A Vision for Reform: Join Academic and Career Studies to Promote Powerful Learning

1. A Vision for Reform:Join Academic and Career Studies to Promote Powerful Learning Skills for Success in the 21st Century

2. Goals of State Standards, Assessment and Accountability: • Raise the level of education for all students. • Increase all students’ achievement. • Prepare students for college and careers. • Prepare students to compete in a global economy – flat world. Crafting a New Vision

3. Why craft a vision for high school that goes beyond standards, assessment and accountability? • Students learn differently and at different rates. • Holding students back fails to raise achievement and graduation rates. • Students must see meaning and purpose in their studies. Crafting a New Vision

4. What can middle schools and high schools do to graduate more students and graduate them college- and career-ready? • Make fundamental changes in how students are taught. • Create optional programs of study that join challenging academic and technical studies. Crafting a New Vision

5. Offer multiple programs of study through a variety of school structures: • career academies • career majors • magnet schools • small learning communities with a career focus • dual credit with postsecondary institutions • technical high schools • shared-time technology centers Crafting a New Vision

6. Should optional programs of study require most students to complete a solid academic core? Yes! How many CT students at HSTW schools completed the HSTW-recommended academic core in 2008? 48% Crafting a New Vision

7. HSTW-Recommended Curriculum • Four college-prep English credits • Four mathematics credits, including Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II and above • Three college-prep science credits Crafting a New Vision

8. How many CT students meet college and career readiness when they complete the HSTW-recommended curriculum? Crafting a New Vision

9. Percentages of CT Students Completing the HSTW-Recommended Curriculum and Meeting Readiness Goals Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

10. How many students in CT courses meet college- and career-readiness goals without completing HSTW-recommended curriculum? Crafting a New Vision

11. Percentages of CT Graduates Meeting Readiness Goals without Completing the HSTW-Recommended Curriculum Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

12. Are we giving students experiencesthat connect literacy and mathematics to careers? Yes, when we: • Infuse academic content into CT courses and incorporate authentic assignments into academic courses. • Make greater use of internships, projects and problem-based learning. • Connect abstract academic content to authentic work in a particular career to foster greater effort from unmotivated students. Crafting a New Vision

13. Percentages of CT Students Experiencing an Intensive Instructional Emphasis on Literacy and Mathematics Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

14. Percentages of CT Students Meeting Readiness Goals When Experiencing HSTW-Recommended Academic Core and CT Studies with Embedded Academics 85% 80% 89% 78% 62% 70% Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

15. Students need to gain a depth of understanding,not just cover the material. Crafting a New Vision

16. Deeper understanding occurs when high schools and middle grades schools provide learning and assignments that emphasize: • critical thinking and problem-solving skills • oral and written communication skills • teamwork and collaboration • doing quality work timely and redoing it until it meets standards • using technology to complete assignments Crafting a New Vision

17. Good CT Instruction Can Foster 21st Century Skills • trouble-shooting and problem-solving skills • use of research skills to collect and organize information into a work plan • use of mathematics to support decision-making and planning • use of writing to aid learning and to complete tasks • communication and interaction with adults outside the school • a setting where students experiment, invent, design and construct Crafting a New Vision

18. Are CT students receiving 21st century assignments, and does it matter? Crafting a New Vision

19. Gains in Number of CT Students Per 100 Meeting Readiness Goals Who Experienced 21st Century Assignments Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

20. Are students receiving the extra help they need to meet college- and career-readiness standards? Yes, when: • Adults believe that, given the right environment, most students can master complex academic and technical skills. • Schools do not differentiate programs of study as “heads-on” work for some and “hands-on” for others. • Schools provide additional time and support. Crafting a New Vision

21. Gains in Number of CT Students Per 100 Meeting Readiness Goals Who Received Extra Help and Support Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

22. How can advisers or mentors help students? • Help students set tentative educational and career goals. • Have students choose a program of study based on interest and not on past achievement. • View initial student choices as exploratory and accommodate revised decisions. • Provide students the assistance and support to succeed. Crafting a New Vision

23. Average Gain in Number of CT Students Per 100 Meeting Readiness Goals Who Were Connected to an Adviser/Mentor Source: HSTW Assessment Crafting a New Vision

24. What action can schools take to help more students graduate from high school and graduate college- and career-ready? Crafting a New Vision

25. 1. Create optional programs of study that lead to employer certification, an associate’s degree or a bachelor degree. • Solid academic core • Sequence of CT courses aligned college- and career-readiness standards • Project-based learning • Mentors and extra support Crafting a New Vision

26. 2. Recognize that academic learning happens in different ways and settings. • Apprenticeships and work-based learning • Web-based instruction • Redesigned CT courses that blend academic and technical content • Employer certification exams Crafting a New Vision

27. 3. Align CT curricula to essential college- and career-readiness standards. • Identify most essential standards. • Orient academic and CT faculty to standards. • Invest in planning time to develop embedded assignments. • Create classroom assessments. • Train all teachers on research-based literacy strategies. Crafting a New Vision

28. 4. Schools can improve quality of instruction in academic and CT classrooms. • Train teachers on project- and problem-based learning. • Create organizational structures and schedules that enable cross-discipline planning. • Develop a strong induction and coaching system for new teachers. • Create a school leadership team that focuses on continuous improvement. Crafting a New Vision

29. 5. Schools can improve transition and can give support to assist students to meet college- and career-readiness standards. • Have more students leave grade eight ready for high school. • Redesign the ninth grade. • Provide a system of extra help. • Make success the option, not failure. • Connect students to an adult and to a goal. Crafting a New Vision

30. A copy of this PowerPoint can be downloaded from the SREB Web sitewww.sreb.orgHigh Schools That WorkPublications and MaterialsSpecial PowerPoint Presentations Crafting a New Vision