# Presentation: 010680

## Lost in Transition?Policies and Programs Making Real Connections Between High School and Postsecondary Education

**Lost in Transition?*****Policies and Programs Making Real Connections Between High School and Postsecondary Education***

**Preparing America’s Future Regional High School Summit****May 14-15, 2004**

**Archived Information**

## Opening Day at Dayton Early College Academy

**August 25, 2003**

## Agenda

**What is the problem in the educational pipeline?**
- What’s new, what’s different: college level work in high school.
- Policy and finance Issues

## What is the Problem?

**Coordination required across secondary and postsecondary to produce better outcomes**

- Note: Data represents survey responses in 2000 from the cohort of 1988 8th graders; high school completion rates exclude GED recipients; college enrollment and completion percentages are as a percent of all 8th graders
- *Manhattan Institute estimates even lower high school graduation rates, and postsecondary education opportunity research shows lower rates for on-time college enrollment and attainment
- Source: NCES National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988/2000; Parthenon analysis

**Gaps in Attainment Are Caused by Failures at Critical Points Along the Higher Education Pipeline**

**What is the Problem?**

- GED: 11%

## Problems Are Worse for Those with Low Incomes...

**Problems Are Worse for Those with Low Incomes...**

**Percent of Total 8th Graders**

- Note: Data represents survey responses in 2000 from the cohort of 1988 8th graders
- * Manhattan Institute estimates even lower high school graduation rates, and postsecondary education opportunity research shows lower rates for on-time college enrollment and attainment
- Source: NCES National Education Longitudinal Study, 1988/2000; Parthenon analysis

## Breaks in the Pipeline: All States Have Room for Improvement

**Breaks in the Pipeline: *****All States Have Room for Improvement***

**Percent Lost at Each Stage of Transition**

## Agenda

- What is the problem in the educational pipeline?
**What’s new, what’s different: college- level work in high school.**
- Policy and finance Issues

## CONTEXT: College-Level Work in High School

**Hypothesis/Theory of Change****	****  **
- Challenge not remediation serves to motivate underprepared students to accelerate in high school.
- Strategies:
- Provide opportunities and supports for students to take college courses in high school based on performance
- Remove financial and “red tape” barriers to participation
- Get students onto college campuses for academic work as early as 9th grade

## College-Level Work in High School: What’s Already in Place

- Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate
- Dual and concurrent enrollment (college in the high school/ college courses on campus)
- Tech Prep
- Middle Colleges
- Early College High Schools
- Postsecondary Incentive Programs

## Evidence About College-Level Work in High School

**Evidence About College-Level Work in High School**

**AP **
- Number of AP tests taken doubled in one year when offered to all students in Fairfax County, VA, at school’s expense.  After initial drop in 75% pass rate, rate stabilized at 65%, close to national rate of 63%.
**Dual Enrollment**
- 13,400 NYC high school students received a C grade or better in credit-bearing CUNY courses through College Now in 2001-02.
**Middle College**
- 41% of 4,500 students enrolled in middle colleges in 1999-2000 took college classes.  97% passed.
**Tech Prep**
- Tech Prep students had higher 11th and 12th grade GPAs, better attendance, and higher Regents Math II scores than comparison students (NYDOE study, 1999).

## States With Policies for College-Level Credit in High School

**New Jersey**
- 12th Grade Option Pilot Program in May 2003
- High school seniors who have completed all graduation requirements and passed the high school proficiency test can enroll in college-credit courses while still in high school.
**Virginia**
- Governor Mark Warner launched Senior Year Plus in 2003.
- College-bound seniors and seniors who want to immediately enter the workforce can earn up to 15 college credits leading to industry certification or the AA, paid for by the state.
-  Senior Year Plus will go statewide in 2005-2006.

## Not the Same:Plans Eliminating 12th Grade

**Florida**
- In June 2003, Florida passed legislation permitting students to graduate high school with 18 credits instead of 24, allowing graduation after the junior year.

## Blended Institutions:Pushing the Idea Further

- Why “blended” institutions as a strategy to move *at risk* students into and through a postsecondary credential?
- Remove physical transition to college;
- Create an integrated, “real” 9-14 school;
- Provide guidance, support, and coaching from adults through the first two years of college;
- Offer two years of college credit for free;
- Assume everyone in the school goes to college.

## What Is Early College High School?

- Students start some college work based on performance, usually in the 10th or 11th grade.
- The eventual completion of a baccalaureate is assumed for students.
- Early college high schools reach out to seventh graders with preparatory programs that make it possible for students to catch up on skills and be ready for college-level courses in high school.

## The Initiative: Scale and Scope

**10 organizations are establishing 150 early college high schools over the next five to seven years:**
- Antioch University/Seattle (8)
- Foundation for California Community Colleges (15)
- KnowledgeWorks Foundation Ohio (8)
- Middle College National Consortium (20)
- National Council of La Raza (12)
- City University of New York, Office of Academic Affairs (10)
- Portland Community College (11)
- SECME, Inc. (8)
- Utah Partnership for Education (6)
- Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (14)
*In addition to these partners, high school/early college reform efforts in North Carolina and Texas are affiliated with the initiative and receive funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.*

## Example of Early College Designs

**Middle College National Consortium**** **
***New York, Connecticut, California***
- Grades 9-14
- Final year is a full community college curriculum
- On community college campus—“power of site”
- Student cohorts move from high school classes, to mixed high school/college classes, to college-only classes.
- Students receive extensive support from teachers and coaches/advisors.
- Students receive a high school diploma and an Associate’s degree simultaneously.

## Example of Early College Designs

**Portland Community College’s Gateway to College**** **
***Portland, Oregon***
- The program contracts with school districts to recover out-of-school youth, age 16-20.
- Outreach and recruitment includes referrals from area high schools, social service agencies, youth centers, and community-based organizations.
- Cohorts of 20 students enter intensive, pre-college, skill-building and customized study skills programs.
- Students attend college courses aligned with career pathways leading to a high school diploma, plus a certificate, degree, or minimum of 60 college credits.

## Examples of Early Colleges

- California Academy for Liberal Studies Early College High School: Pasadena Community College
- Tulalip Heritage High School:Everett Community College and Northwest Indian College, WA
- University of Dayton Early College High Academy,OH
- University of Hartford/Hartford Public Schools, CT
- Academy for Math, Engineering and Science: University of Utah
- Accelerated Charter High School:California State Los Angeles
- International High School @ LaGuardia Community College, New York, NY

## Agenda

- What is the problem in the educational pipeline?
- What’s new, what’s different in approaches to the problem?
**Policy and Finance Issues**

## Requirements of Early College High Schools...

- Ability to combine funding streams [ADA], [FTE], and incentive dollars
- Flexible eligibility requirements for college courses
- College courses that can supplant high school courses to meet high school requirements
- Postsecondary credit hours that can be used to fulfill state requirement for days and minutes in secondary school

## Requirements of Early College High Schools...

- Transferability of EHCS-generated college course credits to meet AA and BA degree requirements
- High school teachers qualified and permitted to teach college-level, credit-bearing courses, and
- College professors qualified and permitted to teach high school students

##  The Big Questions: Equity and Cost-Effectiveness

- Should/must all young people be entitled to education through grade 14?
- If our goals are greater equity of outcomes in postsecondary and cost-effectiveness, how do we calculate the "return on investment" for dual/concurrent enrollment, early colleges and other blended and accelerated school designs?

## Implications for High School Reform

- Form partnerships with neighboring postsecondary institutions
- Accustom students to college environment and culture
- Align courses and exit assessments with college placement requirements
- Supplant high school courses with duplicate or more challenging college-level courses
- Provide supports for students in college courses
- Reward performance with college scholarships