# Presentation: 184187

## Preparing America’s 

*Preparing America’s *
*           **Future*
- Susan Sclafani, Assistant Secretary
- Office of Vocational and Adult Education
- U. S. Department of Education

**Archived**** Information**

## No Child Left Behind  Key Principles

- Increase accountability for student performance
- Focus on what works
- Reduce bureaucracy and increase flexibility
- Choices for students and parents

## Economic Change

- Changing nature of the workforce.
- Fastest growing jobs require some education beyond high school.
- Employers express concern about the lack of essential skills among students.

**Notes:**
In today’s world, financial capital, technology, information, and goods flow freely across borders.  In order to maintain the advantage or to even compete in the global economy, We need a workforce that is well educated and entrepreneurial.

Today’s workplaces, are also changing as the marketplace increasingly provides companies with incentives to be as lean and flexible as possible.  Employers need to rely on people who can handle multiple tasks, interact well with their colleagues, respond to varying customer needs, identify problems, and make quick decisions on how to fix them.  

“Most employers say high school graduates lack basic skills.  Over 60% of employers rate graduates’ skills in grammar, spelling, writing and basic math as only “fair” or “poor”  One study estimated the cost of remedial training in reading, writing, and mathematics to a single state’s employers at nearly $40,000 a year”  (The American Diploma Project, Ready or Not, 2004)

## Skill Level Changes

**Unskilled**
**60%**

**Skilled**
**20%**

**Professional**
**20%**

**Skilled**
**65%**

**Unskilled**
**15%**

**Professional**
**20%**

**1950**

**1997**

*National Summit on 21**st** Century Skills for 21**st** Century Jobs*

**Notes:**
Recent increase in the immigrant population competing for unskilled jobs

Most unskilled jobs do not pay enough to support a family on

## Twelfth Grade Students 

***Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress 2000***

**Twelfth Grade Students **
**Proficient in Science**

## Twelfth Grade Students 

***Source: National Assessment of Educational Progress 2000***

**Twelfth Grade Students **
**Proficient in Mathematics**

## Losing Our Edge?

**12****th**** Graders Scoring “Below Basic” **
-  35 percent of *all* students
-  56 percent of *Hispanic* students
-  69 percent of *African-American* students
-  60 percent of *low-income *students

**Losing Our Edge?**

**Notes:**
On international assessments, the math performance of our high school students is mediocre.

But many of us do not realize just how dismal their performance really is. 

More than one-third of 12th graders scored “below basic” on the NAEP math assessment in 2002.  What does “below basic” really mean? Let’s look at some examples.

## A Question Most “Below Basic” Students Answered Incorrectly

- Chris wishes to carpet the rectangular room shown below. To the nearest square yard, how many square yards of carpet are needed to carpet the floor of the room if the closet floor will not be carpeted? (1 square yard = 9 square feet)

**Notes:**
This is math question most “below basic” students answered incorrectly. 

Keep in mind that students were allowed to use calculators throughout the exam.

## Losing Our Edge?

**12****th**** Graders Scoring “Below Basic” **
-  26 percent of *all* students
-  39 percent of *Hispanic* students
-  46 percent of *African-American* students
-  40 percent of *low-income *students
-  18 percent of students with *college-educated *
*   **parents*

**Losing Our Edge?**

*SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National  Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2002*

**Notes:**
On international assessments, the math performance of our high school students is mediocre.

But many of us do not realize just how dismal their performance really is. 

More than one-third of 12th graders scored “below basic” on the NAEP math assessment in 2002.  What does “below basic” really mean? Let’s look at some examples.

## International Comparisons:  TIMSS 2003 Mathematics and Science Grade 8

-  Mathematics score of 504 exceeded international average of 466
- Science score of 527 exceeded international average of 473
-  Significant improvement in mathematics and science between 1995 and 2003
-  BUT, we were outperformed by 7 of the 13 other countries in mathematics and 5 of the 13 other countries in science.

**Notes:**
When you look at our performance in the international assessment, TIMSS, you see that US 8th grade students have made improvements from 1995 to 2003, and our students are performing above average.  BUT we were outperformed by 7 of the 13 other countries in mathematics and 5 of the 13 0ther countries in science.

## +

- PISA 2003:  Mathematics Literacy

**Notes:**
The news is more dire if you look at how well U.S. students tackle real world mathematics problems.  The recently released international PISA test shows that U.S students ranked sixth from the bottom of participating OECD countries.  We were also passed by several non-OECD countries.

## International Competition

|  | 1990 | 2000 | % Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| U.S. | 13.7 | 15.7 | +15% |
| China | 3.8 | 13.6 | +258%
 |
| India | 4.9 | 9.4 | +92% |

**Students Enrolled in Postsecondary**
- (in millions)

**International Competition**

- UNESCO, 2003

**Notes:**
Only about 10 percent of the 18 to 23 year olds in China and India enroll in postsecondary education.

These nations are so enormous, however, that they now have the second and third largest postsecondary enrollments in the world.

China has set a goal of enrolling 15 percent of its young adults in postsecondary education by 2005. If they succeed they will have the largest postsecondary enrollment in the world.

## International Competition

- China, India and Russia = 3 billion people
- 10% highly educated = 300 million people
- USA = 300 million people
- 25% highly educated = 75 million
- Competition for jobs = 375 million people
- USA students/adults will face greater competition in the future than anytime in history

**International Competition**

- Craig Barrett, INTEL CEO 2004

**Notes:**
Only about 10 percent of the 18 to 23 year olds in China and India enroll in postsecondary education.

These nations are so enormous, however, that they now have the second and third largest postsecondary enrollments in the world.

China has set a goal of enrolling 15 percent of its young adults in postsecondary education by 2005. If they succeed they will have the largest postsecondary enrollment in the world.

## Graduation Rates for the United States

| All Students | 70% |
| --- | --- |
| White | 72% |
| African American | 51% |
| Hispanic | 52% |

- Manhattan Institute Data from *Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates  in the U.S. * (September 2003)

## College remediation ratesEntering freshmen, 2000

| All | 28% |
| --- | --- |
| Public 2-year | 42%
 |
| Public 4-year | 20%
 |
| Private 4-year | 12%
 |

*Source:  NCES, Remedial Education at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions in Fall 2000, *

**Notes:**
Nearly a third of the students who enter postsecondary education in this country do not have the academic foundation needed to do college-level work.

Last November, the National Center of Education Statistics published the results of a new survey of institutions of higher education about student participation in remedial courses during the 2000-01 school year. 

The survey found that:
28% of all freshmen who entered postsecondary education in 2000 were placed in remedial courses – this is 671,000 students.
42% of freshmen at 2-year public institutions—generally, community and technical colleges—were placed in remediation.
20% of freshmen at 4-year public institutions were enrolled in remedial courses.
12% of freshmen at private 4-year schools were placed in remediation.

NCES last conducted this survey in 1995. Though the issue of college remediation has received a great deal of attention from educators and policy-makers since that time, NCES found that the proportion of freshmen who enroll in remedial courses has not changed since 1995. 

## College “drift-out” ratesStudents not returning for year 2

| 
4-year colleges | 
26% |
| --- | --- |
| 
2-year colleges | 
45% |

- Source:  Mortensen, T. (November 1999), Postsecondary Opportunity as presented by The Education Trust.

##  Millenials

- Studies show that they are a capable, conscientious, concerned and optimistic generation, determined to succeed:
- 96 percent say doing well in school is important to their lives.
- 94 percent plan to continue their education after high school.
- 90 percent of  5 and 17 use computers.
- 94 percent of teens use the Internet for school-related research.
- Teens spend more time online using the Internet than watching television.
- High school and college students increasingly are involved in making spending decisions for their parents.

## Education Beliefs

- 91% of students have a teacher/administrator who personally cares about their success.
- 60% of students report that standardized tests are a good measure of progress.
- 96% say doing well in school is important in their lives.
- 88% of students report that attending college is critical or very important to future success.

## Interested in World

- 76% of students would like to learn more about the world.
- 28% of high school students use a foreign news source to learn about current events.
- After September 11, 2001, 78% of students felt optimistic and hopeful.  Two years later, 75% still look toward a future with optimism and hope.
- 70% of students report volunteering or participating in community service.

## Preparation Matters

- Strongest predictor of college completion -- a rigorous and challenging high school course of study.
- Strongest predictor is mathematics.
- Second strongest predictor is lab science

- Answers in the Tool Box* by Clifford Adelman, June 1999*

**Notes:**

Students who obtain the prerequisite knowledge and skills in high school for success after graduation are far less likely to need to learn those skills again later.
In 1999, Clifford Adelman, a researcher at the U.S. Department of Education, reported the results of a longitudinal study of 13,000 students enrolled in grade 10 in 1980 to age 26 in 1990. 
In Lessons from the Toolbox, Adelman found only a loose correlation between high school GPA and later success in college. Instead, Adelman discovered that completion of a rigorous high school course of study was the most significant predictor of success in higher education. 
In particular, the level of math and science completed were the strongest predictors of college success.

## Advanced Math & Science Increases At-Risk Students’ Postsecondary Enrollment

*Source:  NCES, The Condition of Education, p. 51.*

## Few Say Expectations Were High

- Academic expectations of me in high school were:

- All high school graduates

- College students

- Non-students

- Expectations were high

- All HS graduates
- Below average incomeAverage incomeAbove average income
- CitySuburbsSmall town/rural
- General studies in HSCollege prep in HS

- 24%
- 23%23%24%
- 23%31%20%
- 17%30%

- Source: Hart Research Associates, Achieve, “Rising to the Challenge,” Jan. 2005

## Knowing What They Know Today, Grads Would Have Worked Harder

- College students

- Non-students

- Question:
- Knowing what you do today about the expectations of college/the work world, if you were able to do high school over again, would you have worked harder and applied yourself more to your coursework even if it meant less time for other activities?

- Source: Hart Research Associates, Achieve, “Rising to the Challenge,” Jan. 2005

## The Vision for High School Transformation

- “*Every American youth will complete high school with the academic knowledge and skills needed to make a successful transition to postsecondary education or training without needing remediation.”*

## President Bush’s New Education Proposals

- $1.2 billion for flexible intervention funding
- $250 million – High School Assessments in reading and math, grades 9,10, and 11
-  $200 million for the Striving Readers Initiative
-  $269 million for Mathematics and Science 	Partnership Program ($120 million 	targeted for math acceleration)

## President Bush’s New Education Proposals

-   State Scholars expansion
-  $1,000 Enhanced Pell Grants for State Scholars 	participants
-  $500 phased-in Pell Grant increase

- (continued)

## America's Most Successful High Schools - What Makes Them Workby Dr. Willard R. Daggett 

**  ****Focusing instruction around students' interests, learning styles, and aptitudes** through a variety of small learning community approaches, most commonly academies.
-   An unrelenting commitment by administrators and teachers to excellence for all students with a **particular emphasis on literacy across the curriculum.**
**  ****A laser-like focus on data** at the classroom level to make daily instructional decisions for individual students

##   An extraordinary commitment of resources and attention to 9th grade students.

**  **A **rigorous and relevant 12th grade year.**
**  ****High-quality curriculum and instruction** that focuses on rigor, relevance, relationships, and reflective thought;
-   Solid and dedicated **leadership;**
**  ****Relationships** driven by guiding principles;
-   Sustained and supported **professional development **** **

**America's Most Successful High Schools (cont’d)**

## Preparing America’s FutureHigh School Initiative (PAF:HSI)

- The three goals are to:
- Equip state and local education leaders with current knowledge
- Develop the expertise and structures within the Department of Education to provide effective technical assistance
- Facilitate the national dialogue

**Notes:**
Equip state and local education leaders with current knowledge about high schools through a series of regional high school summits, technical assistance activities and targeted print and electronic materials;
Develop the expertise and structures within the Department of Education to provide effective technical assistance and support to state and local governments; and

Facilitate a national dialogue to raise awareness about the need for significant reform in American high schools. 

## Preparing America’s FutureKey Principles 

- Innovative learning structures that fully engage students
- High-quality teaching and leadership, and
- Accelerated transitions to work or additional education.

- Preparing America’s FutureKey Principles

## 	Key Activities 2004

- National Leadership Summits
- Washington, DC, December 2-3, 2004)
- Washington, DC, October 8, 2003
- Regional Summits, Spring 2004
- Billings, MT		March 12-13, 2004
- Atlanta, GA		March 26-27, 2004
- Phoenix, AZ 		April 16-17, 2004
- St. Louis, MO	April 23-24, 2004
- San Diego, CA 	May 7-8, 2004
- Cleveland, OH 	May 14-15, 2004
- Boston, MA		May 21-22, 2004**	**

## Key Activities 2004 (Continued) 

- Rolled out PAF:HSI website (_[www.ed.gov/highschool](http://www.ed.gov/highschool)__)_
- Partnerships with NFL and Kiwanis (Fall 2004)
- Supported NASSP for “Breaking Ranks II” training (September 2004)
- Urban High School Summit with the Council of the Great City Schools (November 2004)
- 3 regional Youth Summits in partnership with U.S. Dept of Labor, HHS and DOJ (November-December 2004)

## “Every high school diploma must mean that our graduates are prepared for jobs, for college, 

*and for success.”*
- 		President George W. Bush

## Ways to “Take the Lead”

-  **Schedule a leadership meeting with the school administration, PTO or PTA, and other community leaders to discuss the specific needs of your high school.**
-  **Invite teachers and students into your organization or business to educate them about what a 21****st****-century work environment looks like, and ask to sit in on some classes to see what today’s high school looks like.  By working with the school, members from the community can help to ensure that teens are properly prepared to enter the community as adults****.**

## Ways to “Take the Lead”

-  **Support existing tutoring programs or create one of your own**
**Sponsor an education forum in your community to which you invite students, teachers, state education representatives, state legislatures, school board members, other business members, and parents.  Be sure that students play an active role in planning and speaking.  They know best the strengths and weaknesses of their schools**

**Ways to “Take the Lead”**

**Notes:**
State Scholars programs exist in the following states:
Arkansas
Connecticut
Indiana
Kentucky
Maryland
Mississippi
New Jersey
New Mexico
Oklahoma
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Washington

## Roles of Universities

- Prepare elementary and secondary teachers with rich content and engaging strategies
- Provide faculty to work with current teachers to better prepare them to teach in more engaging ways
- Provide opportunities for professionals to work in schools as part of their education: social work, psychology, research, health care, business, law

**Notes:**
Equip state and local education leaders with current knowledge about high schools through a series of regional high school summits, technical assistance activities and targeted print and electronic materials;
Develop the expertise and structures within the Department of Education to provide effective technical assistance and support to state and local governments; and

Facilitate a national dialogue to raise awareness about the need for significant reform in American high schools.