"B-20" in Michigan

In his state of the state address earlier this month, new Governor Rick Snyder said, "We’ve been spending money without delivering the results to give our young people a bright future. It is time that we view our educational system which runs from pre-natal to lifelong learning. It’s time to start talking about B-20 instead of just K-12."

At a time when many "P-16" and "P-20" councils do not have early learning on their agendas or an explicit representative of early learning in their membership, a "B-20" approach in Michigan would be truly revolutionary, and a potential model for other states to consider.

College readiness in Texas

A study published in the academic journal Education and Urban Society a few months ago analyzed the college-readiness in reading and math of Texas high school students (n = 1,099 high schools) in the 2006-07 school year. The authors found that roughly 1 in 3 students were college-ready in both subject areas, although Hispanic and African American students were less likely to be college-ready.

The authors suggest that "within-group differences" (comparing, for example Hispanic students against other Hispanic students) could be used to inform intervention strategies to enhance the college preparedness of minority students. And in fact, Texas has since implemented policies to better track the number and percentage of students opting out of the default college-ready curriculum into the less-rigorous "minimum" high school curriculum. These policies include a 2009 amendment to Sec. 39.057 of the education code, which now calls for the commissioner of education to authorize a special accreditation investigation when excessive numbers of students in a district graduate under the minimum high school program, or excessive numbers of students eligible to enroll in Algebra II fail to do so, or fail to enroll in any other course that distinguishes the minimum high school program from the default ("recommended") high school program.

What are some examples of policy areas in which coordinating entities have achieved success/been effective in their efforts to align across systems?

It seems the most common areas of policy activity among coordinating entities have been (1) Transitions from HS to PS, (2) Teaching quality, (3) State data systems. After that, policy areas become more scattered. But different states have framed each of these three big issues differently. For example, “transitions” in one state may take the form of improving dual enrollment programs; in another, raising high school graduation requirements; in another, creating “college-ready” HS standards with the imput of postsecondary and HS faculty, etc. etc.

This link indicates the areas in which councils had brought about policy changes by May 2008. Note that while virtually all councils call themselves “P”-16 or “P”-20, few note that they have enacted changes to early learning—either birth to 5 or pre-K/kindergarten.

P-20 council achievements to date in South Carolina

Last month, South Carolina's K-16 council, the Education and Economic Development Coordinating Council (EEDCC), released its fifth annual report. In spite of the economic downturn, P-20 alignment is moving ahead in the state, and the efforts of the EEDCC (and legislation underlying the EEDCC's efforts) are bearing fruit.

For example: Nearly all students in grades 8-11 had or revised an Individual Graduation Plan (IGP) between Dec. 2009-Nov. 2010, and parents of students in grades 8-12 are invited to attend annual IGP conferences with their children. Seventy-one percent of these parents participated in these events, and according to surveys administered in spring 2010, 94% of the student respondents "indicated that the conference helped them to better understand the relationship between their course work and their career goals". Ninety-four percent of the parents participating in the survey "indicated that they believe the annual IGP conferences are beneficial to their children as they prepare to be promoted to the next grade level".

The value of a P-20 council

Kansas' P-20 Council, which recently concluded its work (the executive order under which they were created expired this month with the inauguration of new governor Sam Brownback), issued a final report in December.

In this report, the council members speak to the value of a P-20 council as a forum for collaboration across agencies: "We have learned about the vital importance of consensus building among the many groups involved in addressing the individual stages of the educational process ... When the P-20 Council was established, collaboration among various state agencies regarding education was sporadic and lacking focus. That is not to say it did not exist, but it relied primarily on the good will of individual staff members and situational demands. With the establishment of the Council, this collaboration has moved steadily toward a more structured process built into the policies and activities of the respective state agencies concerned with the education of Kansans from pre-K through postgraduate study and on into the workforce."

Arizona's P-20 council and Race to the Top

A report presented at the Dec. 2010 meeting of Arizona's P-20 council identifies a plan for the state to move ahead on the reforms proposed in the state's Race to the Top proposal, regardless of the fact that Arizona was not selected to receive a Race to the Top award.

The report provides 19 recommendations for moving ahead--one particularly of note was to "Engage higher education at a deep level in the implementation of the Arizona reform plan. Colleges of Education, along with other providers of teacher pre-service programs, play a lead role in preparing a new teacher. A strong commitment from higher education will be needed to ensure pre-service programs prepare teachers to teach in a standards-based system. In addition, the PARCC assessment, of which Arizona serves as a Governing state, includes a college-ready assessment intended to be widely accepted by higher education institutions as a good indicator of a student’s readiness for college-level courses. Higher education will need to be actively involved in the assessment development to ensure that happens[.]"

P-20 governance, council proposed in Washington

A new policy brief sets forth Washington Governor Gregoire's plan for a unified education governance structure, from early learning through postsecondary. The plan calls for a secretary of education, appointed by the governor, to oversee a department of education that houses four divisions--one each for early learning, K-12, community colleges/technical education, and universities.

The plan also calls for the creation of a P-20 council, with members appointed by the governor. The council would be charged with developing a state education strategic plan and state accountability measures, as well as identifying best practices.

Common assessment, data warehouse and Web portal in California

A 2010 bill vetoed by former Governor Schwarzenegger would have created a potentially one-of-a-kind system in California to improve outcomes for community college students. A.B. 2682 would have required the board of governors of the California Community Colleges to establish a pilot project to create a single assessment instrument, the California Community Colleges Common Assessment, for purposes of placement and advisement in English and math. In developing the assessment, the state would have used the existing test item banks created by the California State University and the K-12 system as part of the state’s college readiness assessment (the Early Assessment Program).

The pilot would also have entailed the development of a data warehouse to collect (a) all available assessment scores generated by assessed students at all participating community colleges, and (b) all available K–12 assessment data and transcript information for students at all participating community colleges. This data would only have been used to place and advise students.

Lastly, the pilot would have involved creation of a Web portal accessible to community college personnel and students and that would provide: (a) An assessment profile, generated for each student upon request, that includes all assessment information in the data warehouse, for purposes of counseling, matriculation and course placement; (b) A pretest application that emulates the structure of the centrally delivered student assessment that students can practice on and familiarize themselves with before taking future assessments; (c) An advisement tool that provides students with information on historical success rates of remedial courses for students at various levels of academic remediation.

Although the veto message doesn't say so, it is possible the bill was also vetoed due to the expenditure necessary to bring such a system to fruition. Once states come out of the current recession, the model proposed in A.B. 2682 would be an excellent one to consider.

A new P-20 council in Colorado

Of the four executive orders that new Colorado governor (and new ECS chair) John Hickenlooper issued his first day in office earlier this week, one of them was to create a new P-20 council. The Governor's Education Leadership Council, which replaces the Governor's P-20 Education Coordinating Council created by former governor Bill Ritter, includes 17 specified members, and will be led by the lieutenant governor. This choice will perhaps provide some continuation of the council's previous work, as, in an interesting twist, the new lieutenant governor co-chaired the former council with the former lieutenant governor. The issues the council is charged with addressing resemble those the former council worked on--including school readiness, dropout prevention, and various aspects of postsecondary entry and completion.

Unlike the former P-20 council, which was largely comprised of K-12 and postsecondary practitioners from varied walks of life, the new council will include leaders of K-12 and postsecondary agencies/governing boards, as well as the chairs of the house and senate education committees. Interestingly, the new council will include at least two explicit early childhood representatives--the exec. dir. of the Early Childhood Leadership Commission (or designee) and at least one member representing an organization supporting or with expertise in infant health and development.

New ECS report on P-20 governance

Released earlier this week: an ECS report on states that have fully or partially consolidated K-12 and postsecondary governance in a single entity. The report also identifies whether this single entity has authority over early learning in the state.

The report does not speak to the cost savings or student achievement gains realized through such a governance shift. There is little research on the impact of governance structures on administrative expenditures or student achievement.

What are the skill sets needed to lead (or participate on) a P-20 council?

Part III of the discussion started in the Dec. 10 post: An individual working with the state of North Carolina on strategic planning for their education coordinating entity asked me, ""What are the skill sets needed to successful lead (or even participate on) a coordinating entity (P20 Council, Education Cabinet, etc.)?"

My initial answer: These are all generic to participation rather than leadership:
(1) Ability to see beyond interests of agency one represents (rather than paying lip service to seeing beyond interests of one’s agency!), in order to compromise as necessary to do what will serve students best;
(2) Not sure this is a skill set, but: A critical mass of the members need to have authority for implementation of the entity’s recommendations. If there are too many local, community, business, other members and not the key players with authority to see through policies, programs etc. once they have been agreed upon by the entity, the council will most likely achieve limited results.
(3) Somewhat distinct from #1 response above: Some understanding of the linkage problems beyond one’s agency—or at least willingness to learn, be receptive to, linkage problems other agencies face that may be a result of your agency’s operations.

And specific to leadership: Again, this is not a skill set, but not being seen as overly partisan. This may also help the council and the council’s policy changes stay in place when there is a change in state leadership from one party to another. This may be why some councils have chosen to have co-chairs. This link (admittedly needs updating) indicates the chairs in place when our 50-state scan was completed in 2008 http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=2048 .

Mississippi's Education Achievement Council

2010 H.B. 1071 creates the Education Achievement Council, an entity that, while not called a P-20 council, has a membership and mission similar to many councils across the nation.

As stated in the legislation, the purpose of the council is "to sustain attention to the state's goal of increasing the educational attainment and skill levels of the state's working-age population benchmark to the national average by 2025." The 23 members of the council include K-12 and postsecondary leaders, legislative leaders, a representative of the governor's office, the president and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council (the state chamber of commerce), and the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Mental Health.

A P-20 council for New Mexico?

For years, New Mexico has had one or more staff designated for "P-20", and at one point had an "Alignment Task Force" (more details in the New Mexico entry in the ECS P-20 Councils database).

Now, New Mexico's recently released (and first-ever) State Master Plan for Higher Education (landing page here) recommends establishing a P-20 council through legislation "to facilitate, develop, and coordinate strategies to improve student success from preschool through college, including aligning high school standards, graduation requirements and college entrance expectations as well as addressing remedial and developmental issues." And in fact, this is one of the "priority recommendations" identified in the master plan.

New study: P-16 alignment needed

A recently released study suggests that P-16 alignment is needed to address disparate academic growth among different sectors of the education pipeline.

Published in the December 2010 American Educational Research Journal, the study, titled "Tripartite Growth Trajectories of Reading and Math Achievement:Tracking National Progress at Primary, Middle, and High School Levels" (abstract here), confirms a trend in which "American students are gaining ground at the pre/early primary school level, holding ground at the middle school level, and losing ground at the high school level." The study "calls for national P-16 education policy and research efforts toward sustainable academic growth and seamless educational transition."

New Year, new P-16 council

Happy New Year! ECS' P-16/P-20 councils database will be updated soon to include the nation's newest P-16 council, Vermont's PreK-16 Council.

The council, established by 2010 H.B. 709, incorporates some of ECS' hallmarks of a well-established P-16/P-20 coordinating entity, such as: including an explicit early-learning member, legislators, and business representatives; meeting at least quarterly; securing some funds to support council efforts; and setting a numeric P-16/P-20 performance goal (that at least 60% of the state's adult population will have earned an associate's degree or higher by 2020).