Yesterday, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed S.B. 59, which directs the state board of education to develop a school grading system (A through F) based on various indicators, including measures that indicate college and career readiness. The bill doesn't spell out the college and career readiness measures, but provides that these are to be determined by the state board.
It will be interesting to see which college and career readiness measures the state board ultimately selects, and whether the school grading system plays a role in improving college readiness and completion rates in the state.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
What are common supports and/or accountability measures in place to ensure the effectiveness of P-20 alignment efforts: Part I
Part I of a multi-part response to a key question that should be addressed when creating or improving upon a P-20 coordinating body.
RE: common supports: It is hard for councils to get the work done between meetings without at least a dedicated staff member (.5 FTE at a minimum) doing all the unglamorous behind-the-scenes work of coordinating the committees' efforts, serving as a single point of contact for council members and state leaders outside the council, etc. And tied to that of course is some funding--either through state appropriations, philanthropic or business support, or a grant/contract. Some states such as Nebraska have successfully created tiers of support, while others like Wyoming are working to secure a "three-legged stool" of state, business and philanthropic support.
The only question is whether business or philanthropic support will come with strings attached that preclude the council from following certain pathways that are contrary to the philosophy of the business or foundation. Not that I've seen explicit examples of this, but always something to keep in mind.
RE: common supports: It is hard for councils to get the work done between meetings without at least a dedicated staff member (.5 FTE at a minimum) doing all the unglamorous behind-the-scenes work of coordinating the committees' efforts, serving as a single point of contact for council members and state leaders outside the council, etc. And tied to that of course is some funding--either through state appropriations, philanthropic or business support, or a grant/contract. Some states such as Nebraska have successfully created tiers of support, while others like Wyoming are working to secure a "three-legged stool" of state, business and philanthropic support.
The only question is whether business or philanthropic support will come with strings attached that preclude the council from following certain pathways that are contrary to the philosophy of the business or foundation. Not that I've seen explicit examples of this, but always something to keep in mind.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Utah: Enhancing dual/concurrent enrollment coordination
Not every state has an explicit advising component as part of its dual/concurrent enrollment programming, or has a system in place to steer students away from taking duplicative credit hours. Legislation signed by Utah governor Gary Herbert last Friday, however, strengthens the state's dual/concurrent enrollment program on both these counts.
The measure:
The measure:
- Requires the state board of education and board of regents to coordinate advising to a prospective or current high school student who participates in the concurrent enrollment program.
- Specifies that "advising" include information on general education requirements at higher education institutions and how the student can efficiently choose concurrent enrollment courses to avoid duplication or excess credit hours.
- Directs the board of regents to make available specified student and student coursetaking information to any requesting higher education institution in the state system that participates in concurrent enrollment. (As specified in the bill analysis, such student information will facilitate advising for concurrent enrollment.)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Dual enrollment report in Texas
Coming up for air during what has proven to be an extremely busy legislative session!
In addition to the ECS report released today that weighs in on P-20 alignment and education governance, I'd like to direct your attention to a rare state report that very effectively describes the landscape of dual enrollment in Texas. There is generally a dearth of information on who is taking dual enrollment courses in a state, and students' experiences in these courses. However, Research Study of Texas Dual Credit Programs and Courses, published earlier this month, provides an interesting glimpse into what in many cases seems to be the "black box" of dual enrollment participation.
Based on the findings, the authors also provide recommendations for three critical areas related to dual enrollment: providing each student the opportunity to earn 12 semester credit hours of college credit before HS graduation; promoting student access to quality courses; and ensuring efficient state use of resources re: dual credit courses and programs.
In addition to the ECS report released today that weighs in on P-20 alignment and education governance, I'd like to direct your attention to a rare state report that very effectively describes the landscape of dual enrollment in Texas. There is generally a dearth of information on who is taking dual enrollment courses in a state, and students' experiences in these courses. However, Research Study of Texas Dual Credit Programs and Courses, published earlier this month, provides an interesting glimpse into what in many cases seems to be the "black box" of dual enrollment participation.
Based on the findings, the authors also provide recommendations for three critical areas related to dual enrollment: providing each student the opportunity to earn 12 semester credit hours of college credit before HS graduation; promoting student access to quality courses; and ensuring efficient state use of resources re: dual credit courses and programs.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
How do effective coordinating entities move work forward to achieve success?
Most commonly, P-16/P-20 councils create subcommittees based on general areas the council has agreed to move forward on. Subcommittees sometimes select members who are not members of the council at large—these members cannot vote on issues of the larger council, but bring a body of knowledge and expertise specific to the question at hand (so for a teaching quality subcommittee, bringing on faculty from teacher education programs, or members of district/PS teacher preparation programs.) These subcommittees generally meet separately from the council at large, create recommendations on their area of focus, and bring these recommendations to the council at large for discussion and ratification by the whole council.
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