Preparing Students for Success in High School

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• Preparing Students for Success in High School

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Setting Performance StandardsWhat Percentage of
Eighth-graders Are Below Basic in Mathematics?
SouthernRegionalEducationBoard
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Strategy OneGet the Mission Right

• All groups of students leaving grade eight are
  prepared for college-preparatory courses in grade
  nine.

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Getting the Mission Right Where Do We Stand?
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Strategy TwoDefining What Students Need to Know
and Do to Be Ready for High School
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Readiness for High School Where Do We Stand?

• Middle Grades Students
• 81 plan further study after high school.
• 37 had intensive literacy experiences.
• 23 had intensive numeracy experiences.

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Strategy ThreeGetting Students Ready for High
School with Quality Extra Help and Time
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Strategy FourGetting Good Principals for the
Middle Grades
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Strategy FiveGetting Qualified Teachers in the
Middle Grades
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Comparing Teacher Quality in Mathematics Classes
SouthernRegionalEducationBoard
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Actions to Improve the Supply of New Teachers
with a Content Focus

• Require at least a content minor for middle
  grades teaching by a set date.
• Develop university programs that focus on the
  middle grades.
• Assign teachers based on content focus.

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Conditions for Best Results for Career/Technical
Studies
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Condition One Combining In-depth Career Studies
with a Solid Academic Core
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Percentages of Students Meeting Performance Goals
by Whether or Not They Completed the
HSTW-Recommended Academic Core and a Career
Concentration
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Condition Two Effective Guidance and Advisement

• Encourage students to take challenging
  mathematics and science courses
• Assist students in planning a programof study by
  the end of grade nine
• Involve parents
• Provide information on postsecondary education

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Percentages of Students Completing the
HSTW-recommended Curriculum in 2000
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Percentages of Students Meeting the HSTW
Performance Goals in 2000
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Condition ThreeIntegrating Academic Content
into Business and Technical Classes
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Percentages of Students Who Met the HSTW
Performance Goals in 2000 by Whether or Not Their
Career/Technical Courses Integrated Academic
Content and Skills
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Condition Four Structured Work-site Learning

• Observing veteran workers
• Having an assigned mentor
• Being evaluated against clear standards
• Learning customer relations
• Using communication skills

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Percentages of Students Meeting the HSTW
Performance Goals by Whether or Not They Had
Quality Work-based Learning Experiences
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Condition FiveLeadership That Creates a Climate
of High Expectations

• Teachers indicate the amount and quality of work
  expected
• Students receive extra help
• Students complete one or more hours of homework
  daily

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Percentages of Students Who Met the HSTW
Performance Goals by Whether or Not They
Experienced a Climate of High Expectations
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Reasons to Rethink the Purpose of High School
Career/Technical Studies

• Over half of these students pursue postsecondary
  studies.
• The new economy requires new skills.
• The field needs a clear focus.

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The Purpose Should Be to Produce Graduates Who
Can

• Read, understand and communicate in the language
  of a career field
• Use mathematics skills, reasoning and
  understanding
• Understand technical concepts, principles and
  procedures
• Use basic technology

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Improving Career/Technical Studies Increase
access to challenging vocational and technical
studies, with a major emphasis on using
high-level mathematics, science, language arts
and problem-solving skills.
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Vocational Practices andHigher Achievement

• At least weekly, students
• use mathematics to complete assignments
• read and interpret technical books and materials
  to complete assignments
• spend one hour reading non-school-related
  materials and
• do math-related homework assigned by C/T teacher.

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Vocational Practices andHigher Achievement

• At least monthly, students
• read a career-related article and demonstrate
  understanding
• use computer skills to do assignments and
• have challenging assignments.

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Vocational Practices andHigher Achievement

• Students
• complete four or more credits in a planned
  sequence
• do projects that require research and written
  plans
• do a senior project
• meet standards on a written exam to pass a
  course and
• spoke to, interviewed and visited a person in a
  career-field to which they aspired.

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Quality Vocational Studies and Higher Achievement
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Quality Career/Technical Studies at Top 50
Schools and at All Schools
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Actions for Increasing Opportunities for Quality
Career Studies
Making the Senior Year Count

• Strengthen area vocational centers
• Create choice technical high schools
• Develop career academies
• Use dual-enrollment courses
• Locate high school programs on postsecondary
  campuses

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Actions for Increasing Opportunities for Quality
Career Studies
Making the Senior Year Count

• Create a charter technical high school
• Create a virtual technical high school
• Strengthen work-based learning
• Fund new types of career/technical courses
• End the general track

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Comparison of Georgia High School with a Delaware
Technical High School with Comparative
Demographics
Georgia Average Score Delaware Average Score
4 years of college-prep English 41 271 (R) 98 298 (R)
4 years of Math 19 304 (M) 61 316 (M)
3 years of college prep science 49 295 (S) 100 311 (S)
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What are shortcomingsof the present system for
preparing and certifying career/technical
teachers?

• Many career/technical teachers lack an adequate
  academic foundation.
• Some teachers do not have breadth and depth of
  technical knowledge.
• Most teachers are not prepared to integrate
  career/technical and academic content to advance
  achievement.

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Improving High SchoolsRequire Students to
Complete the HSTW-Recommended Curriculum

• 4 credits in college-preparatory/honors English
• At least 3 mathematics credits -- Algebra I and
  higher including mathematics the senior year
• 3 credits in science, including 2 at
  thecollege-prep level
• 4 credits in a planned sequence of career and
  technical studies or an academic concentration

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Percentages of Students Meeting Performance Goals
at 45 Schools
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Percentages of Students Meeting Performance Goal
by Program of Study at 45 Schools
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Improving High Schools Require Schools to
Increase Annually the Percent of Students
Completing High School
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Improving High Schools Develop End-of-Program
Exams That Count in Assessing Student Learning in
Career and Technical Courses
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Improving High SchoolsMake the Senior Year Count

• Give college placement tests at least by middle
  of Junior year of high school.
• Have students spend one-half time in core
  academic studies.

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Improving High Schools Increase Technical
Assistance to Low-Performing HSTW Schools to
Become High-Performing High Schools
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What Actions Can States Take?

• Raise graduation requirements.
• Provide access to quality career/technical
  instruction.
• Assess performance in selected core academic
  courses and make it count.
• Use end-of-program exams that count for assessing
  student achievement in vocational courses.
• Develop state policies on guidance and
  advisement.
• Provide financial support for extra help.
• Develop a middle grades/high school transition
  policy.
• Provide technical assistance to low-performing
  schools.