Beginning with the End in Mind - Career and College Readiness Community Night

Common Core Standards Video

Common Core Standards

Common Core standards• The standards are important because they help ensure that all

students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in college and the workforce. Standards provide an important first step — a clear roadmap for learning for teachers, parents, and students. Having clearly defined goals helps families and teachers work together to ensure that students succeed. They also will help your child develop critical thinking skills that will prepare him or her for college and career.

English Language Arts • What are the changes?

– More nonfiction texts in students’ classes– Higher level of text complexity– Shift from persuasive writing to argumentative writing where students

will have to cite evidence from multiple texts.– Smaller research-based projects and essays– Less reading for plot, and more reading for complex understanding

including character analysis, theme analysis, etc.– More speaking and listening activities such as discussions and multi-

media presentations– More academic vocabulary

English Language arts• How can you support your children with these new standards?

– Make sure they become skilled at gathering information, evaluating sources, and citing material accurately.

– Make sure they can assert and defend their claims, conveying what they understand about what they read or researched.

– Make sure they can speak clearly and accurately and listen attentively during discussions while trying to build on others’ good ideas while expressing own ideas as well.

Sample English language arts questions• Writing prompts will now look more like this:• In “Brain Birds” and “A Soft Spot for Crows,” are the authors’

attitudes toward crows and ravens positive or negative? How do the authors convey their views? Use examples from both articles to support your response.

• In your response, be sure to– identify the authors’ attitudes toward crows and ravens– explain how each author supports his views– use examples from both articles to support your response

Shifts in Common Core Math instructionRelevance Traditional types of math problems… One train leaves a station going 30mph another leaves going

45 mph when do they meet? Jeff has 19 watermelons and 12 apples, Julie has 14

watermelons and 11 apples…Students will apply their mathematical knowledge to real world events.

More coherent StandardsFewer, more coherent standards

– Mastered skills at each grade level– Algebraic thinking incorporated K - 8– Students answer the how and why alongside the content standards– Students apply their knowledge to real world application

Math Practice Standards• Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.• Reason abstractly and quantitatively.• Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning

of others.• Model with mathematics• Use appropriate tools strategically• Attend to Precision• Look for and make use of structure• Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

Deeper understandingStudents are asked to explain why and how instead of just solving a problem.Alisa hopes to play beach volleyball in the Olympics someday. She has convinced her parents to allow her to set up a beach volleyball court in their back yard. A standard beach volleyball court is approximately 26 feet by 52 feet. She figures that she will need the sand to be one foot deep. She goes to the hardware store to shop for sand and sees the following signs on pallets containing bags of sand.

From EngageNY.org of the New York State Education Department. [G6-M1-End-of-Module Assessment Ratios and Unit Rates.]Internet. Available from [http://www.engageny.org/resource/grade-6-mathematics-module-1]; accessed [9/27/13]

Deeper Understanding •  

– What is the rate that Brand A is selling for? Give the rate and then specify the unit rate.

– Which brand is offering the better value? Explain your answer. – Alisa uses her cell phone to search how many pounds of sand

is required to fill 1 cubic foot and finds the answer is 100 pounds. Choose one of the brands and compute how much it will cost Alisa to purchase enough sand to fill the court. Identify which brand was chosen as part of your answer.

From EngageNY.org of the New York State Education Department. [G6-M1-End-of-Module Assessment Ratios and Unit Rates.]Internet. Available from [http://www.engageny.org/resource/grade-6-mathematics-module-1]; accessed [9/27/13]

What can I Expect as a parent• Fewer, more quality homework problems• Students can use technology to aid in thinking• Use the Jacobs Math Department Webpage for more parent

resources for math• Use www.corestandards.org for more resources for English

Language Arts.

Questions

Career and College Opportunities in High School

Middle College ProgramTech Prep Dual Credit Program - ECC - ABC School of CosmetologyArticulated Credit - ECC - Illinois Institute of Art – Schaumburg

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• Internship Program– Grade level: 11, 12– Prerequisite: 2.5 unweighted GPA– Application and interview to get into program– Hands-on career exploration (55 – 65 hours) plus career related course

work (10 hours)

• Cooperative Work Program – Classroom/On-the Job– Classroom - One class period a day – career related coursework– On-the-Job – part-time work (minimum 15 hours/week)

Career/Vocational

• Career Development Services– http://elgin.edu/students.aspx?id=678&terms=career%20services

• Financial Aid OfficeFinancial Aid & ScholarshipsBldg. B, Room B156, ECC CampusTel: 847-214-7360Fax: 847-608-5460financialaid@elgin.edu

ECC

Benefits of AP Courses at Jacobs High SchoolFebruary 13, 2014

• Introductions• Why AP?

• Questions?

Agenda

• The Advanced Placement is a program in the United States created by the College Board offering college-level curriculum and examinations to high school students.

What is an AP?

What do AP Classes Mean to District 300?

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ACT Composite Scores

Jacobs Illinois

Greater AP numbers have led to ACT success! Over the last 6 years Jacobs HS has seen a 1.6 point increase while District 300 has seen a 0.8 point increase in ACT Scores! This was a GREATER increase than the average for the entire State of Illinois.

• AP Classes are going to expose students to higher levels of rigor and expectations.

• AP Questions are normally higher level thinking questions.

What do AP Classes have to do with this?

AP Enrollments

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Number of AP Exams

Jacobs D300

College Retention Rates

• Jacobs HS encourages students to take courses, such as honors and AP, that will be rigorous, will challenge them to reach their academic potential, and will allow them to be prepared for and successful in college.

• Jacobs HS also encourages AP students to take the AP tests so they have a true college experience of course work and assessment.

Why AP?

• Help to qualify students for scholarships

• Gives students the experience of the expectations of a college/university course

Why AP?

• Jacobs HS expectations for students enrolled in AP courses are high, and there are typically more reading, writing, and other relevant assignments than found in any other high school courses.

• For example, a typical 4-hour college course would require 8 hours of work per week outside of class. This can of course vary from student to student and class to class.

What does AP mean for you as a student?

• Preparation for college freshman-level courses• Better qualifications for acceptance at the college of choice• Display of student willingness to take rigorous college-level

courses• Financial benefits such as savings on college tuition, room and

board• Academic support from high school instructors

Advantages of Taking AP Courses

• According to the College Board’s 7th Annual AP Report to the Nation, released in February 2011:

– Research consistently shows that students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher graduation rates than otherwise comparable non-AP peers.

– A recent College Board study showed that students who scored 3 or higher on four popular AP Exams earner higher first-year GPAs, were more likely to continue on to a second year of college, and were more likely to attend selective institutions, on average, than students with comparable SAT scores and high school GPAs who did not take AP.

– Even students who scored a 1 or 2 on an AP Exam showed higher retention rates into their second year of college than non-AP students, and they were more likely to attend selective institutions.

Who says?

Student Testimonials

Student Testimonials

Student Testimonials

• Students prepare for the AP test throughout the school year. AP exam are taken in early May. The test is comprised of a multiple choice, free response, and on some tests a spoken/performance section.

 • Each college and university is different, but most require a

score higher than 3 to exempt out of in introductory course and possibly receive retro credit for the course.

How does that credit transfer to a college or university?

• According to one representative from the University of Illinois, one of the primary factors in evaluation of a student’s high school transcript is whether the student has taken the most rigorous set of courses available to him/ her during the past four years. At Jacobs HS, AP courses represent some of our most rigorous courses available.

• In addition to rigor, success (as measured by A, B, or C grades) is a major factor as well.

How do colleges view AP courses?

• So… which is better?– Getting an A in a regular level class or – Getting a B or C in an AP class?

• No college will ever answer you… but if one of the “primary factors” is whether a student “has taken the most rigorous set of courses available to him/ her during the past four years”…

How do colleges view AP courses?

• AP English Language/Composition- Score of 4/5 would receive 3 hours of Credit ($3300)

• AP Spanish- Score of 4 would receive 7 hours of Credit and placed into Spanish 204 ($7700)

University of Illinois…

• AP Chemistry Score of 4 receives 4 Credit Hours (approx. $1300)

• AP Chemistry Score of 5 receives 8 Credit Hours (approx. $2600)

• AP Biology Score of 3 receives 6 Credit Hours (approx. $1950)• AP Biology Score of 4 receives 8 Credit Hours (approx. $2600)

Northern Illinois

• AP English Language/Composition- Score of 4 would receive 3 hours of credit ($1360)

• AP Spanish-Score of 4 would receive 8 hours of Credit and place into 3rd level of the Course ($2720)

ECC…

• “Colleges don’t take AP Credits.”– Not true… while the application may vary, colleges generally list exactly what

scores translate to what credits on their admissions web site.

• “Your credits have to be in your major.”– Nope. You can apply any score at the college or university of your

choice.

• “I’m scared. It seems too hard… and It’s too much for me!”– We are here to help you plan… talk to your current teacher, a division

head, or counselor to see if you have the skills and ability necessary for success.

Yeah… but…