interventions to promote successful transition to postsecondary education and employment, including dual credit and Tech Prep. It discusses preliminary design issues, as well as key elements such as curriculum and instruction and student supports, and includes a special section on considerations for students with disabilities.
Teachers College Record, Volume 110, Number 4
April 2008
This article explores credit-based transition programs and the mechanisms that encourage student success in postsecondary education. It explores five programs in diverse policy contexts, and focuses on efforts that appear to best prepare middle- and low-achieving students for postsecondary education.
Back to TopStrengthen the links between education systems such as secondary, community colleges, and higher education to make it easier for students to transition from one education system to another in a way that honors and rewards prior learning through transcripted and transferable credits. These connections should be system-to-system in their nature, not just teacher-to-teacher, so that curriculum, admissions and funding decisions facilitate student participation in postsecondary learning.
Implementation Resources:
Strengthening Transitions by Encouraging Career Pathways: A Look at State Policies and Practices
Community College Research Center
2006
This report focuses on state policies that develop the continuum of education through initiatives like the Community College Transitions Initiative, Career Pathways, Career Majors, and Career Clusters. Examples of cases in which curricula, requirements, or assessments are being coordinated statewide are provided.
Lost in Transition: Building a Better Path from School to College and Careers
Southern Regional Education Board – High Schools That Work
2008
This report, sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College and the Southern Regional Education Board, and supported by the U.S. Department of Education, summarizes results of 15 state-level forums held in 2005 and 2006 across the country with a cross section of state education and policy leaders. The forums, and paper, focused on ways to foster collaboration between secondary and postsecondary education systems and build successful transitions from high school to college and careers.
Changing Systems, Changing Lives: The Broader Impact of the College & Career Transitions Initiative
League for Innovation in the Community College
2009
This paper consists of a collection of best practices and case studies resulting from the implementation of the College and Career Transitions Initiative. Results from the project have resulted in numerous promising systems changes that can be replicated in sites around the country.
Special Issue: Academic Pathways To and From the Community College
New Directions for Community Colleges Journal
Volume 2006 Issue 135, Pages 1 - 107 (Autumn 2006)
This special issue of the New Directions for Community Colleges contains 10 research articles related to systems connections, ranging from serving underserved students to statewide policies that align standards and curricula.
A Shared Agenda: A Leadership Challenge to Improve College Access and Success
The Pathways to College Network
February 2004
A Shared Agenda was designed as a roadmap to ensuring more students, especially those in the “middle third,” are prepared for college success. The Pathways to College Network established six principles to guide educators in this effort:
More Student Success: A Systemic Solution
State Higher Education Executive Officers
2007
This publication discussed building an education system leading to more student success beginning in elementary school and continuing through high school and postsecondary education. It discusses six essential components of a P-20 system designed for student success: