the case for college readiness

The Case for College Readiness

Kent PekelExecutive Director

College Readiness Consortium

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m Three Critical Questions:

1. Why should college readiness be the goal for all students?

2. What is college readiness?

3. What can we do to get all kids college ready?

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m When I say the word collegeit includes:

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m When I say the word readiness it includes:

• Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness• Career Readiness• Financial Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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Let’s start with some history…

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W.B. Pillsbury, Scientific Monthly, 1921

“We can picture the educational system as having a very important function as a selecting agency, a means of selecting the men of best intelligence from the deficient and mediocre. All are poured into the system at the bottom; the incapable are soon rejected or drop out after repeating various grades and pass into the ranks of unskilled labor….The more intelligent who are to be clerical workers pass into the high school; the most intelligent enter the universities whence they are selected for the professions.”

Source: W.B. Pillsbury. Selection—An unnoticed function of education. Scientific Monthly, 12, January 1921, p. 71

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For a long time, that system worked:

Source: Claudia Goldin, “The Human Capital Century: Has U.S. leadership come to an end?”, Education Next, Winter, 2003 (vol. 3, no. 1).

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m The 20th Century Education Race:High School Completion Rates

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Approximated by % of persons with high school diploma in age groups 55-64, 45-55, 45-44 and 25-34 yearsSource: Prof. Andreas Schleicher, OECD Directorate for Education

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AustraliaAustriaCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandGermanyGreeceHungaryIcelandIrelandItalyJapanNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPolandPortugalSlovak RepublicSpainSwedenUnited KingdomUnited States

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The 21st Century Education Race:College Completion Rates

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So why does it matter if our education system isn’t as good as

Finland’s?

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m Projected GDP growth if U.S. high school students catch up to Finland’s

Source: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, “The High Cost of Low Educational Performance: The Long-Run Economic Impact of Improving PISA Outcomes,” OECD 2010

$103 trillion

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m Why readiness matters to individuals:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey

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m Why readiness matters to families:

Source: Ron Haskins, “Education and Economic Mobility” in Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Economic Mobility in America, edited by Julia Isaacs, Isabel Sawhill, and Ron Haskins (Washington, D.C.: Brookings-Pew Economic Mobility Project, 2008), p. 91-104

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But what about jobs that don’t require a postsecondary degree?

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Ongoing Research from ACT:

“…the majority of the fastest-growing jobs that require a high school diploma, pay a salary above the poverty line for a family of four, and provide opportunities for career advancement require knowledge and skills comparable to those expected of the first year college student.”

Source: ACT, Inc. How Much Growth toward College Readiness Is Reasonable to Expect in High School? , 2009

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So what does Minnesota’s future look like in this changing world?

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Let’s take a look…

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m Educational Attainment in Minnesota Today

Levels of Education for MN Residents Ages 25-64Source: U.S. Census, 2000

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m Education and Jobs in Minnesota:2008 vs. 2018

Source: Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, June 2010

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Minnesota Grows Older

Source: U.S. Census Counts and State Demographer Projection

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Minnesota Grows More Diverse

Source: Minnesota State Demographic Center

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Is Minnesota educationally ready for these challenges?

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m College Readiness in MN Today: % Meeting ACT Benchmarks

Source: ACT, Minnesota: The Condition of College and Career Readiness Class of 2010

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m % Meeting Readiness BenchmarkIn Math


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m % Meeting Readiness BenchmarkIn English


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m % Meeting Readiness BenchmarkIn Social Science


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m % Meeting Readiness BenchmarkIn Biology


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Facing the Perfect Storm

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Five Readiness Goals

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Components of College Readiness

• Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness• Career Readiness• Financial Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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College Students Look Back

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m Jr. and Sr. High School StudentsLook Forward

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Components of College Readiness

Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness• Career Readiness• Financial Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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Jenn (college student):“I had a chemistry class my first quarter here…and I was in that class with a lot of people who knew the material. They were like, ‘Wow! This was easy. Why don’t you know this?” And I felt like I was dumb. And I knew I wasn’t. I worked so hard for a C in college when in high school I was in AP Chemistry and I got straight A’s…So it’s like I’m trying to catch up and it’s hard. I wish someone would have pushed me more….”

Source: “College Readiness and Academic Preparation for Postsecondary Education: Oral Histories of First-Generation Urban College Students,” M. Jeanne Reid and James L. Moore III, Urban Education Volume 43 Number 2, March 2008

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JB (college student):“ Writing in college has been one of the most difficult things I have ever experienced. I would definitely change my curriculum back in high school to have the chance to do more writing and writing about topics that are more academic….I spent three years in ESL where we didn’t do as much writing…writing little essays, not a big research paper. Last semester I had to write three research papers. One was 20 pages, one was 15 pages, and one was 12 pages. They were all due back to back.”


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J.B. (college student):

“ Take AP classes and take the postsecondary courses. Get some college credit because colleges are accepting college credits (you earn) while you are in high school. Take AP classes. TAKE THEM! TAKE THEM! TAKE THEM! It will help you so much. And take a foreign language too!”


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Terra (college student)

“A lot of kids in high school, when they don’t understand something, they go straight to their teacher and ask for help….But if you automatically go to the teacher and they give you the answer, when you hit college, you’re going to want the answer and go to your professor, and they’re just going to look at you and tell you to go find the answer.”


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The academically ready student can:

1. Demonstrate mastery of knowledge and skills required for college-level work in English, math and science

2. Analyze complex problems and develop sound solutions

3. Evaluate claims and hypotheses

4. Ask and investigate important questions about ideas, issues and the world

5. Evaluate and revise work for accuracy

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m Components of College Readiness

• Academic Readiness Admissions Readiness• Career Readiness• Financial Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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Shannon (high school student):

“The reason why many students ‘fall through the cracks’ in high school even though they want to go to college is because all the helpful resources are set up for students who seek them out, but those resources do not seek out the students. The students, in general, who seek out resources are probably going to be the ones who will be successful anyway. It’s everyone else who needs a clue.”

Source: Ramp-Up to Readiness planning grant interviews, College Readiness Consortium, 2007

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The admissions ready student can:

1. Describe the purpose of postsecondary education and the opportunities it offers

2. Explain the main types of postsecondary institution and differences between them

3. Identify the type of postsecondary institution that might be a good match

4. Outline admissions requirements

5. Plan for and complete applications

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• Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness Career Readiness• Financial Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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Troy (junior high student):

“Before having guest speakers come to tell us about college and careers, I thought that school was just a place to hang out in. Now I take that back. School is more than you expect when you are trying to reach for your goals.”

Source: Ramp-Up to Readiness student survey, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), University of Minnesota, 2009.

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The career ready student can:1. Describe globalization and its impact

2. Explain the connections between education, income and quality of life

3. Identify the careers that will pay enough to support a family and are increasing

4. Outline the knowledge and credentials needed for a broad range of careers

5. Identify at least one career that might match talents, interests and abilities

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• Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness• Career Readiness Financial Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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Jenn (college student):

“My counselor encouraged me to apply for every scholarship you could think of, grants, loans. She gave me information on the loans with the lowest interest rates. Web sites. I got everything on all of it. Literally, I got applications every day for scholarships. Even if sometimes they didn’t apply to me, I got them.”


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The financially ready student can:

1. Create and make decisions on a budget

2. Identify current and projected future postsecondary costs

3. Explain how most families cover costs

4. Outline his or her likely financial aid

5. Complete aid applications on time

6. Produce a realistic plan to pay

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• Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness• Career Readiness• Financial Readiness Personal and Social Readiness

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Robert (college student):

“ Time management is probably the hardest to get used to. You’re used to someone waking you. You are used to being reminded and constantly told about different stuff that now you have to do on your own. I think that’s the hardest part. Taking over from someone already having that structure for you and now you have to be functional for your own self.”


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Terra (college student):“My high school gave us information, but we weren’t prepared for classes that are really big. There’s no one-on-one with the teacher unless you go to their office hours and half the time, you don’t have time for that. There’s no daily homework. You take notes and an exam. In high school you have homework every day. You have papers and projects and a whole bunch of stuff to learn it better. You take quizzes and then you have an exam. We don’t have all that in college.”


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Laina (college student):

“I would definitely make myself study more in high school if I could do it over. Even if I didn’t feel like I had to. Study more, read the material…learn how to study. Sit down and actually read the material and understand it instead of just remembering it while taking a quiz.”


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m The personally and socially ready student can:

1. Set and monitor progress toward goals

2. Invest the necessary amount of effort

3. Take responsible risks to reach goals

4. Accept and learn from feedback

5. Seek help from peers and adults

6. Manage time

7. Maintains positive relationships with adults

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• Academic Readiness• Admissions Readiness• Financial Readiness• Career Readiness• Personal and Social Readiness

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m College Readiness for all is a “Man on the Moon” Goal

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What role can each of us play?

Parents: Set the expectation

System leaders: Define the mission

School leaders: Create school-wide strategies

Teachers: Teach students to GASP

Counselors: Give systemic nudges

Students: Turn aspirations into actions

Everyone: Rethink intelligence

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m Parents: Set the Expectation

From“ If you go to college…”

to “ When you go to college…”

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System Leaders: Define the Mission

Minnesota Suburban District:

“Educating our students to reach their full potential.”

Bellevue School District, Washington:

“Our mission is to provide every student with a top-of-the-line college preparatory education.”

Minneapolis Public Schools:

“Every Child College Ready”

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m School Leaders:Create School-wide Strategies

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Teachers:Teach Students to GASP

GASP Learning Experiences

Gather

Analyze

Synthesize

Present

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m Counselors: Nudge Them Forward

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m Nudge: Prompt choice from among multiple good options

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Nudge #1

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Nudge #1

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Nudge #2

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m Students: Turn Aspirations Into Actions

Source: Education Week

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m Everyone:Rethink Intelligence

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The brain is like a muscle

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Growth vs. Fixed Mindset

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Learning From a Growth Mindset

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Will (college student):

“I’d say I’m better prepared than many other students in college because going through high school I figured out what my mistakes were and when I got to college I understood I was on my own and it was about my decision making, so I just learned from all my high school mistakes.”


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Emilee (6th Grade Student):

“By being in this college readiness class, I have learned that to succeed in life you must be a failure in something. You must have to want it to have it and if you believe you can…you can. Being in this class helped me realize that if I go to college to be a doctor but I don’t really want to be a doctor, I’m not going to try very hard to be a doctor. So I need to know what I want and then I can change things it’s up to me. Thanks you Mrs. Osmonson for giving us the opportunity to learn how to live life the successful and fun way!!!”

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For more information, please visit www.collegeready.umn.edu

the case for college readiness

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