Improving the Transition From High School to Community College

1. Improving the TransitionFrom High School toCommunity College Michael W. Kirst Stanford University

2. Context of K-16 Disjunctures • Most ambitious generation ever – Over 80% want college degree • Percent of Bachelors degrees barely increases • Media pays attention to selective postsecondary, but problems in non-selective

3. Context of K-16 Disjunctures continued • 80% of students and 85% of institutions are open enrollment, or accept all qualified applicants • About 60% in non-selective in remediation • Completion rates over 80% in selective, but much lower in non-selective (60% dropouts for 2-year Bachelors’ aspirants) • Racial/ethnic minorities suffer the most

4. The Evolution of the Disjuncture between K-12 and Postsecondary Education • Historic separation of policy and practice between higher education and K-12. • Student standards are established in separate orbits. • K-16 faculty rarely work together. • No institutionalized entity at the state or regional level to make policy or integrate K-16 practice.

5. The Evolution of the Disjuncture between K-12 and Postsecondary Educationcontinued • No organized group lobbies for K-16 linkages. • No data or accountability system 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.

6. Bridge Research Sites

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

8. Findings Student, Parent, and K-12 Educator Understandings about College Preparation: • 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.

9. Selected Quotes “Probably just like everybody else [I believe it should be] a seamless flow for the students. The content, the knowledge they had in high school should be a foundation for them to be successful in college. That transition should be as smooth as possible. They should be able to walk into those [college] classes and feel confident.” – college administrator

10. Selected Quotes continued “The one thing – it’s the good thing about community college, I would say – is that a student can come here with absolutely no forethought, you know?” – college advisor • “This is the thing. I’ve always done well in grammar, and I’ve always done well in English. I got As throughout high school, and I was placed in the lowest English [in the community college].” – community college student

11. Why Worry about Disjunctures between K-12 and Postsecondary Education? • Creates incoherent policies, misdirected incentives, and inadequate student preparation. • Students (and educators) lack signals/information, and receive conflicting signals/information, regarding college preparation. • Low SES and first generation college-going suffer the most. • State assessments/accountability system breakdown in higher grades.

12. Why Worry about Disjunctures between K-12 and Postsecondary Education? continued • High level of remediation at the postsecondary level. • Different tests to prospective college students do not measure same kinds of skills and knowledge. • Outdated, given that 88% of students intend to go to college after high school and over 70% do matriculate directly.

13. Major Action Areas for Reform • Provide all students, their parents, and educators with accurate, high quality, information about, and access to, courses that will help prepare students for college-level standards. • Shift media, policy, and research attention to include broad access colleges and universities (that approximately 80% of college students attend). • Expand the focus of local, state, and federal programs from access to college to include access to success in college.

14. Policy Implications for Community Colleges • Track signals to high school students regarding college expectations and requirements • Track more carefully the signals students receive concerning placement • Send clearer signals about realistic transfer possibilities

15. Policy Implications for Community Colleges • Create initiatives to overcome the lack of high school academic preparation • Review the K-12 standards and assessments • Consider CSU augmented CST test • Collect more data on specific populations as they move in and through colleges

16. Policy Implications for Community Colleges • Link junior/senior year of high school to initial year of college • Expand dual enrollment to include more prospective community college students • Create a continuous policy-making apparatus for K-16

17. Implications of Developing and Implementing K-16 reforms • Set goals and objectives across traditional policy lines. • Collect data to understand needs across system boundaries. • The traditional separation of educational governance needs to be reexamined. • Joint budgeting is needed in certain areas to allow projects that cut across system boundaries to function.

18. Implications of Developing and Implementing K-16 reformscontinued • Education agency staff must work together toward common goals. • The natural suspicion that exists between high school teachers and postsecondary faculty must be broken down. • All incentive and sanction systems should be designed to encourage K-16 systems to interact where appropriate.