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+
+ - THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT: APPROACHES TO COLLEGE PREPARATION
+
+[House Hearing, 110 Congress]
+[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
+
+
+
+ THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT:
+ APPROACHES TO COLLEGE PREPARATION
+
+=======================================================================
+
+ HEARING
+
+ before the
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION,
+ LIFELONG LEARNING, AND COMPETITIVENESS
+
+ COMMITTEE ON
+ EDUCATION AND LABOR
+
+ U.S. House of Representatives
+
+ ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS
+
+ FIRST SESSION
+
+ __________
+
+ HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC, MARCH 22, 2007
+
+ __________
+
+ Serial No. 110-13
+
+ __________
+
+ Printed for the use of the Committee on Education and Labor
+
+
+ Available on the Internet:
+ http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/house/education/index.html
+
+
+ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
+34-016 PDF WASHINGTON : 2007
+---------------------------------------------------------------------
+For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
+Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866)
+512-1800; DC area (202) 512-1800 Fax: (202)512-2250 Mail: Stop SSOP,
+Washington, DC 20402-0001
+
+
+
+ COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR
+
+ GEORGE MILLER, California, Chairman
+
+Dale E. Kildee, Michigan, Vice Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon,
+ Chairman California,
+Donald M. Payne, New Jersey Ranking Minority Member
+Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin
+Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, Virginia Peter Hoekstra, Michigan
+Lynn C. Woolsey, California Michael N. Castle, Delaware
+Ruben Hinojosa, Texas Mark E. Souder, Indiana
+Carolyn McCarthy, New York Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
+John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Judy Biggert, Illinois
+Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Todd Russell Platts, Pennsylvania
+David Wu, Oregon Ric Keller, Florida
+Rush D. Holt, New Jersey Joe Wilson, South Carolina
+Susan A. Davis, California John Kline, Minnesota
+Danny K. Davis, Illinois Bob Inglis, South Carolina
+Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
+Timothy H. Bishop, New York Kenny Marchant, Texas
+Linda T. Sanchez, California Tom Price, Georgia
+John P. Sarbanes, Maryland Luis G. Fortuno, Puerto Rico
+Joe Sestak, Pennsylvania Charles W. Boustany, Jr.,
+David Loebsack, Iowa Louisiana
+Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
+Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania John R. ``Randy'' Kuhl, Jr., New
+John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky York
+Phil Hare, Illinois Rob Bishop, Utah
+Yvette D. Clarke, New York David Davis, Tennessee
+Joe Courtney, Connecticut Timothy Walberg, Michigan
+Carol Shea-Porter, New Hampshire
+
+ Mark Zuckerman, Staff Director
+ Vic Klatt, Minority Staff Director
+ ------
+
+ SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION,
+ LIFELONG LEARNING, AND COMPETITIVENESS
+
+
+ RUBEN HINOJOSA, Texas, Chairman
+
+George Miller, California Ric Keller, Florida,
+John F. Tierney, Massachusetts Ranking Minority Member
+David Wu, Oregon Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin
+Timothy H. Bishop, New York Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Washington
+Jason Altmire, Pennsylvania Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
+John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky John R. ``Randy'' Kuhl, Jr., New
+Joe Courtney, Connecticut York
+Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey Timothy Walberg, Michigan
+Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott, Virginia Michael N. Castle, Delaware
+Susan A. Davis, California Mark E. Souder, Indiana
+Danny K. Davis, Illinois Vernon J. Ehlers, Michigan
+Mazie Hirono, Hawaii Judy Biggert, Illinois
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ C O N T E N T S
+
+ ----------
+ Page
+
+Hearing held on March 22, 2007................................... 1
+Statement of Members:
+ Hinojosa, Hon. Ruben, Chairman, Subcommittee on Higher
+ Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness.......... 1
+ Keller, Hon. Ric, Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on
+ Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness... 2
+
+Statement of Witnesses:
+ Cantu, Martha, director, Gear Up Program, University of
+ Texas-Pan American......................................... 5
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 7
+ Linn, Dane, director, education division, Center for Best
+ Practices, National Governors Association.................. 15
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 17
+ Martinez, Maria D., director, Center for Academic Programs,
+ University of Connecticut.................................. 12
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 14
+ J.B. Schramm, founder, College Summit........................ 23
+ Prepared statement of.................................... 25
+
+
+ THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT:
+ APPROACHES TO COLLEGE PREPARATION
+
+ ----------
+
+
+ Thursday, March 22, 2007
+
+ U.S. House of Representatives
+
+ Subcommittee on Higher Education,
+
+ Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness
+
+ Committee on Education and Labor
+
+ Washington, DC
+
+ ----------
+
+ The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:33 p.m., in
+Room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Ruben Hinojosa
+[chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
+ Present: Representatives Hinojosa, Wu, Bishop, Yarmuth,
+Courtney, Scott, Davis of California, Keller, Petri, Kuhl,
+Ehlers, and McKeon.
+ Staff present: Tylease Alli, Hearing Clerk; Denise Forte,
+Director of Education Policy; Gabriella Gomez, Senior Education
+Policy Advisor (Higher Education); Lamont Ivey, Staff
+Assistant, Education; Brian Kennedy, General Counsel; Danielle
+Lee, Press/Outreach Assistant; Ricardo Martinez, Policy Advisor
+for Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and
+Competitiveness; Joe Novotny, Chief Clerk; Lisette Partelow,
+Staff Assistant, Education; Julia Radocchia, Education Policy
+Advisor; Kathryn Bruns, Legislative Assistant; Steve Forde,
+Communications Director; Jessica Gross, Deputy Press Secretary;
+Amy Raaf Jones, Professional Staff Member; Linda Stevens, Chief
+Clerk/Assistant to the General Counsel; and Sally Stroup,
+Deputy Staff Director.
+ Chairman Hinojosa [presiding]. A quorum is present. The
+hearing of the subcommittee will come to order.
+ Pursuant to the committee rule 12(a), any member may submit
+an opening statement in writing which will be made part of the
+permanent record.
+ I want to say good afternoon and welcome to the
+subcommittee's second hearing of the reauthorization of the
+Higher Education Act.
+ It is no accident that one of the key components of
+President Johnson's war on poverty was the Higher Education Act
+of 1965. The power of education to increase earnings and
+improve overall quality of life is well-documented. Higher
+education is an integral part of the American dream.
+ College access and success requires high expectations and
+aspirations, the know-how to act on them, rigorous academic
+preparation, and the financial resources to be able to pay for
+college.
+ From the beginning, the Higher Education Act has recognized
+that college preparation is an essential piece of the college
+access and success puzzle. The TRIO programs are part of an
+original federal policy in support of higher education.
+ The high-school equivalency program is part of that TRIO
+program. The high school equivalency program and college
+assistance migrants program were designed to address the unique
+needs of students from migrant farm-worker families. Before HEP
+and CAMP, there was no record of a migrant student achieving a
+college education.
+ In 1998, the higher education expanded these efforts by
+building partnerships for college preparation known as the GEAR
+UP program.
+ The sad truth is that these programs only reach a fraction
+of the eligible population. Some estimates are as low as nearly
+10 percent. This is at a time when the level of educational
+attainment is increasingly the dividing line between the haves
+and the havenots.
+ Over their lifetime, college graduates earn approximately
+73 percent more than high school graduates. Forty-nine of the
+50 highest-paying occupations require post-secondary education.
+ The president's budget estimates that $90 billion will be
+devoted to the student aid programs in the 2008 budget.
+However, only a little more than $1.1 billion will be invested
+in the college preparation programs, including GEAR UP and
+TRIO.
+ This represents an actual decrease in funds from fiscal
+year 2005. It seems to me that we must do better than that.
+ One of the issues that we will need to tackle in this
+reauthorization of the Higher Education Act is ensuring that
+all students have access to the information and academic
+preparation that they need to be able to take advantage of
+post-secondary education opportunities. We need to increase the
+college know-how in the communities that have not had access to
+college opportunities.
+ That is why today's hearing is so important. We will
+discuss some of the key federal investments in college
+preparation and outreach. We will also learn about state and
+private-sector initiatives.
+ I am looking forward to the witnesses' testimony and thank
+all of you for joining us today.
+ I now recognize my good friend, the ranking member of the
+subcommittee, Congressman Rick Keller, from the state of
+Florida, for his opening statement.
+ Mr. Keller. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And good afternoon.
+ I want to thank you especially, Chairman Hinojosa, for
+holding today's hearing on approaches to college preparation.
+ I would also like to welcome all of our witnesses and thank
+all of you for taking your time to come and testify before the
+subcommittee today.
+ The discussion of access to a college education begins with
+college preparation. First-generation, low-income or minority
+students sometimes need personal guidance to prepare and
+navigate the world of higher education. And we are here today
+to discuss some of those programs and organizations that do
+just that.
+ Some of the TRIO programs, for example, have been around
+since the inception of the Higher Education Act. It became
+clear, however, that additional student support or transition
+programs were needed to bolster college access and preparation
+for students. So the GEAR UP program was added in the most
+recent reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in 1998.
+ Still other programs, provided by organizations like
+College Summit, have been around less time but are, in fact,
+doing an outstanding job of providing additional service to
+students.
+ Let me first say that I agree that the programs highlighted
+in today's are worthy and important programs. If America hopes
+to remain competitive, we need to ensure that students are
+graduating from high school with the ability, the opportunity
+and the desire to pursue their dreams of a college education.
+ Currently, TRIO grants are awarded competitively to
+institutions of higher education and other public and private
+institutions and agencies. However, in selecting grantees, the
+Department of Education gives prior-experience points to
+applicants that have previously been awarded a grant.
+ The use of the prior-experience points often shuts new
+applicants out of the program. I fundamentally believe that
+competition breeds better products and services, that the
+competition should be fair, and the winners awarded on their
+merits as much as prior experience.
+ Before I conclude, I would like to thank our witnesses once
+again for agreeing to testify before the subcommittee today.
+And I look forward to hearing your testimony.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Without objection, all members have 14
+days to submit additional materials or questions for the
+hearing record.
+ I would like to introduce our very distinguished panel of
+witnesses here with us this afternoon.
+ The first presenter is Dr. Maria Martinez--oh, forgive me,
+I have the wrong one. I apologize.
+ The first presenter is Dr. Martha Cantu. Dr. Cantu was
+raised in the Rio Grande Valley and is a product of the McAllen
+public school system. She has attended the University of Texas-
+Pan American and has earned a Bachelor of Arts in speech and
+hearing. She has also earned a Master's of Education in
+educational diagnostician, and she has just recently earned a
+Doctorate of Education in educational leadership.
+ Martha has worked as a speech therapist and education
+diagnostician and a special education administrator for 21
+years before coming to the university in 2005 to lead the GEAR
+UP project.
+ Dr. Cantu, you are a very good role model, and I am
+especially proud to welcome you here today.
+ Mr. Courtney, I believe that you have someone who is very
+special from your district, and I wish to recognize you.
+ Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And it is an honor, actually, to introduce the next
+witness, Dr. Maria Martinez, who is director of the Center for
+Academic Programs at the University of Connecticut, which is
+located in the heart of my district and is the flagship public
+university in the state of Connecticut.
+ The Center for Academic Programs at U-Conn houses the
+oldest TRIO effort in Connecticut and administers four
+federally funded programs: Educational Talent Search, Student
+Support Services, Upward Bound, and GEAR UP.
+ Dr. Martinez came to U-Conn in 1986 from Saint Joseph
+College in West Hartford, where she designed and conducted
+training programs for social workers and human-services workers
+throughout the state of Connecticut.
+ In 1995, she was named the director of U-Conn's CAP. And in
+her role as director, Dr. Martinez has been able to promote the
+center's mission, which is to increase access to higher
+education for high-potential students who come from under-
+represented ethnic or economic backgrounds and are first-
+generation college students through numerous educational
+opportunity initiatives.
+ And one of the schools that she works in, the Windham
+Middle School, is actually where my wife right now is working
+today as a pediatric nurse practitioner in the school-based
+clinic.
+ And it is just a really important effort that U-Conn and
+your center does to help these kids really broaden their
+horizons and get an opportunity to get ahead in life.
+ The Hartford Courant issued a report not too long ago which
+demonstrated the widening gap that the chairman described in
+his opening remarks that exists in Connecticut. The top
+quintile in Connecticut, 70 percent of children from those
+families go to higher education. Unfortunately the bottom
+quintile of income in Connecticut, only 16 percent.
+ So we are seeing this gap that is creating barriers for
+children from low-income backgrounds, and that is going to, as
+Mr. Keller indicated, create real problems for the future
+economic competitiveness of our economy.
+ I would just, again, thank the chairman for giving me the
+privilege of introducing this wonderful witness, who is going
+to share some great ideas with us today.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you very much, Congressman
+Courtney.
+ The next presenter I wish to present is Dane Linn. Dane
+Linn oversees all education-related policy research, analysis
+and resource development at the NGA. He has authored numerous
+policy reports on issues ranging from school finance to teacher
+quality and school redesign to pay for performance. Mr. Linn
+recently spearheaded the division's initiative on redesigning
+the American high school.
+ He has been both a teacher and a principal in the
+elementary schools. Dane is a graduate of Cabrini College and
+has received a Master's Degree from Marshall University
+Graduate College and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at Virginia
+Polytechnic Institute and State University.
+ Welcome.
+ And our final presenter will be J.B. Schramm. J.B. Schramm
+founded the organization in 1993, and since that time College
+Summit has served over 20,000 students and trained over 700
+educators nationwide.
+ The enterprise has been recognized in the field of college
+access and social entrepreneurship by the Fast Company
+magazine, as well as Monitor Group. The U.S. Department of
+Education has recognized their service as well, and the
+National Association of College Admission Counselors has given
+them the association's highest award.
+ Mr. Schramm is a graduate of Yale University and Harvard
+Divinity School.
+ Welcome, each and every one of you.
+ I believe that someone very special just walked in, a
+former congresswoman.
+ And I want to say, Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, welcome to
+our Higher Education hearing. It is a pleasure, and we are
+honored to have you.
+ Please give her a big round of applause. [Applause.]
+ For those of you who have not testified before this
+subcommittee, please allow me to explain our lighting system
+and the 5-minute rule.
+ Everyone, including members, is limited to 5 minutes of
+presentation or questioning. The green light in front of you is
+illuminated when you begin to speak. When you see the yellow
+light, it means you have 1 minute remaining. When you see the
+red light, it means your time has expired and you need to
+conclude your testimony.
+ Please be certain, as you testify, to turn on and speak
+into the microphones in front of you so that we can hear you.
+ The rules of the committee, adopted January the 24th, give
+the chair the discretion on how to recognize members of
+Congress for questioning. It is my intention, as chair of this
+subcommittee, to recognize those members present and seated at
+the beginning of the hearing in order of their seniority on
+this subcommittee. Members arriving after the hearing has begun
+will be recognized in order of appearance.
+ I am going to ask Dr. Cantu, if you wish, you may start.
+
+ STATEMENT OF MARTHA CANTU, DIRECTOR, GEAR UP PROGRAM,
+ UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN
+
+ Ms. Cantu. Good afternoon, Congressman Hinojosa and
+committee members, and thank you for the opportunity to share
+my testimony today.
+ Our project provides services to nearly 9,000 GEAR UP
+students, their parents and teachers, in 28 different middle
+schools in the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas.
+ I would like to begin by sharing some recent survey data
+collected from the GEAR UP students and parents in our project.
+This data shows that students in our area have a strong desire
+to pursue a college education and that their parents support
+them in this pursuit of the American dream.
+ Of the 7,800 students surveyed, 94 percent reported that
+they would like to obtain a college degree. I remind you that
+these are 8th-graders that have already formed an aspiration to
+graduate from college.
+ Of the parents surveyed, 99 percent of them indicated they
+wanted their child to obtain a college degree.
+ These are compelling numbers. They show the passion for
+education shared by Hispanic parents and children that are
+traditionally under-represented in colleges and universities in
+our great nation. Clearly, aspirations are high.
+ But now I would like to share some additional information
+collected in the same survey, that shows that our parents lack
+knowledge on the processes involved in college enrollment and
+degree attainment. Therefore, parental involvement activities
+are a strong component of our grant services.
+ Only 34 percent of our parents accurately reported the cost
+of college, and only 43 percent reported knowing college
+admissions requirements.
+ This is why GEAR UP is critical. There is a perilous
+disparity between aspirations and the knowledge necessary to
+make those aspirations a reality.
+ With a grant such as ours, we are able to ensure that
+students and parents are learning about the college admissions
+process, college entrance exams, financial aid, the value of
+rigorous coursework in high school, and also receive constant
+support and guidance in making the right choices.
+ To facilitate this, each of the 28 GEAR UP campuses has
+both a GEAR UP coordinator and a family liaison to provide
+services to students, parents and teachers.
+ The Department of Education sets forth requirements for the
+GEAR UP projects across the country. This means that students,
+parents and teachers must be provided with an array of
+opportunities that will increase college aspirations and actual
+college enrollment and success.
+ I would now like to highlight for you some of the strides
+we are making in GEAR UP.
+ This year, our project tested over 8,000 8th-grade students
+with the EXPLORE exam, which is a precursor to the ACT. GEAR UP
+will also provide the ACT PLAN exam in the 10th grade and the
+ACT in the 11th grade.
+ GEAR UP provides summer camps in computer science,
+robotics, creative writing, clinical lab sciences, physics and
+math, to name just a few.
+ GEAR UP college tutors assist students in the core content
+areas, with a focus on math and science. This year, over 5,800
+students have each received an average of 14 hours of tutoring.
+ By the 8th grade, 5,858 GEAR UP students have visited at
+least one college or university.
+ Volunteer parents enter an intensive training called Las
+Platicas Academy. It is a 15-hour course that includes topics
+such as NCLB, graduation plans, study habits, college and
+financial aid information. Once parents complete the training,
+they will share acquired knowledge to empower and train other
+parents by conducting community outreach and spreading the
+message that every student will have access to college with the
+GEAR UP project.
+ We have also partnered with the National Hispanic Institute
+to develop an 8th-grade comprehensive parent curriculum that
+was utilized to train parents in the middle school during
+monthly parent meetings.
+ We also have two annual parent conferences that are held to
+inform parents about college admissions, financial aid, core
+content training, and making sure their children are on track
+for college.
+ Additionally, we have partnered with Texas Instruments,
+FORD PAS, Princeton Review and other local entities, including
+UTPA and other local colleges.
+ So far this year, over 300 GEAR UP teachers have received
+comprehensive professional development to assist them in
+preparing our GEAR UP students for a post-secondary education.
+ My testimony today is that GEAR UP is needed to continue to
+train parents and teachers to significantly increase the
+numbers of students going to college.
+ In closing, I would like to quote a Grant 1 GEAR UP student
+who said, ``GEAR UP has inspired me and has helped me to set my
+goals. Before GEAR UP, my plans were to continue field work as
+a migrant. When I started getting involved with GEAR UP, my
+whole life changed. I have decided to start applying for
+scholarships in admission to different universities to continue
+my education.''
+ Again, I thank you for the opportunity, Congressman
+Hinojosa, to provide testimony this afternoon.
+ [The statement of Ms. Cantu follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Martha Cantu, Director, Gear Up Program,
+ University of Texas-Pan American
+
+ Good afternoon Committee Members and thank you for the opportunity
+to share my testimony today. My name is Dr. Martha Cantu and I am the
+Director for the University of Texas-Pan American GEAR UP Project. Our
+Project provides services to nearly 9,000 GEAR UP students, their
+parents and teachers in 28 different middle schools in the Rio Grande
+Valley of South Texas.
+ I would like to begin by sharing some recent survey data collected
+from the GEAR UP students and parents in our Project. This data shows
+that students in our area have a strong desire to pursue a college
+education and that their parents support them in this pursuit of the
+American Dream.
+ Of the 7800 students surveyed, 94% reported that they would like to
+obtain a college degree. I remind you that these are 8th grade students
+that have already formed an aspiration to graduate from college.
+ Of parents surveyed, ninety-nine percent of them indicated that
+they want their children to obtain a college degree.
+ These are compelling numbers. They show the passion for education
+shared by Hispanic parents and children that are traditionally
+underrepresented in colleges and universities in our nation.
+ Clearly aspirations are high, but now I would like to share
+additional information collected in the same survey that shows that our
+parents lack knowledge on the processes involved in college enrollment
+and degree attainment; therefore parental involvement activities are a
+strong component of our grant services.
+ Only thirty-four percent of parents accurately reported the cost of
+college, and only 43% report knowing college admissions requirements.
+ This is why GEAR UP is critical; there is a perilous disparity
+between aspirations and the knowledge necessary to make those
+aspirations a reality.
+ With a grant such as ours, we are able to ensure that students and
+parents are learning about the college admissions process, college
+entrance exams, financial aid, the value of rigorous coursework in high
+school, and also receive constant support and guidance in making the
+right choices. To facilitate this, each of the 28 GEAR UP campuses has
+both a GEAR UP Coordinator and Family Liaison to provide services to
+students, parents and teachers.
+ The Department of Education sets forth service requirements for the
+GEAR UP Projects across the country. This means that students, parents,
+and teachers must be provided with an array of opportunities that will
+increase college aspirations and actual college enrollment and success.
+ I would now like to highlight some of the strides we are making in
+GEAR UP.
+ This year, our Project tested over 8,000 8th grade
+students with the EXPLORE exam which is a precursor to the ACT. GEAR UP
+will also provide the ACT PLAN Exam in the 10th grade and the ACT in
+the 11th grade.
+ GEAR UP provides summer camps in Computer Science,
+Robotics, Creative Writing, Clinical Lab Sciences, Physics, and Math to
+name just a few.
+ GEAR UP college tutors assist students in the core content
+areas with a focus on math and science. This year, over 5,800 students
+have each received an average of 14 hours of tutoring.
+ By the 8th grade, 5,858 GEAR UP students have visited at
+least one college or university.
+ Volunteer parents enter an intensive training called ``Las
+Platicas Academy.''
+ It is a 15 hour course that includes topics such as NCLB,
+graduation plans, study habits, college and financial aid information.
+Once parents complete the training they will share acquired knowledge
+to empower and train other parents by conducting community outreach,
+and spreading the message that every student will have access to
+college with GEAR UP Project support.
+ We have also partnered with the National Hispanic
+Institute to develop an 8th grade comprehensive parent curriculum that
+was utilized to train parents in the middle school during monthly
+parent meetings.
+ There are also two annual parent conferences that are held
+to inform parents about college admissions, financial aid, core content
+area training and making sure their children are on track for college.
+ Additionally, we have partnered with Texas Instruments,
+FORD PAS, Princeton Review and other local entities including UTPA and
+other local colleges, over 300 GEAR UP teachers have received
+comprehensive professional development to assist them in preparing our
+GEAR UP students for a post secondary education.
+ My testimony today is that GEAR UP is needed to continue to train
+parents and teachers in significantly increasing the number of students
+who are prepared to enter and succeed in post secondary education.
+ In closing I would like to quote a Grant 1 GEAR UP student who said
+``GEAR UP has inspired me and has helped me set my goals. Before GEAR
+UP, my plans were to continue field work as a migrant. When I started
+getting involved with GEAR UP, my whole life changed. I decided to
+start applying for scholarships and admission to different universities
+to continue my education''.
+ Again, I thank you for the opportunity to be here today.
+ Due to the brevity of the oral testimony, I would like to provide
+additional information on the University of Texas Pan American GEAR UP
+grant and the services provided to students, parents, and teachers. Our
+grant is broken down into five major components, each of which is
+measured by a set of objectives that are evaluated annually and
+reported to the Department of Education. Below is a brief synopsis of
+each of the five grant components and some key initiatives in each
+area.
+Five Major Grant Components and Services Offered By GEAR UP:
+ Component 1: Academic Preparation
+ The foundation of the GEAR UP Project is academic preparation. Our
+students must be exposed to the rigor of college level work and must be
+held accountable with high expectations of success. Our Project
+provides a variety of services that area aligned to the mission of GEAR
+UP and are intended to prepare students to complete high schools and
+enroll and succeed in college.
+ Services provided in this area include:
+ ACT/SAT Exam Preparation--Repeated exposure to college entrance
+exams is critical; GEAR UP allows for early testing on an exam called
+the EXPLORE which is a precursor to the ACT and given at the 8th grade.
+This year, our Project tested well over 8,000 students and we have been
+able to use those results to guide curriculum in the classroom.
+Furthermore, there is much weight in telling an 8th grader that he/she
+is about to take college entrance exam because it communicate high
+expectations and a belief in their ability. GEAR UP will also provide
+the ACT PLAN Exam in the 10th grade and the ACT in the 11th grade.
+ Concurrent Enrollment and Dual Credit Courses--Once our students
+reach the 10th grade, GEAR UP will provide opportunities for students
+to enroll in college level courses at the University of Texas Pan
+American and at South Texas College to earn college credit and high
+school credits concurrently. GEAR UP students have the potential to
+graduate from high school with up to 60 college hours.
+ Math and Science Summer Camps--GEAR UP provides summer camps at the
+University of Texas Pan American each summer and at other colleges in
+the area. Our intent is to provide a strong academic curriculum taught
+by college professors with the university as a backdrop and full
+exposure to dorm life, facilities, professors, intramural activities,
+and of course, the college cafeteria! Just last summer in the
+Electrical Engineering Camp, we had our 7th grade students study,
+construct, and test an electric car with a command box! This is hands-
+on science and math in a college environment made possible because of
+GEAR UP and resources offered by our fiscal agent, UTPA. This summer we
+have 11 different camps planned for both boy and girls as they
+transition into the 9th grade in Computer Science, Robotics, Creative
+Writing, Global, Drama, Clinical Lab, Physics, and Math to name just a
+few.
+ College Tutors--Each GEAR UP middle school has college tutors that
+are made available using GEAR UP funds. These college tutors assist
+students in the core content areas with a focus on math and science.
+Furthermore, they serve as mentors because they are living the college
+dream and are eager to share that experience with our GEAR UP students.
+This year alone, 5,867 students have each received an average of 14
+hours of tutoring hours through GEAR UP resources.
+ Component 2: Academic Preparation Support Services
+ This component of our grant supports the rigor of the classroom
+with consistent exposure to college type of activities that help to
+motivate students to do well in their classes. Many have heard the term
+``well-rounded'' when referring to students and the GEAR UP Project
+contributes to that ideal by infusing real life experiences to support
+the mission of GEAR UP.
+ Services provided in this area include:
+ Guidance and Counseling--Each GEAR UP school has a GEAR UP
+Counselor that monitors and supports the progress of GEAR UP students.
+This advocate position is critically important because this same person
+began with the cohort in the 7th grade and will continue to serve in
+this position until the students complete the 12th grade. They are a
+constancy in the life of students and develop a true relationship with
+students, their parents, and their teachers to make sure that the needs
+of the GEAR UP students are being met and that all entities work
+together. This year alone, the GEAR UP Counselors in our grant provided
+extensive guidance and counseling services to 7,430 GEAR UP students.
+ College Visits--The Rio Grande Valley is home to the University of
+Texas-Pan American, the University of Texas Brownsville, South Texas
+College, Texas State Technical College, and variety of local intuitions
+of higher learning and/or certificate programs. The GEAR UP approach is
+to start locally and have students visit our local schools before
+leaving the area for state tours. By the 8th grade, 5,858 GEAR UP
+students have visited at least one college or university! Each year,
+the visits become more selective and include presentations from beyond
+the university's outreach department, but also include presentations
+and tours of the different departments, classroom observations, college
+student discussions, and the exposure to different guest speakers, art
+exhibits, performing arts events, and countless other examples of
+college life activities. Universities are no longer a place to fear,
+but rather a place students long to be because they see the richness of
+the college experience and GEAR UP provides consistent support to make
+college trips possible.
+ Educational Exhibits--Instruction outside of the textbook is key to
+understanding the depth of content material. GEAR UP students are
+consistently exposed to educational field experiences. This year UTPA
+provided GEAR UP students a guided tour of The Henrietta Marie Slave
+Ship Exhibit. Students saw first hand the atrocities of slavery and
+were able to better understand this period of American History with
+artifacts such as shackles, slave sales books, replicas of transport
+cabins, and listen to recorded accounts based on historical accounts of
+the voyage. GEAR UP students also have hands on learning in science
+when they visit the UTPA Coastal Studies Lab at South Padre Island.
+Students board a vessel and take a brief excursion where nets are cast
+and specimen collected for examination and classification at the actual
+lab. South Padre Island is approximately an hour from most cities in
+the RGV, but the majority of students have never visited and/or taken
+account of the natural science resources our area has to offer. I have
+been on the sailing vessel with students and their excitement is
+evident in their wide eyes as the net is lifted and the movement of sea
+life is visible. The net is dropped and opened on deck into a tank and
+fish, shrimp, sea horses, sting rays, and plant life frolic about * * *
+this moment is real learning and GEAR UP provides these types of real
+world connections to curriculum.
+ Through GEAR UP, 929 students have received hand-on learning such
+as this.
+ Career Exploration--During the 8th grade year GEAR UP students
+completed a career interest inventory that provided each student with a
+summary of work areas they may be interested in based on their
+responses to survey questions. GEAR UP then provides countless
+opportunities for students to explore those careers through fairs, job-
+site visits, online virtual job shadowing, and student conferences.
+Recently we hosted a Career Extravaganza held at the University of
+Texas Pan American with over 1000 students and collaborated with each
+College within the University to have guest speakers in professions
+that pertain to each , for example, in the College of Health Sciences
+students interacted with doctors, physical therapists, pharmacists, and
+physicians assistants to name a few. At the end of the day, some may
+have changed their mind about what they want to be when they grow up,
+but at least now they are informed and can make better choices later.
+This past year, 7,570 students have received career exploration
+services through GEAR UP.
+ Component 3: Family and Community Outreach
+ The UTPA GEAR UP Project understands that a well informed parent is
+an active and engaged parent. With that premise, our Project strives to
+provide parents with up to date information on the needs of their
+children. Each GEAR UP campus has both a GEAR UP Coordinator and Family
+Liaison that plan monthly parent meetings to provide parents with GEAR
+UP awareness and information on testing, study skills, college
+awareness, school policies, educational opportunities, financial aid,
+and opportunities for their own personal and educational growth through
+G.E.D. and E.S.L class offerings. Furthermore, parents are also engaged
+in the same type of educational experiences as their children with
+sessions on how to use Texas Instruments graphing calculators and the
+Navigator System, participation in experiments on the UTPA Regional
+Biotech Mobile Lab, college tours to UTPA and other local community
+colleges, and online research in the UTPA Mobile Go Center that brings
+a wealth of college access information right to their doorstep!
+ Services provided in this area include:
+ College Tours--Parents are continuously invited by the GEAR UP
+family liaison to attend college tours at UTPA and other local colleges
+in South Texas. Transportation for parents to attend college tours is
+provided through local school district GEAR UP funds or through the
+university GEAR UP budget. Parents are given the opportunity to visit
+some classrooms and ask questions regarding college admissions and
+financial aid.
+ Las Platicas Academy--Each campus also identifies parents that are
+very involved at school and in the community and recruits those parents
+to complete an intensive training called the Las Platicas Academy. The
+Academy is a 15 clock-hour course that includes topics such as NCLB,
+growth and development, graduation plans, TAKS tests, study habits,
+organizational skills, college admissions, testing and financial aid
+information. After the 15 clock-hour course, the Family and Community
+Outreach Coordinator provides continuous updated monthly training for
+the Platicadoras. The training is conducted utilizing the Abriendo
+Puertas parent volunteer curriculum developed by Texas A&M University.
+UTPA and other local colleges also provide many resources for parent
+training. The intent is to continue to increase parents' knowledge
+about college requirements and build capacity to support their children
+with the goal of college made tangible through empowerment. Once
+parents complete the training, a graduation ceremony ensues at UTPA and
+they will be certified and known as ``Platicadores'' or parent
+volunteers. They will share acquired knowledge to empower and train
+other parents by conducting home visits, neighborhood walks and
+community outreach, spreading the message that every student will have
+access to college with GEAR UP Project support. The Project currently
+has graduated 100 Platicadoras and these parent volunteers are asked to
+in turn train a minimum of 25 parents in the community. This will
+result in approximately 2500 parents trained annually on college
+access.
+ Monthly Parent Meetings/Training--The UTPA GEAR UP project
+partnered with the National Hispanic Institute to develop an 8th grade
+comprehensive curriculum that was utilized by the GEAR UP family
+liaisons to train parents in the middle school during monthly parent
+meetings. The development of the 9th grade curriculum is currently in
+progress. The middle school training consists of 9 modules in which 8th
+grade GEAR UP parents are trained in social influences and
+psychological shifts their child will experience at this critical age,
+popular undergraduate majors, 8th grade academic planning and beyond,
+timeline for early college preparation, navigating the application
+process and paying for college, and the importance of pursuing a
+rigorous curriculum in high school. Monthly parent meetings are held in
+the school and they are usually conducted in the evenings, during
+school hours and on weekends. Due to our diverse population of parents,
+family liaisons offer on-going monthly sessions. Parent meetings are
+also held out in the community in places such as public libraries or
+local places of worship. Home visits are conducted often by the family
+liaisons for parents that cannot attend meetings on campus. The family
+liaison conducts the parent training during the home visit.
+ Parent College Summits/Conferences--There are two annual parent
+conferences that are held to inform parents about college admissions,
+financial aid, core content area training and making sure their
+children are on track for college. The conferences utilized a workshop
+style approach to ensure parent engagement. This year each GEAR UP
+parent conference attracted approximately 300 parents. Parents
+evaluated the conference through the GEAR UP evaluation survey.
+ ESL/GED Classes--Parent literacy opportunities are made available
+through the Project. GEAR UP collaborates with the Educational Service
+Center and local school districts to support their parent literacy
+programs.
+ Parent and Student Engagement--The GEAR UP Family and Community
+Outreach Coordinator is always looking for opportunities to provide
+parent training through meaningful and exciting ways. Many times a
+student event is that perfect opportunity! The parent will attend the
+event with their child and as their child is receiving training in
+matters such as which classes to take in high school, the parent is
+receiving training on the benefits of a pre-AP or AP curriculum. The
+GEAR UP Project, the university and other local colleges have held such
+events. A Career Extravaganza was held recently in which approximately
+1,200 students received information about career awareness, taking the
+appropriate high school courses and were given opportunities to explore
+the different majors available to them in college. Parents also
+attended the Career Extravaganza and received training from GEAR UP and
+university personnel regarding parental involvement in post-secondary
+institutions, financial aid planning and the understanding high school
+credits. Parents are also invited to listen to motivational speakers
+throughout the year to assist in reinforcing the message at home about
+making good grades and making plans to attend college. Our GEAR UP
+parents have also attended and assisted with community service
+activities with their children to better understand the meaning of a
+well rounded student.
+ Component 4: Professional Development
+ At the cornerstone of student success, is teacher preparation and
+the UTPA GEAR UP Project recognizes the need for continued professional
+development of teachers. Our goal is to provide teachers with training
+that will assist them in promoting rigor and challenging coursework in
+their classrooms.
+ Services provided in this area include:
+ Master's Degree Tuition Assistance Program--Our Project provides
+teachers the opportunity to attain a Master's degree in critical areas
+such and math and science. Each year, teachers that work with GEAR UP
+students may apply for tuition assistance to pay for the courses on
+their degree plan that will lead to a Master's degree in the area they
+teach. This is a systemic contribution to our area as teachers become
+more educated in their fields, then the more depth their teaching will
+hold in the classroom.
+ Texas Instruments--Through a partnership with Texas Instruments,
+over 150 GEAR UP teachers have received an intensive 12 day training on
+math strategies and the use advanced equipment called the TI Navigator
+that works in conjunction with graphing calculators. Once teachers
+completed the training, their classroom was equipment with a TI
+Navigator and a class set of TI-84 calculators to supplement
+instruction.
+ Component 5: Higher Education Collaborative
+ This component of our grant is critical in establishing a smooth
+transition of GEAR UP students into college and universities across
+Texas and the nation. Communication and planning must exist between
+public schools and institutions of higher learning and GEAR UP has
+become the active liaison between the two and continues to make strides
+in this area.
+ Services provided in this area include:
+ College for Texans Campaign: Go Centers--The establishment of Go
+Centers in schools can also be attributed to GEAR UP intervention. The
+Go Centers are an initiative established by the Texas Coordinating
+Board's College for Texans Campaign as a response to low college
+enrollment and post-secondary degree attainment throughout the state.
+The UTPA GEAR UP Project has collaborated with the UTPA Valley Outreach
+Center to help launch Go Centers at GEAR UP schools. The Go Center
+itself is a physical location where internet ready computers and
+countless types of college access information is available to students;
+the center is manned by a G-Force that is a group of students at the
+school that are peer mentors in the area of college access and
+enrollment. The Go Center makes college a part of the high school
+culture and defines college as an expectation for all students.
+ Adopt-a-School Mentoring--GEAR UP and the UTPA Division of
+Enrollment and Student Services have formed a mentoring program that
+pairs University employees with local GEAR UP middle schools to provide
+college access information. In this initiative, directors in the
+Division ``adopt'' a GEAR UP middle school and visit that school
+throughout the year to give presentations in rallies, classrooms,
+parent meetings, and one on one mentoring with a central message: You
+can and will go to college if you prepare early, study hard, and make
+the right choices!
+ Partnership with The University of Texas-Pan American--The services
+provided by our grant are facilitated by our fiscal agent and
+educational partner, The University of Texas-Pan American. UTPA
+educates the most Mexican American students in the nation and ranks
+second in the nation in the number of bachelor's degrees awarded to
+Hispanics. Recently, it was named by The Hispanic Outlook in Higher
+Education as one of the nation's ``Top 100 Colleges for Hispanics''.
+ Approximately 67% of UTPA students receive need-based financial
+aid.
+ Of the 11,489 students awarded need-based aid in FY2006 (fall/
+spring), 8,354 students (73%) were Pell eligible (economically
+disadvantaged). Of the Pell eligible students, 4,966 (59%) had a zero
+Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
+ GEAR UP students are able to benefit from different access programs
+made available through UTPA; some of which include:
+ Texas Scholars--A state-wide incentive program to motivate a
+greater number of students to prepare for the future by completing the
+Recommended
+ High School Program, a more rigorous academic path. This program is
+through the Texas Business & Education Coalition (TBEC) and receives
+support from UTPA and local and state business leaders.
+ UTPA Concurrent Enrollment--UTPA invites high school juniors and
+seniors who attend high school in the surrounding Rio Grande Valley
+school districts to apply for admission to the Concurrent Enrollment
+program. In AY 2006, concurrent enrollment had increased its enrollment
+by more than 730% compared to its enrollment in 1998. AY 2006
+enrollment was 1,227 while AY 1998 had only 167 students. Students
+earning satisfactory grades were over 91%. Between 2003 and 2005 an
+average of 59.6% of CE high school graduates matriculated to UTPA as
+entering freshmen. Of the graduation class of 2001, 33% of the students
+graduated from UTPA within four years and maintained a mean GPA of 3.4
+on a 4.0 scale.
+ UTPA offers a unique program called University Scholars; it is a
+four-year tuition and fee scholarship awarded to students who have
+successfully earned college credit through Advanced Placement
+examinations and/or Concurrent Enrollment at UTPA. It is designed in
+1998 to encourage high school students to enroll in rigorous academic
+coursed that will prepare them for success at the college level.
+Participation in the program has increased from 19 students in 1998 to
+301 students in 2006.
+ UTPA is also home to long standing TRIO federal programs such as
+CAMP, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math and Science, Educational Talent
+Search, and HEP.
+ The merits of The University of Texas-Pan American are a true
+benefit to the GEAR UP program because they provide constant support to
+local school districts and provide access opportunities to GEAR UP
+students and their parents to make the aspiration to attend college a
+reality.
+ ______
+
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ I would like to call on Dr. Martinez.
+
+ STATEMENT OF MARIA D. MARTINEZ, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR ACADEMIC
+ PROGRAMS, UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT
+
+ Ms. Martinez. Chairman Hinojosa, Ranking Member Keller,
+Representative Courtney----
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Excuse me, would you get the mike up
+closer to you, please? And turn it on.
+ Ms. Martinez. Okay. Sorry about that.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. There you go.
+ Ms. Martinez. Chairman Hinojosa, Ranking Member Keller,
+Representative Courtney and members of the committee, it is an
+honor to testify before you today on the topic of ``The Higher
+Education Act: Approaches to College Preparation.''
+ I am Dr. Maria Martinez, director of the Center for
+Academic Programs at the University of Connecticut. My office
+oversees an array of programs that expand and improve college
+access and retention of disadvantaged students.
+ Connecticut may be the most affluent state in the union,
+and its citizens are definitely among the best-educated, yet
+there are also pockets of poverty in our state which lead to
+serious inequities in college access and completion.
+ More than 300,000 of Connecticut's schoolchildren are
+eligible for free and reduced lunches, and 12 percent of
+families have incomes of less than $15,000 a year.
+ In 1983, the university established our center. Annually,
+through federal, state, institutional and private funds, our
+center works with more than 2,500 college and pre-college
+students. Yet we, together with other college access efforts in
+Connecticut, are just scratching the surface of the students
+who could be served.
+ Our pre-college programs include GEAR UP, Talent Search,
+and Upward Bound. Our college program is Student Support
+Services. Pleased by the success of Talent Search and Upward
+Bound, the state of Connecticut has established the Conn-CAP
+program, built on the TRIO model.
+ I will concentrate my remarks on our highly effective TRIO
+programs.
+ The university has sponsored TRIO since 1967, because we
+know and can prove that they work. Over the past 40 years,
+thousands of students have been able to overcome the academic,
+social and cultural barriers to entering and completing college
+by participating in TRIO.
+ As you know, TRIO programs serve students who are low-
+income and/or first-generation, which means that neither parent
+earned a college degree. Most of our students fall into both
+categories.
+ Talent Search is a low-cost, early-intervention program
+serving young people in grades 6 through 12 in New Haven and
+Windham. I am proud to report that our Talent Search high
+school graduation rate is 94 percent. And then 91 percent of
+these students go on to post-secondary education.
+ Those numbers are truly remarkable when you consider that
+our state's overall high school graduation rate is 84 percent
+but only 60 percent of students graduate from districts with
+high percentages of low-income students.
+ Upward Bound targets students who have completed 8th grade
+and serves high-schoolers in New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford and
+Windham. A smaller and more intensive program than Talent
+Search, Upward Bound includes a 6-week residential program on
+campus.
+ Ninety-four percent of the Upward Bound students enroll in
+college, and 85 percent of them graduate from college. That is
+an extraordinary record of accomplishment for disadvantaged
+students. Nationally, only about 26 percent of students from
+families earning less than $25,000 a year graduate from college
+in 6 years or less. This number jumps to 79 percent for
+students with family incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a
+year.
+ Student Support Services, SSS, at the university serves
+students who are academically at risk, typically because of
+inadequate high school preparation. SSS helps students
+successfully enter and stay in college. They also participate
+in a 6-week summer program prior to entering the university.
+ Despite financial and other pressures common to students
+from working-poor families, nearly 100 percent of the SSS
+students are retained between the freshman and the sophomore
+year. This compares very well with the 93 percent rate for the
+general population at the university and 75 percent across the
+Connecticut state university system.
+ About 60 percent of the SSS students graduate in 6 years or
+less. To put this in context, the Connecticut state university
+system has an overall 6-year graduation rate of 40 percent.
+Graduating 60 percent of at-risk students in 6 years is truly
+an achievement and clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of
+the SSS program.
+ We strictly document all of our services and maintain
+databases to record students' progress. I think you will agree
+that I am understandably satisfied with the result of our TRIO
+programs.
+ But what I need you to appreciate is that our record of
+achievement confirms the success of TRIO programs and its
+impact nationwide. TRIO is a pipeline of powerful programs that
+help nearly 900,000 students per year to prepare for, enter and
+complete college.
+ I would like to briefly share the story of one of our many
+distinguished alumni, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz. Franklin Chang-
+Diaz is the first Hispanic astronaut. Long before he stepped
+onto the space shuttle, he was a student making progress toward
+the undergraduate degree with the help and support of TRIO SSS.
+Dr. Chang-Diaz flew seven space missions, and today he credits
+TRIO with helping change his life. And he puts it best. He
+says, ``TRIO is one of the ways this country really becomes the
+land of opportunity.''
+ I thank Congressman Courtney for his interest in our
+program, and I thank the committee for allowing me the chance
+to address you.
+ [The statement of Ms. Martinez follows:]
+
+Prepared Statement of Maria D. Martinez, Director, Center for Academic
+ Programs, University of Connecticut
+
+ Chairman Hinojosa, Representative Courtney and Members of the
+Committee: It is an honor to testify before you today on the topic of
+The Higher Education Act: Approaches to College Preparation. I am Dr.
+Maria D. Martinez, Director of the Center for Academic Programs at the
+University of Connecticut. My office oversees an array of programs that
+expand and improve college access and retention for disadvantaged
+students.
+ Connecticut may be the most affluent state in the Union and its
+citizens are definitely among the best educated. Yet, there are also
+pockets of poverty in our state, which leads to serious inequities in
+college access and completion. More than 300,000 of Connecticut's
+school children are eligible for free or reduced lunches, and 12
+percent of families have incomes of less than $15,000 a year.
+ In 1983 the University established our Center. Annually, through
+federal, state, institutional and private funds, our Center works with
+more than 2,500 college and pre-college students. Yet we, together with
+other college-access efforts in Connecticut, are just scratching the
+surface of the students who could be served.
+ Our pre-college programs include GEAR UP, Talent Search, and Upward
+Bound; our college program is Student Support Services. Pleased by the
+success of Talent Search and Upward Bound, the state of Connecticut has
+established the Conn-CAP program, built on the TRIO model. I will
+concentrate my remarks on our highly-effective TRIO programs.
+ The University has sponsored TRIO programs since 1967 because we
+know and can prove that they work. Over the past 40 years thousands of
+students have been able to overcome the academic, social and cultural
+barriers to entering and completing college by participating in TRIO.
+As you know, TRIO programs serve students who are low-income and/or
+first generation, which means that neither parent earned a college
+degree. Most of our students fall into both categories.
+ Talent Search is a low-cost early intervention program serving
+young people in grades six through twelve in New Haven and Windham. I
+am proud to report that our Talent Search high school graduation rate
+is 94 percent, and that 91 percent of these students go on to post-
+secondary education. Those numbers are truly remarkable when you
+consider that our state's overall high school graduation rate is 84
+percent but only 60 percent of students graduate from districts with
+high percentages of low-income students. (Swanson, C.B., 2004).
+ Upward Bound targets students who have completed eighth grade and
+serves high schoolers in New Haven, Waterbury, Hartford and Windham. A
+smaller and more intensive program than Talent Search, Upward Bound
+includes a six- week residential program on campus. Ninety four percent
+of the Upward Bound students enroll in college, and 85 % graduate. That
+is an extraordinary record of accomplishment for disadvantaged
+students. Nationally only about 26 percent of students from families
+earning less than $25,000 a year graduate from college in six years or
+less. This number jumps to 79% for students with family incomes between
+$25,000 and $75,000. (Vincent Tinto, 2004)
+ Student Support Services (SSS) at the University serves students
+who are academically at-risk, typically because of inadequate high
+school preparation. SSS helps students successfully enter and stay in
+college. They also participate in a six-week summer program prior to
+entering the University.
+ Despite financial and other pressures common to students from
+working poor families, 100 percent of the SSS students are retained
+between the freshman and sophomore years. This compares very well with
+a 93% rate for the general population at the University and 75% at the
+Connecticut State University System.
+ About 60 percent of SSS students graduate in six years or less. To
+put this in context, the Connecticut State University System has an
+overall six-year graduation rate of 40 percent. Graduating 60 percent
+of at-risk students in six years is truly an achievement, and clearly
+demonstrates the effectiveness of the SSS program.
+ We strictly document all of our services and maintain databases to
+record students' progress. I think you will agree that I am
+understandably satisfied with the results of our TRIO programs. But
+what I need you to appreciate is that our record of achievement
+confirms the success of TRIO and its impact nationwide. TRIO is a
+pipeline of powerful programs that help nearly 900,000 students per
+year to prepare for, enter and complete college.
+ I would like to briefly share the story of one of our many
+distinguished alumni. Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz was America's first
+Hispanic astronaut. Long before he stepped onto the space shuttle, he
+was a student, making progress toward his undergraduate degree with the
+help and support of the TRIO-SSS program. As a teenager Dr. Chang-Diaz
+did not speak English very well. But he dreamed of studying physics and
+engineering. Through hard work and the assistance of the SSS program,
+he graduated from the University, earned a Ph.D. in plasma physics at
+MIT, and ultimately was recruited by NASA.
+ Dr. Chang-Diaz, who flew seven space missions (which is the current
+world record), vividly remembers the challenges of his early years, and
+credits TRIO with helping change his life. When asked about TRIO's
+impact, Dr. Chang-Diaz, said it best: ``TRIO is one of the ways this
+country really becomes the Land of Opportunity.''
+ TRIO programs have been changing lives for generations. I urge you
+to consider the information I have shared with you today in making
+decisions about; not only keeping TRIO but also expanding our reach.
+ I thank Congressman Courtney for his interest in our programs, and
+I thank the committee for allowing me this chance to address you.
+ ______
+
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ Now I would ask Mr. Linn if he would please make his
+presentation.
+
+ STATEMENT OF DANE LINN, DIRECTOR, EDUCATION DIVISION, CENTER
+ FOR BEST PRACTICES, NATIONAL GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION
+
+ Mr. Linn. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the
+subcommittee. It is my honor to testify to you this afternoon
+on behalf of the National Governors Association.
+ As Chairman Hinojosa mentioned, my name is Dane Linn, and I
+serve as director of the Education Division for the National
+Governors Association's Center for Best Practices.
+ As the bipartisan organization representing the nation's
+governors, NGA promotes visionary state leadership, shares best
+practices, and speaks with a unified voice on national policy.
+ It is an honor to testify on the recently released NGA
+federal legislative package on innovation and other governor-
+led state efforts to prepare students for post-secondary
+education.
+ A recent public opinion survey conducted for the NGA found
+that nine out of 10 Americans, both Democrats and Republicans
+alike, believe that if our nation fails to innovate, our
+children and our economy will be left behind.
+ And while Americans believe we currently have the most
+innovative nation in the world, they see us losing ground in 20
+years. Why is that? Simply put, Americans believe other nations
+are more committed to education. We cannot lead the global
+economy if our educational system is lagging behind.
+ What can we do to secure our economic position in the
+world? Americans believe the solution is innovation. Asked in
+the NGA survey what action would have the most positive impact
+on the economy, nearly half selected ``encouraging and
+supporting innovation in our schools and business.''
+ Governor are meeting this challenge head-on through a bold,
+comprehensive, nationwide initiative entitled, ``Innovation
+America.'' Led by NGA Chair and Arizona Governor Janet
+Napolitano, the initiative is guided by a bipartisan task force
+of governors and business and academic leaders.
+ From coast to coast, governors are developing and
+implementing strategies to ensure their students are equipped
+to take advantage of the opportunities a knowledge-based
+economy offers.
+ Congress can assist governors by supporting the NGA
+Innovation America partnership. Together with the Council on
+Competitiveness, this federal legislative policy framework will
+assist states in developing collaborative efforts between the
+public, private and education sectors.
+ This framework emphasizes science, technology, engineering
+and math, or STEM, education, and foreign language proficiency;
+enhances workforce systems; and promotes economic development
+strategies that harness state and regional assets.
+ More detailed information can be found in the written
+testimony that I have provided.
+ But for the purpose of my testimony today, NGA was asked to
+specifically focus on what is commonly referred to as P-16
+councils and other state activities to prepare students to not
+only access post-secondary education but to succeed as well.
+ Today, over 30 states have what is called P-16 councils. In
+some states they are known as P-20 councils. These coordinating
+bodies, led or created by governors through executive order or
+legislation, vary from state to state, but each shares the
+common focus of improving the education and economic conditions
+of their state.
+ Governors are also investing in the development and
+improvement of longitudinal data systems. These data systems,
+which allow states to make data-driven decisions to improve
+student results, will provide transparency and accountability
+in the education system.
+ Both longitudinal data systems and P-16 councils are
+necessary steps for developing a coordinated and aligned
+education system with an overarching goal of increasing post-
+secondary and work readiness.
+ Governors are leading these efforts in several ways. In
+Arizona, for example, the P-20 council is chaired by Governor
+Napolitano. That council is focused on developing a strong
+foundation in STEM education and strengthening curriculum and
+standards to prepare students for post-secondary education and
+to meet the demands of the workforce.
+ Virginia Governor Tim Kaine pushed the state's P-16 council
+to define college readiness, and led the development of a P-16
+longitudinal data system. Virginia has focused on two areas:
+the identification and the replication of high-performing
+schools and using its data system to identify student
+weaknesses before they find themselves placed in remedial
+classes in college.
+ And in Indiana, the governor and the state superintendent
+co-chaired the Indiana Education Roundtable. Working in
+conjunction with the state board of education, the roundtable
+raised the state's high school standards and aligned them with
+the expectations of the state's post-secondary institutions. As
+a result, Indiana has moved from 40th to 17th in the nation in
+measures of college attendance.
+ While each state's P-16 council is working toward a common
+goal of college readiness, each state's council is unique in
+its structure and leadership. Such flexibility is critical in
+allowing governors the opportunity to create the most effective
+councils for their states.
+ Congress can partner with governors to create and fund a
+number of grants that support P-16 councils and the enhancement
+of state longitudinal data systems. These grants will allow
+states to link and use student performance data to coordinated
+K-12 and higher education planning, budgeting and goal-setting.
+ I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your interest in the
+governor-led actions to help states prepare students, again,
+for both college and work through P-16 councils and
+longitudinal data systems.
+ Governors stand ready to work with you to ensure our nation
+remains a leader in innovation by giving our students a world-
+class education system.
+ Thank you.
+ [The statement of Mr. Linn follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of Dane Linn, Director, Education Division, Center
+ for Best Practices, National Governors Association
+
+ On behalf of the National Governors Association (NGA), it is an
+honor to testify before you today on the recently released NGA federal
+legislative package, Innovation America: A Partnership, and other
+governor-led state efforts to prepare students for postsecondary
+education.
+ Founded in 1908, NGA is the collective voice of the nation's
+governors. It promotes visionary state leadership, shares best
+practices and speaks with a unified voice on national policy.
+A Call for Action
+ Today's U.S. economy is confronted with a new and remarkable
+paradox. While the economy continues to grow and roughly two million
+new jobs were created each year since 2004, many American families have
+a feeling of uncertainty and concern about the economy and their
+future. When asked the question, ``Will your children or grandchildren
+have a better life than you?'' for many the answer is, ``No.''
+ According to a recent nationwide public opinion poll conducted by
+Dr. Frank Luntz for the nation's governors, 9 out of 10 Americans--
+Democrats and Republicans alike--believe that if our nation fails to
+innovate, our children and our economy will be left behind. And while
+Americans believe we have the most innovative nation in the world at
+the moment--ahead of China and Japan--they see America losing ground in
+20 years. Why? According to the poll, Americans believe that other
+nations are more committed to education. America's economic future is
+inextricably linked to education and the public's perception of our
+education system. Simply put, American cannot lead the new global
+economy if our educational system is lagging behind.
+ Our nation has a powerful incentive to improve the education
+pipeline. In the next decade, two-thirds of new jobs will require some
+postsecondary education beyond a high school degree. To be competitive
+and create the conditions for strong economic growth, states need to
+help all their residents increase their skills and be prepared for
+lifelong learning. Much is at stake.
+ ``Good jobs''--jobs that are growing quickly and pay enough to
+support a family of four--require postsecondary education or training.
+More than two-thirds of workers in occupations and industries that are
+growing have at least some postsecondary education, compared with one-
+third of workers in occupations and industries that are declining.
+Moreover, 67 percent of new jobs created by 2010 will demand skills
+that require at least some college education. This rapid increase in
+the demand for postsecondary education will be accompanied by baby-boom
+retirements, resulting in a predicted shortage of more than 14 million
+college educated workers by 2020.
+ While the American higher education system has long been a
+centerpiece of the U.S. economy, and the launching pad for the jobs of
+the future, the skills needed by students today are far different than
+the expectations and education of yesterday. Today, integrating diverse
+subject matters is as important as mastering individual ones. Students
+not only need to be well-rounded, they also need entrepreneurial
+skills, and the capacity to imagine and adapt to the unknown.
+ What can be done to secure our economic position in the world?
+Americas believe the solution is innovation. Asked in the Luntz survey
+what action would have the most positive impact on the economy, nearly
+half (46 percent) said it's ``encouraging and supporting innovation in
+our schools and businesses.'' Interestingly, focusing on innovation had
+more support than either tax incentives for small business (28 percent)
+or raising the minimum wage (24 percent).
+Governors' Innovation America Agenda
+ Across the nation, governors are confronting these challenges
+through a bold, comprehensive nationwide initiative, entitled
+Innovation America, lead by NGA Chair, Arizona Governor Janet
+Napolitano.
+ Governor Napolitano's Innovation America represents a multi-tiered,
+comprehensive strategy to propel the rapid deployment and development
+of innovation in America by improving education, encouraging economic
+development, and ensuring worker competitiveness. Under the initiative,
+Governors have taken the lead with the following concrete acts:
+ Innovative Thinking: Established a bipartisan Innovation
+America Task Force of governors, business leaders, and academics to
+develop innovation-based education and economic strategies in three
+sectors:
+ 1. Improving science, technology, engineering and mathematics
+(STEM) education;
+ 2. Enabling the post-secondary education system to better support
+innovation; and
+ 3. Encouraging business innovation through supportive state
+policies.
+ State Action: Collected best practices in education and
+economic development to inform governors' work and raised private funds
+to help implement innovation policies; and
+ New Federal Partnerships: Developed a package of federal
+legislative recommendations to focus on the role of states in promoting
+innovation and to compliment federal efforts.
+Governors Lead Innovation State Strategies
+ Given the seriousness of the competitive challenge to our nation,
+governors are developing strategies to accelerate innovation
+opportunities within their states. Governors are improving and
+realigning state programs to encourage cross-sector collaboration,
+target investments and measure outcomes in the critical areas of
+education, economic development and workforce training. These state
+strategies, developed by the NGA Innovation America Task Force, are
+further detailed below:
+K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
+ Governors know that ensuring a quality education for all students
+at the K-12 level is critical for the economic well-being of their
+states. The Innovation America initiative seeks to improve the rigor
+and relevance of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
+(STEM) teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms in order to (a)
+increase the supply of students interested in and prepared for STEM
+related careers; and (b) help provide all high school graduates the
+higher level critical thinking, adaptive, and problem solving skills
+necessary for success in postsecondary education and the workplace.
+Postsecondary Education
+ The American higher education system has been a centerpiece of the
+U.S. economy, producing much of the nation's innovative talent--
+scientists, engineers, technicians, and managers--and the majority of
+its publicly-funded research. Over the past several years, however,
+other nations and regions have entered the global marketplace by
+successfully duplicating and even improving upon this model. The
+Innovation America initiative seeks to engage governors in rethinking
+the role of higher education: what are the new models that will carry
+our country to the next level of innovation and prosperity.
+Regional Innovation
+ All states can develop innovation-based economies by building
+innovation capacity and establishing policies that support their most
+promising industries and regions (i.e., those areas within the state
+that contain clusters of high-growth, innovative businesses). States
+must recognize their inherent competitive strengths and align policies
+and investments to support these business sectors and the regions in
+which they reside. This means that workforce training and educational
+institutions must address the skills needed to meet the demands of
+fast-growing firms. R&D investments must be aligned with regional
+business strategies, and entrepreneurial support efforts must take into
+account the products and services unique to the region. The Innovation
+American initiative will enhance a state's innovation environment by
+helping state businesses move into a stronger position to exploit the
+opportunities presented by changes in technologies and markets--
+opportunities to increase productivity, develop new products, and
+expand into new markets.
+ The federal government, notably the work of the House Education and
+Labor Committee and this Subcommittee, can play a pivotal role to
+ensure the economic position of our nation and the future our children
+through the NGA Innovation America: A Partnership.
+Innovation America: A Partnership with the Federal Government
+ America's continued economic prosperity and growth will be driven
+by the nation's ability to generate ideas and translate them into
+action. The National Governors Association, together with the Council
+on Competitiveness, developed a federal legislative proposal to
+complement federal legislative activity and encourage state efforts to
+accelerate the rate of U.S. innovation and economic prosperity. The NGA
+federal package proposes a federal policy framework to assist states in
+developing collaborative efforts between public, private and education
+sectors.
+ A full copy of NGA's legislative package, Innovation America: A
+Partnership, and related NGA education policies are enclosed with my
+testimony. Our federal legislative proposal contains three broad areas
+for reform: Education, Workforce Development, and Regional Investment.
+The following is a brief summation of each section and related
+governors' federal recommendations.
+Part One: Education--Math, Science, and Foreign Language Proficiency
+ Aligning and refocusing education from birth to college (P-16) is
+essential to ensure our nation's competitiveness. The skills needed for
+individuals to compete and prosper in the global economy require a
+strong foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
+(STEM) and foreign languages. Governors' seek to create a targeted, but
+flexible and coordinated approach to address these critical national
+education needs through federal recommendations in the following key
+areas:
+ Support for Students and Teachers. Programs to encourage
+students to pursue higher education and careers in mathematics,
+science, technology, engineering, and critical foreign languages, and
+to infuse the education pipeline with high quality STEM and critical
+foreign language teachers, particularly in high-need and hard-to-staff
+schools.
+ STEM Education Improvement Grants. Matching grants to
+governors or a consortium of governors to provide resources and
+technical assistance to implement or expand STEM education and
+infrastructure activities.
+ High School Redesign Enhancement. Programs to expand and
+replicate governor-led high school redesign efforts around the country.
+ Voluntary International Benchmarking. Grants to allow
+governors to request a voluntary analysis of state standards with the
+skills being measured on Program for International Student Assessment
+(PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
+(TIMSS) and incentive grants to implement governor-led solutions.
+ State P-16 Alignment. Matching grants to implement or
+develop aligned state P-16 councils and implement solutions to patch
+holes in the P-16 pipeline, and direct grants to create efficient state
+P-16 longitudinal data systems.
+Part Two: Workforce Enhancement
+ The strength of America is our citizens--their innovation,
+creativity, and hard work. Governors' proposal would help states create
+efficient workforce systems aligned with regional education and
+economic development; enhance services to workers; and reduce costly
+administrative burdens to regions, states, and localities, while
+creating more transparent accountable systems. Specifically, governors
+recommend changes to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and related
+programs to create the following:
+ State and Regional Economic Alignment Program. The program
+will increase coordination, innovation, and effectiveness of state
+workforce programs.
+ Common Outcome Measures. The program will increase
+workforce system alignment through NGA common accountability measures,
+while focusing on meaningful customer outcomes related to education and
+employment readiness, reducing administrative costs and increasing
+transparency to evaluate federal, state, and local investments.
+ State and Regional Economic Development through Workforce
+Investment. The program will award matching grants to states to carry
+out innovative and coordinated WIA programming consistent with the
+statewide, regional, or sector specific economic and educational
+interests.
+Part Three: Regional Innovation
+ Because competition and innovation will be driven by high-growth
+economic regions in the 21st century global economy, economic
+development strategies must encompass and harness state regional
+assets. Governors' recommend the following to pull together diverse
+sectors to create a culture of collaboration and cooperation that will
+accelerate innovation and economic growth for our nation.
+ Competitive Innovation Grants. Competitive planning grants
+used to establish Innovation Councils. The mission of the councils
+would be to facilitate collaboration between public, private and
+educations sectors to accelerate the rates of innovation.
+ Competitive Research and Development Grants Program. This
+program will provide state and regional innovation Councils with the
+research and development funds to stimulate the rate of innovation and
+implement their strategic plans.
+ Grants for Broadband Deployment. This program will provide
+states with funds needed to increase access, adoption and usage of
+broadband technology, as well as provide financial assistance to
+continue to update technology.
+ Competitive Stimulus Grants. This program will provide
+states with continuing incentives to extend economic development
+opportunities for innovation-driven industries and services.
+ For the purposes of today's hearing, NGA was asked to address in
+further detail State P-16 Councils and recommendations that would
+prepare students for higher education.
+Education Innovation Begins with P-16 Alignment
+ The engines of education--early, elementary and secondary, and
+post-secondary--must move in the same direction for the U.S. economy to
+charge ahead and remain competitive. In the 21st century, our economic
+strength will depend on the ability of each state, and our nation as a
+whole, to develop a coordinated and aligned education system that
+supports, trains, and prepares skilled workers.
+State P-16 Councils
+ The first step is corralling the fragmented education system with
+P-16 councils. Across the country, governors are leading efforts to
+create state P-16 councils to oversee the integration of early,
+elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. From California to
+Georgia to Delaware, approximately 30 states have state P-16 councils
+or governance bodies.
+ Through executive orders and state legislation, Governors are
+creating integrated education systems in which all levels of education
+coordinate, communicate, and educate as one system instead of separate,
+isolated silos. While the structures and names of the state councils
+may vary, the goals are always the same: to create a seamless education
+system to improve academic achievement and economic development.
+ Several of the major advantages of state P-16 councils include:
+ smoothing student transitions from one level of learning
+to the next, e.g. high school to college;
+ aligning teacher preparation with the demands of today's
+and tomorrow's classrooms;
+ reducing costly administrative inefficiencies,
+duplication, or inconsistencies;
+ identifying and fixing holes in the education pipeline;
+and
+ closing the achievement gap and improving outcomes for all
+students.
+ Most notably, for the purposes of our discussion today, state P-16
+councils are critical to help prepare students for postsecondary
+education. Specifically, state P-16 councils can:
+ identify the skill gaps for students to prepare and be
+successful in higher education;
+ redesign high school graduation standards to match college
+entrance requirements;
+ target for improvement schools that produce students with
+high remediation rates; and
+ improve student postsecondary success and attainment
+rates.
+Governors Leading State P-16 Councils
+ Governors are uniquely positioned to provide vision and leadership
+for P-16 initiatives in their states. The bully pulpit of the
+governor's office is critical to increase public awareness and
+engagement, assemble the right team at the table, and build and sustain
+consensus for change. As governors demand results, turf wars or
+institutional resistance are overcome and traded-in for a common,
+collaborative vision. Creating a more integrated, seamless education
+system involves grappling with a host of complex issues, including
+standards, testing, teacher education, college admissions policies,
+governance, and funding streams, to name just a few.
+One-Size Does Not Fill All
+ P-16 Councils vary in structure, leadership, and membership. Such
+flexibility is necessary to ensure that the councils will be effective
+within the context of their individual state and local education
+systems. Flexibility is vital to both a governor's ability to work
+within the existing infrastructure as well as to draw informed,
+committed leadership to participate in the process. The following
+examples illustrate the different ways in which governors created
+effective state P-16 councils.
+ In Arizona, in order to bring business leaders, policy makers and
+educators to the table, the P-20 Council, chaired by Governor
+Napolitano, was established by Executive Order No. 2005-19 in 2006. The
+Council, comprised of educators, university presidents, elected
+officials, and business leaders, is focused on developing a strong
+foundation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and
+strengthening curriculum and standards to prepare students for post-
+secondary education and meet the demands of the workforce. The result
+is an education continuum, with classes building on ideas that were
+taught in years prior, and students better equipped with industry-
+specific skills in high-growth, high-wage occupations that await them
+when they graduate.
+ Since taking office, Virginia's Governor Tim Kaine has embraced
+high school redesign. He pushed the state's P-16 Council to define
+college readiness and lead the development of a P-16 longitudinal data
+system. Virginia funded two studies now underway: 1) to identify high-
+performing high schools and the qualities that make them successful;
+and 2) to examine academic weaknesses of recent high school graduates,
+focusing on graduates who are required to take remedial courses upon
+college entrance--an analysis utilizing the state's longitudinal data
+system.
+ Statutory and constitutional changes gave Florida's governor the
+authority to appoint the state commissioner of education and other
+members of a single governing board that oversees kindergarten through
+postsecondary systems. With a centralized education governance
+structure, Florida designed a unified, P-16 longitudinal data system
+that identifies school districts whose graduates have high remediation
+rates in postsecondary programs.
+ In Indiana, the governor and state superintendent co-chair the
+Indiana Education Roundtable, which consists of representatives from K-
+12, higher education, business, labor, and community groups, as well as
+state legislators. Working in conjunction with the state board of
+education, the roundtable raised the state's high school standards and
+aligned them with the expectations of the state's postsecondary
+institutions. As a result, Indiana moved from 40th to 17th in the
+nation in measures of college attendance.
+ The governor-created Georgia P-16 Council includes gubernatorial
+appointed members from a broad range of businesses, community groups
+and education agencies, including the Board of Regents and the State
+Board of Education. The challenge to the council was to work together
+to ``'raise the bar' of academic achievement for all students at all
+levels.'' Successes to date include increased enrollment in preschools,
+changes in students' course-taking patterns towards a more challenging
+curricula, a rising number of college-ready high school graduates, and
+revised teacher preparation policies aimed at supporting students from
+diverse backgrounds in meeting high standards.
+ Oregon's K-16 system inspired by a Governor's Executive Order calls
+for meetings between representatives of the K-12 and higher education
+systems. Since then, the state has embraced two primary initiatives:
+aligning teacher preparation programs with K-12 performance standards,
+and developing the Proficiency-based Admissions Standards System
+(PASS). The Oregon University System developed PASS for two reasons.
+First, PASS aligns university admission standards with the statewide K-
+12 school improvement plan based on demonstrated competencies and
+grades. As a result, high schools across the state have begun
+redesigning their curriculum.
+ Delaware's P-16 Council, as part of the state's communication
+strategy around increased high school graduation requirements in math
+and science, held focus groups with parents and business leaders to
+determine their level of awareness about and support for the increased
+expectations for high school graduates. Focus group participants
+questioned whether the state and its districts and schools have the
+necessary capacity--in the form of highly qualified teachers,
+facilities, district and state support, public support, and funding--to
+meet the demands. In response to the concerns raised by these focus
+groups, Delaware developed recommended math and English language arts
+curricula; it has also charged subcommittees with the task of making
+recommendations for providing supports to teachers and students that
+would help students meet higher expectations.
+Congressional Action to Innovate & Help Prepare Students for College
+ Governors would like to partner with Congress to accelerate
+education innovation. Let me point to several additional specific ways
+that Congress can support state innovation and best practices.
+ Support State P-16 Councils and Solutions: P-16 councils
+are innovative and proven best practices that should be accelerated
+across our nation. Funding for this activity remains an issue. Though
+some P-16 councils (Georgia, Maryland and Wisconsin) have sustained
+funding and dedicated staff, most do not. Moreover, the lack of funding
+impedes implement of innovative council-identified solutions.
+ Congress can overcome this barrier by partnering with governors to
+create and fund state P-16 Council Development Grants, and P-16 Council
+Solutions Grants to governors, as outlined in the NGA Innovation
+America: A Partnership proposal. In those states with existing P-16
+councils, Congress can support immediate action with incentive grants
+and technical assistance to implement solutions. Now is the time for
+action. Governors are willing to commit resources to this important
+endeavor, if you will partner with them. This work could be supported
+through new programs or new allowable uses of existing federal
+resources.
+ In addition, Congress can help innovate in education through other
+strategies, such as:
+ Support State Determined P-16 Longitudinal Data Systems:
+Governors are also engaged in developing longitudinal data systems that
+are capable of tracking individual students, through the use of a
+numerical identifier, through the K-12 system and into the
+postsecondary education system. Such systems allow schools to track the
+progress of individual students as well as grade level cohorts of
+students as they move through the P-16 systems. Congress accelerate
+this important work by supporting, or allowing federal funds to be
+used, for P-16 Data System Grants as recommended in the NGA Innovation
+America: A Partnership proposal.
+ Leverage and Expand State High School Redesign Efforts:
+Governors are also leading other college readiness initiatives,
+including increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework, improve
+statewide access through virtual schools, strengthening P-16
+longitudinal data systems, and increasing access to dual enrollment and
+early college options. This myriad of strategies provides a wide range
+of students with an increased opportunity for college readiness and a
+better chance for success in all of their post secondary pathways.
+Congress can support governors' work by expanding access to Advanced
+Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) and certificate
+programs for all students and preparation for teachers and developing
+and enhancing state dual enrollment and early college programs.
+Additional recommendations are also proposed by governors' in this
+exciting and promising area of reform.
+Conclusion
+ Governors heard the clarion call of their citizens to take action.
+And I am pleased to report that in every corner of our nation,
+governors are leading.
+ Governors' federal recommendations--education, workforce, and
+economic development--form the foundation for a new state-federal
+partnership to propel our nation forward and stay ahead in the new
+global economy. America's greatest asset has always been our human
+capital. Our nation was built by passion, creativity, and sheer
+determination. Each generation successfully worked to produce a better
+life than the last, and to pass on that dream to their children. This
+quintessential ``American'' dream endures.
+ A new revitalized, coordinated, and targeted approach will help
+ensure our collective fate. Governors hope to forge a new state-federal
+partnership to ensure that America remains competitive in the 21st
+Century through Innovation America: A Partnership. Our nation must
+provide students and workers with the foundation for lifelong learning.
+ The nation's governors stand ready to work with you.
+ ______
+
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ Now I ask our fourth presenter, Mr. Schramm, you may start.
+
+ STATEMENT OF J.B. SCHRAMM, FOUNDER, COLLEGE SUMMIT
+
+ Mr. Schramm. Thank you, Chairman Hinojosa, Mr. Keller,
+members of the subcommittee, for holding this hearing on
+college preparation.
+ My name is J.B. Schramm, and I am the founder of College
+Summit. And it is an honor to be here and to be joined on this
+panel by leaders from NGA as well as from TRIO and GEAR UP,
+initiatives that we see making a big difference in the lives of
+young people around the country and that work in collaboration
+with College Summit programs in a number of states.
+ And it is also an honor to have Ms. Schroeder here. I grew
+up in Colorado's 1st Congressional District.
+ College Summit is a nonprofit organization that began 13
+years ago in the basement of a low-income housing development
+here in Washington.
+ I had spent the 5 years before starting College Summit
+running a teen center in that basement. And I learned two
+things.
+ The first was lots of talented young people graduate from
+high school in our neighborhood and don't go on to college.
+National data shows that there are 200,000 students a year who
+are low-income high school graduates, college-ready, but don't
+go on to college.
+ The second thing I learned was that the high schools in our
+neighborhood didn't want any more programs that would come and
+disappear. They wanted someone to come in and help them build
+their capacity so that they could help their students succeed
+in college.
+ So, based on that, we started College Summit to help low-
+income communities raise their college-going rates by helping
+high schools build college culture.
+ So, why is this important? Every student who is first in
+their family to get through college basically breaks the cycle
+of poverty in their family line forever. They are going to make
+$2 million more in the course of their career. Their children
+are going to be almost twice as likely to go to college.
+ So, if we could fix the system so that these 200,000
+students succeeded in college every year, we would have these
+young people contributing about $80 billion more in taxes. So
+when programs like GEAR UP and TRIO and other effective efforts
+actually produce measurable results, the American taxpayer gets
+a return on their investment.
+ So, where is College Summit? Today we work in 10 states. We
+work in high schools, serving 60,000 students around the
+country. For example, we work with a majority of all high
+school seniors in the cities of Oakland, St. Louis, Denver.
+Thanks to the Gates Foundation, we will be working throughout
+100 high schools in New York City. We also work in rural areas,
+such as McDowell County, West Virginia.
+ Our partner superintendents tell us they like four elements
+of our model.
+ Number one, we are capacity-builders. We teach them to fish
+so they can do this work on their own.
+ Secondly, we work district-wide. So we give them tools so
+that they can manage success across their different high
+schools.
+ Number three, our results are measurable. Our schools have
+been producing significant college enrollment rate increases
+school-wide over baseline based on externally verified data.
+ And we provide significant financial support. The schools
+pay for our tools, but we also bring matching dollars from
+philanthropy to support our communities--over $30 million to
+date.
+ What is it that College Summit does? Four things.
+ One, we provide a course for all seniors in post-secondary
+planning. The thought is, when a young person has a good plan
+for what they are going to do after high school, they are more
+likely to finish successfully.
+ Secondly, we provide professional development for teachers
+and counselors: 3-day-long trainings where they learn to run
+the course, to build college culture in their schools, and to
+raise their expectations of what their young people can
+accomplish.
+ Number three, we help the school find the most influential
+students in the school, and we train them in 4-day summer
+programs, so that by the start of senior year those students
+have completed their financial aid and college admissions
+applications and they are ready to start supporting younger
+students in their community.
+ And then fourth, we provide data measurement and management
+tools so that the school leaders see real-time what is
+happening with all the students in their classrooms, but also
+can see each month and each year what the outcomes are, so that
+they can spot what is working and spread it.
+ I have three recommendations given by our partners from
+around the country, and I have included those in my written
+remarks. If any of you have any questions, I would be happy to
+discuss those in the question period.
+ But I would just like to thank you for holding this
+session. The need for higher education is so great, and the
+potential reward if we can tap more of the talent in our
+diverse communities is so great that it is wonderful that you
+are focusing attention and resources on initiatives that can
+produce measurable results.
+ Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ [The statement of Mr. Schramm follows:]
+
+ Prepared Statement of J.B. Schramm, Founder, College Summit
+
+ Thank you, Chairman Hinojosa, Mr. Keller and members of the Higher
+Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness Subcommittee for
+holding this hearing today on Approaches to College Preparation. I'm
+J.B. Schramm, founder of College Summit. It is an honor to appear
+before you today, and to be on a panel with leaders from TRIO and GEAR
+UP, initiatives that make a big difference in the lives of young
+people, initiatives that College Summit is pleased to collaborate with
+in communities across the country.
+ College Summit is a nonprofit organization that began 13 years ago
+in a low-income housing project here in Washington, D.C. For five
+years, I'd been running a teen education center there and learned two
+major things:
+ 1. Lots of impressive, promising young people graduated from high
+school college-ready and did not go to college.
+ Nationally, every year, about 200,000 students from low-
+income backgrounds graduate from high school prepared for college but
+don't go.\1\
+ 2. The second thing I learned was that the high schools in our
+neighborhood didn't want any more programs (that would come, and
+disappear). The high schools wanted to build their own capacity to get
+their students to college.
+ Based on these two ideas, we started College Summit to help low-
+income communities raise their college-going rates by helping high
+schools build college culture.
+ Why are efforts like this important for our nation?
+ Every student who is first in their family to graduate
+from college basically ends poverty in their family line forever
+ They'll earn over an additional $2 Million over the course
+of their careers; \2\ and
+ Their children will be almost twice as likely to enroll
+themselves.\3\
+ If we were able to correct the systems so that the 200,000
+students went to college each year, those students would contribute an
+additional $80 Billion in federal tax revenue annually.\4\ Programs
+like GEAR UP, TRIO and quality state and local efforts provide a great
+return on the taxpayer's investment.
+ Today, College Summit works in 10 different states, with high
+schools serving 60,000 students. For example, we work with a majority
+of all high school seniors in Oakland, St. Louis, Denver, and, thanks
+to the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, we will soon
+be working throughout 100 high schools in New York City.
+ Our partner superintendents, e.g., Kim Statham in Oakland and Ron
+Duerring in Kanawha County, WV, tell us that they value four things
+about our model:
+ 1. We are capacity builders. We teach the districts ``to fish'' and
+to do this work themselves.
+ 2. We work district-wide, with tools that help leaders manage work
+across schools.
+ 3. Our results are measurable. Our schools have been significantly
+increasing their college-going rates school-wide over baseline, based
+on externally verified data.
+ a. We have received the highest award from the National Association
+for College Admission Counseling. For four years in a row, Fast Company
+Magazine has selected College Summit as one of the top nonprofit
+organizations ``Changing the World.'' The Skoll Foundation, The Lumina
+Foundation for Education, and Venture Philanthropy Partners have
+recognized College Summit with major grants. We have been awarded two
+competitive grants from the Department of Education's FIPSE program,
+and have appreciated the support of Congressman Clyburn and Congressman
+Regula for our work.
+ 4. And we provide significant financial support. While school
+districts pay for our tools, we bring significant private matching
+dollars to support our communities. Major supporters, including Capital
+One, Samberg Family Foundation, Jenesis Group, Charles Harris III and
+ECA Foundation have enabled us to contribute over $30 Million to date.
+ What do we do?:
+ We provide a course for all seniors in postsecondary
+planning.
+ When all students have a plan for what they will do after
+high school, they are more likely to finish high school successfully.
+ We deliver professional development for teachers, and
+guidance counselors
+ Through 3-day Educator's Institutes, we train school staff
+to deliver the course and raise expectations for what their students
+can accomplish.
+ Through a 4-day residential workshop held on a college
+campus, we train influential students to foster college-going culture
+ Data just released by the Gates Foundation found that low-
+income students are four times more likely to go to college when a
+majority of their peers plan to go to college.\5\
+ These student influencers start senior year with a
+complete college application, including financial aid, completed, ready
+to support classmates and younger students.
+ We help school leaders use data to manage and evaluate
+progress
+ With support from Deloitte, we help the schools use real-
+time tracking of student progress in the classroom; and
+ Review monthly and annual outcomes reports so that the
+school leaders can spot innovations and spread them.
+ I would like to share three college access recommendations from our
+partners around the country.
+ 1. Help give high schools real time metrics on their college-going
+rates.
+ John Deasy, the superintendent in Prince George's County Maryland
+says, ``Wouldn't it be great if every year every Superintendent and
+principal got real-time feedback telling us our college-going rate so
+we could spot what works and spread it.'' The good news is that this
+can be done without student-level tracking.
+ 2. Simplify the FASA process.
+ Brian Kruger, a teacher at Roosevelt High School in St. Louis, MO,
+tells us that the FAFSA leaves his students ``confused and
+discouraged.'' Efforts to simplify the FAFSA process would make a big
+difference for our students, and we applaud the efforts of Mr. McKeon
+and Mr. Miller to achieve this.
+ 3. Engage the private sector to work with the schools.
+ Tim and Bernie Marquez contributed $50MM towards a $200MM endowment
+to create the Denver Scholarship Foundation providing need-based
+scholarships for every graduate of the Denver Public Schools, the
+largest city-wide scholarship program in the nation. Importantly, he
+has worked closely with Denver superintendent Michael Bennet who
+brought on College Summit to help maximize this public-private
+partnership and drive the academic goals of the district. Private and
+nonprofit support; federal and local government: every sector has a
+role to play.
+ The need for higher education is so pressing, and the reward for
+fully tapping the promise of our diverse communities is so great, that
+we need to support local efforts and national programs like GEAR UP and
+TRIO to enhance opportunities for America's young people in ways that
+produce measurable results for our young people and their families, and
+for America at large.
+ Again, thank you Chairman Hinojosa and Congressman Keller for the
+opportunity to discuss the importance of expanding access to higher
+education.
+ endnotes
+ \1\ Empty Promises: The Myth of College Access in America: A Report
+of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, Washington,
+DC, 2002.
+ \2\ U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000, Earnings for full-time, year-
+round workers by educational attainment for work life of approximately
+40 years.
+ \3\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
+Statistics, Students Whose Parents Did Not Go to College: Postsecondary
+Access, Persistence, and Attainment, NCES 2001-126, by Susan Choy.
+Washington, DC: 2001.
+ \4\ Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, Access
+Denied: Restoring The Nation's Commitment To Equal Educational
+Opportunity, U.S. Department of Education, February 2001.
+ \5\ Susan P. Choy, ``Access & Persistence: Findings from 10 Years
+of Longitudinal Research on Students,'' American Council on Education,
+2002.
+ ______
+
+ Chairman Hinojosa. I want to thank each and every one of
+you.
+ And now I would like to let you know that we are going to
+start the questioning of the witnesses.
+ I now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
+ Dr. Martha Cantu, you mentioned in your testimony that
+counseling was provided to 7,430 students. How extensive was
+the counseling? And can you give an example of how these
+records informed the curriculum and instruction in the schools?
+ Ms. Cantu. Absolutely. Our counselors work with our
+students to inform them about rigorous coursework, A.P.
+curriculum and how important it is that they enroll in those
+classes. They also work with them on high school graduation
+plans. They also inform them about concurrent enrollment, which
+is something that is very important as well.
+ One example that I can give you is, for example, the pre-
+pharmacy program requires certain math and science courses in
+high school in order for these students to qualify for those
+programs in college. So our GEAR UP coordinators are working
+with these students one-on-one, ensuring that they are taking
+these classes that they need in high school, so that they have
+the proper curriculum to succeed in college.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. I was very pleased to see that you
+included the effort that is being made on parental
+involvement----
+ Ms. Cantu. Absolutely.
+ Chairman Hinojosa [continuing]. And that adds to the
+success of your program.
+ What about the work that your program is doing with leading
+students to the STEM careers that you addressed?
+ Ms. Cantu. Right. We work also, of course, with students,
+we work with teachers, and we work with administrators and
+parents about the importance of STEM careers and the need that
+there is. And so, we counsel them on the importance of the
+courses that they need to take in order to participate or to
+qualify for those courses once they enter college.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Dr. Maria Martinez, you indicated that
+the university maintains documentation of all your services and
+records of student progress. Is this typical of your program,
+or is it a requirement of the Department of Education?
+ And finally, how are your records compatible with
+departmental requests?
+ Ms. Martinez. There are several ways that we keep a record
+of our student services.
+ One is that we do follow the guidelines from the U.S.
+Department of Education in relation the submission of annual
+performance reports, which is what documents the progress of
+our programs. And it documents graduation rates, moving from
+one grade level to the next, information like that.
+ We also supplement that information with the work that we
+do with the Office of Institutional Research in our own
+institution. We work with the registrar's office and the Office
+of Institutional Research to document the records of our
+college component.
+ We also recently started integrating what is called
+Blooming in our records, because that will keep track of all of
+our pre-college information on the pre-college graduation rates
+and success rates of the students. We document counseling
+contact hours, for instance. We document graduation rates. We
+document when students move from one level to the next, in
+terms of grade levels, if we are talking about the middle
+school.
+ So we have several ways to document the success of our
+programs. And, again, it depends whether or not we are dealing
+with the pre-college or the college component, and those two
+call for different pieces of data to be recorded.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ My next question is to J.B. Schramm.
+ Mr. Schramm, there are many critics of high-school-to-
+college support programs, but for a minimum federal investment,
+the nation receives a great return on the taxpayers'
+investment. My question to you is, do you find that program
+cost is a central issue in your efforts, or is it one of the
+many important features?
+ Mr. Schramm. I am sorry, could you phrase the last sentence
+again, please?
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Yes. Do you find that program cost is a
+central issue in the efforts that you all are making? Or is it
+just one of the many important features in the program?
+ Mr. Schramm. What we find is that when high schools are
+seeking to engage the kind of reform that Mr. Linn talked
+about, they need to make the reward of college real, so that
+the students can see why they should stay in school, why they
+should take the tougher courses, why they should engage in the
+STEM approach.
+ And so, making that real helps the high school and the
+school district align their different goals toward having all
+students graduate college-ready and ready for career.
+ So when the schools are looking at the costs and the
+community members are looking at the costs, I think what they
+see is college-transition efforts that can produce measurable
+results are ways for a community to get financial benefits,
+including increased taxes paid and so forth, but it is also a
+way for the school district and the community to see better
+academic outcomes.
+ So I think there is the financial incentive for a
+community, but just as importantly is the longer-range goal of
+having more academically prepared students succeeding in
+college.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ My time has run out, and I would like to yield time to the
+ranking member, Congressman Keller.
+ Mr. Keller. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And, Mr. Schramm, let me start with you. You mentioned this
+course that College Summit provides for seniors. Talk to me a
+little bit about how that course works. Is it a once-a-week
+thing? Is it after school, or is it during the summer? Tell me
+about that.
+ Mr. Schramm. This course is provided for all the students.
+And that is an important point. The idea is that not just some
+students should be going to college. The school is saying,
+``Everybody needs to make their plan, whether they think they
+are planning on going to college or not.''
+ Mr. Keller. When?
+ Mr. Schramm. That is right; they need to be doing that in
+their high school. And so, some of the courses, depending on
+the school, have it for 1 hour a week in an advisory period.
+Other schools have it 5 days a week as a course. So we try and
+set it up so that the school can make a choice about how to do
+it that fits their schedule.
+ Mr. Keller. So it is during the normal school day. They
+don't have to come an hour early or stay an hour late?
+ Mr. Schramm. That was a lesson that we learned a few years
+ago. We originally had it very flexible, so they could do it
+before school. And what we found is, when the school made the
+commitment that having every student plan is a part of our
+structure, they started to get much better results.
+ So it is in the school day. Though sometimes it is infused
+within a civics course, or sometimes it is part of an advisory
+period.
+ Mr. Keller. So they still get, in many schools, credit for
+going? It counts toward their credit?
+ Mr. Schramm. That is right.
+ Mr. Keller. Okay. I would think you would get a better
+turnout then.
+ Mr. Schramm. We could have you advising our program
+development team.
+ Mr. Keller. You have been doing this College Summit
+business for about 13 years. And one of the stats you used was
+that about 200,000 students graduate high schools, are prepared
+for college, but they don't go.
+ In your experience with dealing with some of these 200,000
+students, what are the reasons that you are hearing, usually,
+for why they don't go? Is it, you know, ``I would rather be a
+cosmetologist''? ``I would like to go but I don't have money''?
+``I need to work to provide for my family''?
+ What are the themes that you are hearing about why some of
+these students aren't going to college?
+ Mr. Schramm. What we are hearing--and they reflect some of
+the points that the chairman made at the beginning--but we are
+hearing that there is--having students aware early on that
+college is real for them. And we find that when peer
+influences, when students from their neighborhood are
+communicating to them that fact, they believe it more
+effectively than any other way.
+ Also, the know-how element. There are steps in this process
+that they need guidance to go through. And when a young
+person's parents haven't been through the process, even though
+the parents are very supportive of their education, they need
+somebody to help them stay on track step by step.
+ Mr. Keller. But do you see what I am getting at? On a more
+basic level, I mean, are a lot of these kids not going because
+they don't understand they can afford it? Or are they not going
+because they want to do something else, like working, for
+example?
+ Mr. Schramm. What we are finding is that there are, in a
+school, some students who want to become a plumber or they want
+to go get trained for Cisco Systems. What we do find is that
+there are a disproportionate number of low-income students who
+track themselves not to college, or feel tracked not to
+college.
+ Mr. Keller. Right.
+ Mr. Schramm. And so, when a school really makes it possible
+for them to explore all their options, a higher percentage of
+those students opt for college than did beforehand.
+ Mr. Keller. Take my area of Orlando. I know you all aren't
+in my particular area, but if you were, and I was having a
+chance to talk with thousands of young people who are prepared
+for college but ordinarily wouldn't go, one of the things I
+would probably tell them is, ``Don't go to college because you
+can't afford it. I mean, community college in Florida is $1,500
+a year, and the Pell Grant alone is $4,310, so it can happen
+for you.''
+ Would your courses provide that sort of information to
+these students, to talk to them about how much a community
+college costs and what you may get in financial aid and provide
+them that sort of information?
+ Mr. Schramm. That is right. When you talk about the
+financial aspect, there are real financial barriers--the cost
+of going to college--and there are perceived financial
+barriers.
+ Mr. Keller. Right.
+ Mr. Schramm. And a key part of the curriculum is helping
+the students break through those perceived financial barriers
+that are not real.
+ Mr. Keller. And do you actually help them fill out, like,
+the financial aid forms and college applications, that sort of
+thing?
+ Mr. Schramm. That is right.
+ And we would strongly urge any efforts to simplify the
+FAFSA process, which we know that Mr. Miller and Mr. McKeon are
+working on. It is an unnecessarily complicated process. And if
+that could be simplified, it will be easier. And that is an
+important part of what our schools do, but efforts you can take
+to simplify that would be very appreciated.
+ Mr. Keller. Well, thank you.
+ And, Mr. Chairman, my time is about expired, so I will
+yield back.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. For your information, we are going to
+have a second round of questioning, so feel free to save some
+of your questions.
+ I would like to recognize Congressman Courtney.
+ Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Dr. Martinez, your testimony described, obviously, your
+experience with the whole array of TRIO programs, including
+Upward Bound. And I just wanted to ask you about the U.S.
+Department of Education's new priority, which has issued
+guidelines that seem to be sort of pushing the programs more
+toward the older students in the Upward Bound program.
+ I just wondered what your thoughts or reaction to that is.
+ Ms. Martinez. At the University of Connecticut, just like I
+put in my testimony, we recruit 8th-graders and start working
+with them when they are 9th-graders. So we are doing already
+what the Department of Education wants us to do.
+ However, I personally believe, and also my staff is in
+agreement with this, that imposing on the Upward Bound program
+to have to recruit a certain time, it really prevents us from
+helping students that can be at any point in the high school
+career. I believe that those decisions should be left to the
+local individuals, the people that are running the programs,
+the people that are directly involved with the students.
+Because they are the people that are better equipped to
+determine who needs the program and who doesn't.
+ I think that by imposing guidelines like that, it will
+limit our capacity to help as many students as we are helping
+right now.
+ Mr. Courtney. I mean, is your experience that going younger
+actually is even more successful?
+ Ms. Martinez. It is more effective if you think in terms of
+when you work with students in the middle school, like we do in
+Talent Search and also GEAR UP, that you have an opportunity to
+impact what it is that they are going to do in the middle
+school but also the courses that they will be taking in high
+school. It is our experience that sometimes when they are in
+high school, we work very hard with them but a lot of the
+issues, a lot of the barriers could have been avoided if we
+worked with them before they got into high school.
+ So the sooner, the better. But the point here is that any
+help is better than no help. So if you get a student when they
+are in 10th grade, 11th grade, or even when they are in the
+12th grade and they are having difficulties with the FAFSA
+process, for instance, it is better than nothing.
+ Mr. Courtney. And in your testimony, I think you sort of
+answered this question, but just to confirm it, you indicated
+that your program is really just scratching the surface in
+terms of the number of student that potentially could benefit
+from it.
+ And I guess the question I would ask is just, if,
+hypothetically, the program were to be doubled, in terms of the
+number of participants, would there be students out there that
+you could help if that capacity was increased?
+ Ms. Martinez. Many students out there. As a matter of fact,
+with our program--I do know about many of our programs in
+Connecticut because we talk to our colleagues too--our programs
+have, many times, waiting lists.
+ In the Upward Bound program, which is a smaller program,
+every single year since I have been there--and I have been
+there for 20 years--we always have a waiting list of students
+that we cannot service.
+ It is the same issue with the SSS program, with the Student
+Support Services program. A lot of students wants to come to
+the University of Connecticut. We can take a certain number,
+the numbers that we are funded for. We can't take any more
+students, and we have to turn those students away.
+ With the Upward Bound program, it is more noticeable,
+because those are students that we interview families, we
+interview students, we go through a very long selection
+process, but at the end we only have a certain number of spaces
+available. And whoever doesn't make it, with those numbers, we
+have to turn them away.
+ Mr. Courtney. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield back.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ Now I would like to recognize the gentlelady from
+California, Susan Davis.
+ Mrs. Davis of California. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ And I certainly appreciate all of you being here.
+ You focused partly in these programs at reaching students
+at a younger age, at least in middle school. And I know that we
+know from all the research that kids pretty much make the
+decisions that they are going to make about their future by 9th
+grade, that that is a time that many students are deciding one
+way or the other. And perhaps you can contest that point of
+view, but I think that it is not that they can't make them
+later but a lot of students do make them earlier.
+ So I was interested in the key elements at that age in the
+programs that you are working on, whether there should be
+greater emphasis on that, whether, you know, if we had to make
+decisions about resources, just like people tell us--we have
+been looking at No Child Left Behind--``Put some of them in
+early childhood education,'' where do you think that would be
+appropriate?
+ And of the elements that we talk about, whether it is peer
+support, parent involvement, of the elements--and we know they
+are all important--but is there any one of those that is of
+greater importance that we should put a lot more of our energy
+in? I would be curious to hear your views about that.
+ And I also wonder if you are familiar with the AVID
+program, Advancement via Individual Determination. And where do
+you see that program fitting into some of the work that you do?
+Because I think what is important is that we are working in
+students in a tutoring fashion over the course of 3 or 4 years,
+in many cases, and how helpful that might be.
+ Ms. Cantu. Do you want me to speak to the AVID program?
+ Mrs. Davis of California. Yes. Where is the emphasis early
+on? I mean, again, if resources are limited--and we wish they
+weren't in this area--where is the focus?
+ Ms. Cantu. Currently we have grown from having AVID in
+three schools; we are now in 34 schools. It is a very--we have
+partnered with AVID, and it is very powerful when both programs
+work together. We have it in the middle school, and we have it
+at--we have it at most of our middle schools and most of our
+high schools, as well. And we are seeing great results from
+that.
+ Our students that are involved in AVID also have the
+benefit of GEAR UP. But, as you know, AVID is a much smaller
+program, so we are not able to serve as many numbers.
+ But what we strive to do is to implement the strategies and
+techniques from AVID into the entire school, so that all
+students at that campus would benefit from those different
+strategies and techniques that are so successful through AVID.
+And that is what we have found through GEAR UP, with AVID.
+ Your other question was on resources and where we should--
+--
+ Mrs. Davis of California. Well, of the elements that are
+important in some of these programs--and we haven't discussed
+parent involvement too much--but the peer support, time
+management--I guess I am going back to AVID a little bit
+there--but is there one area that, without that piece, we
+really could not be successful at this? And what is it,
+particularly? Where should the emphasis be?
+ Ms. Cantu. I have to say that since we have been so
+successful with parental involvement, we see that so many of
+our students are being much more successful in school. We do a
+lot of training with parents, and as we get them involved we
+have seen that their children are succeeding in school, both
+with Grant 1 and now that we have Grant 2. So we do put a lot
+of emphasis in parental involvement.
+ And, as I mentioned, we have a family liaison in each of
+our middle schools who works with the parents directly an
+provides that kind of, I guess, support that the parents need.
+There are monthly parent meetings. There are also one-on-one
+kind of meetings with parents. We conduct home visits. We do
+townhall meetings.
+ We do whatever it takes to inform the parents. We find
+that, when the parents are informed what kind of coursework
+their child should be taking, of course that child is going to
+be much more apt to be enrolled in those courses. And there are
+a lot of misconceptions out there that parents have that we
+have to clarify.
+ Mrs. Davis of California. Thank you.
+ Anybody else want to chime in quickly?
+ Ms. Martinez. I have to agree that the parent involvement
+component is extremely important.
+ I also feel that the exposure of the students of the
+participants to a college world is also important. A lot of our
+students are not familiar with the college process. Many of
+them have never even been on a college campus. And I believe
+that if they are exposed and they know what to expect and they
+know that it is possible, that it is a reality, that they will
+be more open to the college application process, to everything
+that comes along with that.
+ And the parents have to be involved, because you need to
+have everybody on the same page.
+ So I think parent involvement, exposure to college, and
+also the advising regarding the courses that they need to take.
+Because it is very, very important that, once they get to the
+point that they can apply to college, that they are ready, that
+they have all of the courses that they need to apply to
+college.
+ Because it is very difficult to advise the students once
+they are all done and they can't do the coursework, they can't
+go to the schools that they want to go. And you have to advise
+them differently because they don't have what they need to
+have.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ I now would like to recognize the gentleman from the state
+of Virginia, Congressman Scott.
+ Mr. Scott. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ Ms. Martinez, do you have an Upward Bound program at your
+college?
+ Ms. Martinez. Yes.
+ Mr. Scott. Are some Upward Bound programs residential and
+others just during the day?
+ Ms. Martinez. It is a summer residential program where
+students stay on campus for 6 weeks.
+ Mr. Scott. Do all the programs have the residential
+component?
+ Ms. Martinez. All of the Upward Bound programs?
+ Mr. Scott. Right.
+ Ms. Martinez. My understanding is that they do. My program
+has had a residential component since 1967. It has always been
+like that.
+ Mr. Scott. And after the summer program, what do they do
+during the rest of the year?
+ Ms. Martinez. We have an academic year component that goes
+along with the summer component. What happens during the year
+is that we hold team meetings in all of the cities that our
+presence is in. And that includes meetings with the advisers
+and the group of students, and it also includes individual
+meetings one-on-one. It also has a parent component, which
+includes an orientation.
+ And we also have a series of academic days which happen
+throughout the year. And what we do during the academic days is
+that we bring the students together, on a Saturday usually,
+with the parents, and they participate in a series of workshops
+and programs that are going to prepare them to get ready for
+college.
+ So that happens throughout the year between September and
+May. And then at the end of June, beginning of July, they start
+their 6-week summer program.
+ Mr. Scott. And did you indicate how many of your students
+actually go to college?
+ Ms. Martinez. Upward Bound has a placement rate between 97
+and 98 percent, college placement. Out of that, 85 percent of
+them graduate from college.
+ Mr. Scott. And your population would be considered an at-
+risk population, where you would not expect a high college
+attendance rate?
+ Ms. Martinez. They are considered at-risk.
+ Mr. Scott. But 97 and 98 percent of your students actually
+go to college?
+ Ms. Martinez. They do. They are placed in college.
+ Mr. Scott. Now, there is an income eligibility. You have to
+be low-income to get into Upward Bound, is that right?
+ Ms. Martinez. Correct.
+ Mr. Scott. How do they afford to go to college?
+ Ms. Martinez. We work with them throughout the year,
+identifying scholarships. Because they are low-income, they
+qualify for the Pell Grant and for other grants. We work with
+them regularly during the year, identifying primarily
+scholarships and grants.
+ Because one of the issues that we deal with, that we try
+very hard not to get our students in a bind of having loans. So
+we try everything other than the loans first. And we are pretty
+successful at doing that. Especially because our students are
+low-income, they qualify for a lot of gift money.
+ Mr. Scott. And when they get to school, I mean, how much of
+the tuition, room and board can they raise without having to go
+to loans?
+ Ms. Martinez. It depends on the institution that they go
+to. For instance, we have students that we recommend a
+community college for them. We have students that we recommend
+the Connecticut State University, which is a 4-year
+institution; the flagship university, which is the university I
+represent, the University of Connecticut. So it depends on
+which institution they choose to go.
+ If they choose to go to the community college, obviously
+they are not going to have to pay a lot of money.
+ If they choose to go to the flagship university, what we do
+is that we work very closely with the Office of Financial Aid,
+in terms of preparing their financial aid package so they don't
+end up paying for loans. We try very, very hard to get our
+students at least a first, second and third year without any
+loans. And we are pretty successful at doing that.
+ Mr. Scott. And do you follow up with your students
+throughout college?
+ Ms. Martinez. Yes, we do. As a matter of fact, we are
+working on our alumni now.
+ Mr. Scott. Okay. Does the work-study program--is that very
+helpful?
+ Ms. Martinez. It is very helpful.
+ Mr. Scott. And how much money can they make, and how many
+hours can they work on work-study?
+ Ms. Martinez. It depends which one you are referring to. We
+do have a work-study component, which is during the summer,
+residential component. And we submitted an application to the
+Department of Education, and we were awarded to put our
+students in a work-study program during the summer, 6 weeks.
+They are placed in different departments and different units.
+ Now, they do work probably 4 or 5 or 6 hours, no more than
+that, because we don't want that to impact on the college
+component that we do during the summer.
+ If you are referring to the academic year, we do not
+encourage our students to work more than 10 hours a week. We
+know that low-income students tend to work too much during the
+academic year, and we know that is an issue.
+ Mr. Scott. Now, I have heard that if it gets above 15 hours
+a week, it has a significant effect on academics. Is that
+what----
+ Ms. Martinez. It does. It does. And we discourage our
+students from doing that.
+ Mr. Scott. You indicated you have a waiting list for Upward
+Bound?
+ Ms. Martinez. Yes, we do.
+ Mr. Scott. And do you do any recruiting, or do you just
+have so many applicants you don't even have to recruit?
+ Ms. Martinez. No, we recruit every year. We recruit every
+year. We have an application process that every student that
+wants to join the Upward Bound program has to comply with the
+application process. There is an interview included. We do it
+every year during the spring.
+ But every year we end up with a waiting list, which is
+frustrating, because there are many students out there that we
+know would benefit from the program but we are not able to
+bring them in.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ At this time, I would like to acknowledge and recognize the
+gentleman from New York, Congressman Bishop.
+ Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for holding
+this hearing.
+ And thank you to the panel. The testimony has been very
+enlightening. Thank you very much.
+ Let me start with this. One of the findings of Secretary
+Spellings' Commission on Higher Education is that there is
+insufficient articulation between what high schools teach and
+what colleges expect, and that that is an impediment to student
+success.
+ And, Mr. Linn, do you have thoughts, A, on that subject?
+And B, if you agree with that, do you see any role for the
+federal government in trying to encourage high school curricula
+that matches up more with what college expectations are?
+ Mr. Linn. Thank you for the question, Congressman.
+ What we have seen across the country is really through the
+P-16 councils that I talked about, governors are bringing both
+the K-12 community and the post-secondary community and key
+institutions in those states to not only identify the number of
+math courses you need to take in order to get into the
+University of Connecticut but the conversations are actually
+digging much deeper into what those courses need to look like.
+ We know in many states across the country that Algebra I
+content doesn't necessarily match the course title. And so,
+those P-16 councils have really been used to forge stronger
+working relationships to dig deeper so that we know the content
+matches what the professor of chemistry expects a science major
+to know when he gets into that university.
+ Mr. Bishop. Okay, thank you.
+ Mr. Schramm, did you want to comment on that?
+ Mr. Schramm. When we are working in communities, we pull
+together the superintendent and the principals as well as the
+deans of admission from the surrounding colleges. And it is
+seeing how the superintendent responds when the dean of
+admissions is saying, ``We have been admitting your students,
+but we are finding that they are way behind, in terms of their
+math requirements.'' So allowing for those conversations to
+take place we are seeing is beneficial for the superintendents.
+ Mr. Bishop. Okay, thank you.
+ The other issue I want to raise is, we deal here a lot with
+the concern of rapidly escalating costs of higher education.
+And one of the cost drivers in education, obviously, is
+personnel. And usually 60 to 70 percent of higher education
+costs are salary and fringe benefits for personnel.
+ And one of the changes in higher education over the last 30
+years, I would say, has been the increased provision of student
+support services--counseling, remediation and so on.
+ Dr. Martinez, you cite a statistic, 85 percent of your
+students graduated in 4 years or 6 years?
+ Ms. Martinez. The high school component, the Upward Bound
+program.
+ Mr. Bishop. Yes.
+ Ms. Martinez. Yes.
+ Mr. Bishop. But 85 percent of that cohort----
+ Ms. Martinez. Correct.
+ Mr. Bishop [continuing]. Graduates in 5 or 6 years.
+ Ms. Martinez. Correct.
+ Mr. Bishop. And to what extent would you credit the student
+support services aspect of the program, in terms of helping
+students persist through to graduation?
+ Ms. Martinez. Well, I think that the Upward Bound students,
+the fact that they spend 3 years in the program--because these
+are the same students that we recruit when they are in 9th
+grade--they spend three summers with us, in residence, taking
+rigorous courses, such as English, math, science, study skills,
+SAT prep, all of the courses that they are going to need to
+become stronger once they apply to college.
+ They also come in contact with a lot of people from the
+college scene, a lot of professors. They get an opportunity to
+be in classes, to participate in lecture form of classrooms.
+And we believe that preparing the students like that, when they
+get to college, they know what to expect.
+ Mr. Bishop. Okay. I guess what I am searching for is, often
+schools are criticized for providing these services because
+they drive up the price. But I guess what--my bias has always
+been that what we ought to be doing is encouraging success. And
+the provision of these kinds of services to either at-risk
+populations or not-at-risk populations helps students graduate
+in larger numbers, which is really what we ought to be focusing
+on, right?
+ Ms. Martinez. Correct. Correct.
+ Mr. Bishop. And so, do you see the kinds of services that
+TRIO programs provide, do you see them as replicable for, you
+know, student populations that wouldn't be considered at-risk?
+ Ms. Martinez. It is interesting that you say that, because
+we are experiencing exactly that in our institution.
+ What we are experiencing is that, since 1967, the SSS and
+the Upward Bound have been on campus, we have been doing all of
+the things that we feel work to get the students prepared to go
+to college, to be retained and to graduate.
+ And recently what we are seeing is that the institution is
+implementing some of the programs that we have been doing for
+years for the general population, because they work, because
+the students graduate.
+ Mr. Bishop. Okay. Thank you very much.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you.
+ At this time, I would like to recognize a gentleman who is
+highly respected in our Education and Science Committee, the
+congressman from Michigan, Congressman Ehlers.
+ Mr. Ehlers. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ I apologize for being late. I was tied up on the floor. Not
+literally. I was on the House floor. [Laughter.]
+ At any rate, we had some exciting times down there.
+ I am sorry, my questions may have been asked earlier. They
+may not be pertinent.
+ First of all, I believe, Dr. Martinez, you are involved
+with Upward Bound. Is that correct?
+ Ms. Martinez. Yes, I am.
+ Mr. Ehlers. I have a college in my district who was active
+in Upward Bound for quite a few years, and it was a very
+effective program. And at one point, they simply dropped it and
+did their own program, which they thought accomplished the
+goals better than Upward Bound did.
+ Have you encountered that feeling, that Upward Bound is
+either too high-bound, let's say, or is not the most effective
+way of doing it? Or are you quite happy with Upward Bound as it
+is currently structured?
+ Ms. Martinez. Well, we have had the Upward Bound program
+since 1967, as I was saying before. And the state of
+Connecticut, in 1997, came up with their own program, modeled
+after Upward Bound. So right now we are running two concurrent
+programs in Connecticut under the Upward Bound model. So we
+have the Upward Bound program, which is federally funded, and
+we have what we call the Conn-CAP program, which is state-of-
+Connecticut-funded.
+ They are both the same exact program. Obviously the Conn-
+CAP program came later, in 1997. They felt that the Upward
+Bound program was working very well and they wanted to
+replicate the model.
+ So, for us, it has been a little bit of a different story.
+The Upward Bound program in Connecticut has worked very well.
+And at the University of Connecticut, we have been, I have to
+say, very successful at placing our students in college, and
+not only placing them but see them through graduation.
+ And one of the statistics that I quoted before was the 85
+percent student graduation rate that we have for Upward Bound.
+But every year, we fluctuate between 97 and 98 percent
+placement rate in college. So, obviously, our program has been
+extremely successful.
+ Mr. Ehlers. All right. So you started the Connecticut
+program simply because you wanted more money and more program--
+--
+ Ms. Martinez. We wanted to help more students. And the
+Upward Bound program that was have right now, it is small. And
+what I was mentioning before is that every year we do have a
+waiting list. So we were hoping to be able to help more
+students with funding coming from the state of Connecticut.
+ Connecticut is a very interesting state. We have some of
+the richest cities, but we also have some of the poorest
+cities. And that is where our Upward Bound program is.
+ So right now, we are servicing more students in Hartford,
+thanks to the department of education in Connecticut. We were
+not able to do that with the federal funds that we get.
+ Mr. Ehlers. Yes. I appreciate that. And I agree with you. I
+think Upward Bound is an extremely good program, and I was very
+delighted that the institution in my district did it for a
+number of years. I am delighted that they are carrying it on
+now with private money instead of Upward Bound money, for
+various reasons which we don't have to get into here. But I
+just wondered what your comparison was.
+ Ms. Martinez. Thank you for the question.
+ Mr. Ehlers. Then, Mr. Linn, your testimony mentioned the
+need for innovation. And I think you mentioned the WIRED grant
+as well.
+ My district received a WIRED grant, which, for those who
+aren't familiar with it, it is Workforce Integration Regional
+Economic Development, which sounds like a title that was
+invented to fit the acronym, which we often do around here.
+[Laughter.]
+ The project is relatively new. It is still ongoing.
+ I wondered if you could comment on some of the ways WIRED
+grantees are aligning their innovative practices with college
+access and K-12 education. Do you have any comments on that?
+ Mr. Linn. Well, I think the best way to respond to your
+question is to provide an example, where we have a state in the
+Midwest who has forged a partnership with the Workforce
+Investment Agency, the community college system, the K-12
+system as well, and the private sector. And they are coming
+together to identify what are the key economic drivers in a
+particular state.
+ So, for example, they have a number of companies that focus
+on medical devices, but yet they have a workforce that doesn't
+want to go into those occupations. What they have done is to
+work in partnership to encourage those students to take more
+challenging courses in those sciences and math courses, get
+them hooked into the occupations and stay in that particular
+area.
+ This is a state where few students will leave the state or
+let alone that region in which they currently live. So they can
+get interested in that career early on, earn a decent wage once
+they get out of college. And some of those occupations are not
+just bachelor degree occupations but they are occupations in
+which you just need an associate's degree.
+ So that is a way in which I think the education and
+workforce and private sector can all work together and, in some
+cases, through the governors' P-16 councils to figure out: How
+can we do a better job of coordinating the monies that we
+currently have?
+ Mr. Ehlers. Thank you. I am very pleased with the WIRED
+program. I think that is giving us some real opportunities in
+Michigan. And I think other states are experiencing the same.
+ But you mentioned a very key point, and that is individuals
+have to be willing to aim for a different vocation than they
+had intended for.
+ A major problem we have in Michigan--and I can assure you
+it is a very hot political question, because our economy has
+gone south with the decline of the auto industry. And the
+people who are angriest about it are not necessarily those who
+have lost their jobs but parents of children who cannot get
+jobs in Michigan so they move out of state to get the job. And
+the parents are extremely angry that their children had to move
+because they couldn't get a job in Michigan. They, of course,
+want their kids to live near them.
+ And this is a major problem we have to address. WIRED is
+part of it. We need a lot more help than just that. But I was
+pleased with your comments about it and your explanation of it.
+ Mr. Chairman, I have no further questions. Thank you.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. We thank you.
+ I would like to recognize the gentleman from Kentucky,
+Congressman Yarmuth.
+ Mr. Yarmuth. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
+ I thank you all for your testimony. I enjoyed it very much
+and appreciate what you are doing.
+ I also apologize for having to step out, so if I ask a
+question that has already been asked, just tell me that you
+have already answered that, and I will check it out.
+ But, Mr. Linn, those of who have been interested in this
+area, we read a lot about the need for increased science and
+math education. And I admit that I am scientifically deficient
+myself, having been a journalist and not knowing anything about
+those things.
+ But I can't help but wonder whether this extreme focus on
+science and math education may not inure to the detriment of
+liberal arts education, specifically in reading as well. I
+think the numbers are something like 71 percent of 8th-graders
+and 65 percent of 12th-graders read below grade level and that
+only 34 percent of graduates are literate enough to do college
+work.
+ Should we be worried that this focus on science and math
+education may end up kind of de-emphasizing the importance of
+reading and history and other liberal arts instruction?
+ Mr. Linn. Congressman, I will act like my wife is sitting
+behind me. She is a middle school history teacher.
+ I would be remiss to suggest that the focus in our
+educational system should be exclusively focused around
+science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
+ If you look at some of the work that NGA has been doing
+over the past couple of years, particularly in 10 of our states
+that are focused on high school redesign--and Kentucky has been
+intimately involved in our work, as has the state of Michigan--
+we are working with a number of governors in those states who
+are trying to create many different models for students who go
+through our high school system.
+ So that there are students, for example, who want to go to
+the North Carolina School for Math and Science, and Governor
+Easley has created a couple of those schools. But we also have
+states that have created new-tech or high-tech highs, for
+students that are particularly interested in technology. And,
+yes, there are students who are entering specific schools
+designed around the arts because that is where their strengths
+are and their interests.
+ But we should, as we have seen across the state, really
+focus on ensuring that all students--and we have seen this in
+Michigan, actually, last year--who raise the graduation
+requirements for all students, so that they have to take a
+certain number of math courses, English courses, science and
+social studies.
+ So governors aren't specifically increasing the graduation
+requirements for math and science only. It is really across the
+curriculum, so that they are equipped to succeed in whatever
+path they choose with the supports of some of the programs that
+we have heard about here this afternoon.
+ Mr. Yarmuth. There is one other thing I want to ask, and
+anyone can respond. And I am not sure exactly how it fits
+specifically in this discussion.
+ But in some of the conversations I have had recently,
+groups that are very concerned about funding for scientific
+research, what they are saying is that we are trying to push
+young people into science, and yet on the other end we are
+reducing the opportunities that they have for employment,
+because we are cutting back funding of NIH and some other areas
+like that.
+ So as we are pushing them to say, ``You ought to go into
+science,'' the other end we are, at least maybe superficially,
+but visibly, saying to them, ``But there are not that many
+opportunities for you here.''
+ Is that a concern that you see, that we need to make sure
+that what we do from the federal government level, in terms of
+creating the opportunities so that when we educate these young
+people that they do have fields that are attractive to them?
+ Mr. Linn. I was recently in Arizona, where I think that is
+a very good example of where the governor, in partnership with
+in this case Arizona State University, have really identified
+some of the emerging careers in that state.
+ And just to give you the context, you see a significant
+number of companies in that state in the optics field. And what
+they are trying to do is partner with, in this case, again,
+Arizona State University to identify: What are the range of
+occupations that students who are interested in going into some
+of those jobs, what are some of the majors they might consider
+when they go into college?
+ But we have got to touch those students well before they
+get into 9th grade, because some of those students get turned
+off by the time they get into 9th grade. And that is where I
+think some of the work that governors are beginning to do,
+stretching down to the middle school--and to help teachers in
+the middle school and high school understand the new ways to
+deliver some of the content that 9th-and 10th-graders aren't
+particularly attracted to.
+ My daughter, for example, isn't particularly fond of
+physics. And I think, in large part, a lot of students aren't,
+and that is because we don't connect it to what they can do
+with that content in the real world.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. The gentleman's time has expired.
+ I want to ask a question of Mr. Linn.
+ The National Governors Association is supporting advanced
+placement/International Baccalaureate programs for students,
+and this has great merit. How are the governors assuring that
+low-income, at-risk students have access to these programs?
+ And I ask this question because, most recently, in the last
+5 years, I have seen with great interest a business periodical
+Newsweek, which has listed our top 100 high schools in the
+country. And they actually find 1,000, but they feature the top
+100.
+ So if you could answer my question, I will ask you one
+final one.
+ Mr. Linn. Over the past 2 years, NGA has been working with
+six states in particular, and we have asked each of those six
+states--like the state of Kentucky--to partner with a consortia
+of rural districts and an urban district in that state. And the
+purpose of this project has been to forge a local-state
+partnership to increase access to advanced placement courses
+for low-income students.
+ Using the Kentucky example, I have to say that, given some
+of the recent data we have collected from the work we have been
+doing, there are a significant number of students in those
+districts, Louisville being one of them, that has increased the
+access of low-income students, particularly African-Americans,
+to A.P. courses.
+ The real test will be the end of this year, when we find
+out not only how many students have accessed those courses but
+how well have they done on the exams. That is the true measure
+of whether or not students are succeeding in more rigorous
+courses.
+ You will see it is our intent to continue to focus on
+helping governors, as not just in Kentucky but many other
+states, forge partnerships so that we are not just talking at
+the state level about the goal of increasing access but we are
+actually doing it. And I think that that is something that we
+are committed to as an organization.
+ And the data we have is quite compelling, not just in
+Kentucky but also in Georgia, Alabama, and I believe in
+Wisconsin is another state.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Well, I asked that question because in
+the state of Texas, we have had as many as five high schools
+listed in that top 100 high schools in the country, and so of
+course I am very happy and proud to say that two of them come
+from my congressional district.
+ Mr. Ehlers, I believe you have another question.
+ Mr. Ehlers. I thank you. I congratulate you on that. As
+usual, Texas is always the best in everything. [Laughter.]
+ Chairman Hinojosa. We brag about it.
+ Mr. Ehlers. I know you do, endlessly. [Laughter.]
+ Thank you very much.
+ Just a few wrap-ups, in a sense a follow-up on Mr.
+Yarmuth's question, and not so much a question as a comment
+that I wish to make, but you can feel free to discuss it or
+comment on it, on the question raised about teaching math and
+science versus teaching reading.
+ There should be no ``versus'' in there. That is the
+important point.
+ And I am a very strong advocate for teaching math and
+science. People think it is because I am a scientist, but that
+is only part of it. The major part is they need math and
+science in order to get a meaningful job at some point in the
+future.
+ But also it is directly related to reading. And most people
+don't realize that. I have had a number of individuals,
+including a former chairman some years back of this committee,
+say, ``First, reading. When we get that down-pat, then we will
+start math and science.''
+ The point is, the research shows that studying math and
+science improves the ability to read. They go together. It is a
+simple fact of doing the sorts of things you do in early math,
+the sorting, classification skills, things of that sort, are
+very useful to help children develop reading skills.
+ And so, the point is simply the curriculum has to be
+designed for the whole person and how do you teach most
+effectively for the whole person.
+ And that is why I have fought consistently for including
+science and math in the early curriculum. I would like to see
+it in pre-school, because I have seen the results of what it
+does in pre-school, but particularly in elementary school. If
+they don't get started in math and science there, they are
+behind the eight ball in high school, tend not to take it, and
+then when they get to college they are automatically unable to
+take a whole host of courses unless they want to stay 5 years,
+even 6 years, in the university.
+ So I didn't mean to give a sermon here, but I think it is
+important to get that on the record and get that word out: that
+we have to consider the whole child and all the aspects of
+learning simultaneously. And not just math and science and
+reading, but there are a lot of other things as well.
+ The other comment I wanted to make is about your daughter.
+I would be happy to talk to her about physics. [Laughter.]
+ Mr. Linn. Could you tutor her? [Laughter.]
+ Mr. Ehlers. I might, if I can keep up with her.
+ But, again, there is a lot of misunderstanding about the
+role of science. And you were right-on when you said that--
+physics is the one subject that relates mathematics to the real
+world. So you are taking the abstractions of mathematics and
+relating it to the motion of objects, the study of movement,
+energy and so forth. And so, it is a very concrete thing, even
+though a lot of kids think it is theoretical.
+ And I have had endless students say, ``I hate word
+problems,'' and I say, ``That is because you were never taught
+how to approach them.'' Everyone tries to approach it as a math
+problem. It is not a math problem. It is relating math to the
+motion of objects in the real world.
+ So I would be happy to talk to your daughter. Maybe I can
+give her an inspirational talk and tell her that physics--I
+have always told my students, ``Once you know physics, you can
+do anything.'' And little did I know, when I was teaching and I
+said that, that I would become a congressman and become living
+proof of it, that physicists can even be legislators.
+ And, with that, I will yield back, Mr. Chairman. Thank you
+very much.
+ Chairman Hinojosa. Thank you very much for those closing
+remarks.
+ Once again, I would like to thank the witnesses and the
+members of the subcommittee for a very informative session.
+ As previously ordered, members will have 14 days to submit
+additional materials for the hearing record. Any member who
+wishes to submit follow-up questions in writing to the
+witnesses should coordinate with majority staff within the
+requisite time.
+ Without objection, this hearing is adjourned.
+ [Whereupon, at 3:07 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
+
+
+
+