STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND OCCUPATIONAL EDUCATION. February 8, Postsecondary and Workforce Ready Diploma Endorsement

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1 STATE BOARD FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGES AND OCCUPATIONAL EDUCATION February 8, 2012 TOPIC: Postsecondary and Workforce Ready Diploma Endorsement PRESENTED BY: Dr. Geri Anderson, Vice President, Student Services and Academic Affairs / Provost and Scott Stump, Interim President, Northeastern Junior College RELATIONSHIP TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN: Colorado students shall have seamless opportunities to transition from high school into college and from two-year institutions into four-year institutions EXPLANATION: Pursuant to C.R.S and , the next steps of implementing Colorado s Achievement Plan for Kids (CAP4K) calls for the State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education to adopt jointly high school diploma endorsement criteria indicating a student s level of Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR). In order to take effect, the endorsed diploma criteria must be approved by the governing boards of the Colorado institutions of higher education. Upon approval, Commissioner Hammond from the Colorado Department of Education and Lieutenant Governor Garcia, the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, together will request an adoption by the State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. A PWR endorsed diploma identifies student excellence over and above a standard high school diploma. It signifies a student has thoughtfully planned for post-high school life, and is academically prepared for creditbearing 100-level postsecondary coursework without the need for remediation. A PWR endorsed diploma also means the student possesses the abilities and skills demanded in a rapidly changing, 21 st century workplace or postsecondary education environment (i.e., critical thinking and problem solving, information literacy, collaboration, self direction, and invention skills). The PWR endorsed diploma criteria include three components a student must satisfy: 15

2 establish and maintain an Individual Career and Academic Plan (as defined in SB ICAP and CDE rules and guidelines); exhibit 21 st century/learning and life skills; and, demonstrate academic preparation and excellence without the need for remediation. Satisfying these criteria creates a clear pathway for students and streamlines placement decisions at the institutions of higher education, and should enhance a high school student s buy-in to assessments, classes, activities and provide students a clear pathway to higher education and career opportunities in Colorado. The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) high school diploma endorsement will provide meaningful and realistic outcomes for students due to the alignment of high school coursework, gtpathways courses in higher education, and college admissions and placement. The endorsement also rewards a high school graduate for excellence by granting admission into open, modified open, or moderately selective public institutions of higher education in Colorado, as well as priority consideration for admission into Colorado s highly selective institutions. Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness is not just academic preparation but also an indication of the level of skills students have developed that will help them succeed in a 21 st century workforce and postsecondary environment. These skills are important not only in school but throughout life, enabling the student to learn and set goals independently and collaboratively. Students will have many opportunities to apply these skills, in and outside of the classroom, to demonstrate their level of readiness for college or a career. The PWR definition describes nine learning and life skills that align with the five 21 st century skills that are embedded in the new Colorado Academic Standards. To communicate these skills effectively, the two sets have been consolidated by embedding the PWR skills in the five 21 st century skills as follows: 1. Information Literacy ( PWR Find and Use Information & Information Technology) 2. Invention (PWR Creativity and Innovation) 3. Collaboration (PWR Collaboration and Communication) 4. Critical Thinking (PWR Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, & Global and Cultural Awareness) 5. Self Direction (PWR Personal Responsibility, Civic Responsibility, Work Ethic) 16

3 The academic criteria treat the two content areas of Reading, Writing, and Communicating and Mathematics differently than the other content areas. These two content areas require that a student successfully complete rigorous high school coursework and demonstrate excellence, and a student must also enroll in and earn at least a B in a high school course requirement specifically in their 12th grade year. The other content areas require students to meet the course requirements at any given point during their education career. This approach was recommended to encourage students to continue to engage in higher level coursework during their senior year in order to enter into postsecondary study or a career without the need for remedial education and ready for college-level coursework or career challenges. As a foundational belief, demonstrating Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness means our policies and systems must move beyond seat-time requirements and toward performance-based indicators in determining a student s readiness to enter into college coursework or a career. A similar approach is being considered as the state updates its admissions policies, including the Higher Education Admission Requirements (HEAR). The criteria for the endorsed diploma will help clarify the questions we will face when adjusting the admissions and placement policies. Implementing the endorsed diploma will not create new demands on secondary schools, since districts are already implementing student ICAPs and tracking whether students have met the school s local graduation requirements. What is new is that the endorsed diploma places a greater emphasis on the student s ability to apply the 21 st century skills and formalizes the measurement of these skills. This is an exciting and challenging task and CCCS have been committed to working with the Colorado Department of Education, The Colorado Department of Higher Education and other stakeholders on designing the endorsed diploma criteria. RECOMMENDATION: It is the recommendation of CCCS staff that SBCCOE endorse the Colorado Postsecondary and Workforce Ready Diploma. ATTACHMENT: Postsecondary and Workforce Ready Endorsed Diploma Overview 17

4 General Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) High School Diploma Endorsement Criteria Overview January 2012 The Diploma Endorsement The Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness, or PWR, Endorsed Diploma criteria include three components: planning for postsecondary, 21 st century/learning and life skills, and academic excellence. The diploma endorsement rewards a high school graduate for excellence by granting them admissions into open, modified open, or moderately selective public institutions of higher education in Colorado. The student must demonstrate that they do not require remediation in order to receive an endorsement. This helps create a clear pathway for students as well as streamline placement decisions at the institutions of higher education and may work to enhance a high school student s buy-in to assessments, classes, activities and planning, and work to provide students with a clear pathway to higher education opportunities in Colorado. The PWR diploma endorsement provides meaningful and realistic outcomes for students due to the alignment of high school coursework, gtpathways in higher education, and college admissions and placement. One foundational belief is that demonstrating Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness means our systems must move beyond seat-time requirements and toward performance-based indicators in determining if a student is ready to enter into credit bearing college coursework. The PWR diploma endorsement criteria may be used by districts to indicate a student has achieved postsecondary and workforce readiness, but it is not required. The Task Force recognizes this may create concerns around access and equity for students and will include strategies for addressing these issues in its final recommendation. The Task Force understands counselors and teachers are already working with difficult case loads, however much of the work required for monitoring and certifying a student s eligibility to receive a PWR 18

5 endorsed diploma will already take place through regular guidance activities and will be captured in the students Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) which can off-set some of the initial concerns around resources. The Process The PWR Endorsed Diploma is a state-led effort required in CAP4K, SB and jointly led by both CDE and DHE staff. The process was designed to ensure the decision on the endorsement criteria was informed by: state and national best practices, a task force made up of key stakeholders, and public input. The Endorsed Diploma Task Force members represent a rich mix of K12 practitioners and school leaders, higher education faculty and admissions staff, counselors, career and technical educators, representing community colleges and four-year institutions. The Task Force has met over a series of six meetings and has reached consensus on the following criteria. The Task Force will request approval from the governing boards of institutions of higher education. Upon receiving the governing boards approval, Commissioner Hammond from the Colorado Department of Education and Lieutenant Governor Garcia, Executive Director of the Department of Higher Education together will request a joint adoption by the State Board of Education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education planned to take place in Spring Local districts may begin to offer the diploma endorsements upon the adoption, likely beginning in the school year The PWR Endorsed Diploma Criteria The PWR Endorsed Diploma criteria include the following components: 1. Baseline, or minimum criteria 2. Planning criteria st century/learning and life skills 4. Academic excellence 19

6 1. BASELINE MINIMUM CRITERIA The criteria include a minimum requirement that is based on the existing admissions and placement criteria. In order to even be considered for a PWR endorsed diploma, a student must first: 1) Satisfy current HEAR requirements* or HEAR proxies and the Admissions Index. AND 2) Demonstrate proficiency in math and literacy areas ensuring that they will not require remediation in higher education creditbearing classes. The indicators may include any number of indicators (e.g. ACT, SAT, etc.) * The state s admissions policies will be updated by The goal is to ensure the PWR criteria will work to inform these decisions by providing a framework for authentically measuring if a student is ready for postsecondary education. 2. PLANNING CRITERIA Not only does PWR encompass academic proficiency and skillsapplication, but also recognizes the need for students to plan and prepare for postsecondary success. Therefore students must have evidence of informed and realistic planning in order to earn a PWR endorsed diploma. The student must be on track to successfully meet criteria for completion of the Individual Career and Academic Plan (ICAP) as established by SB and the State Board of Education Rules for Administering ICAPs. 3. DEMONSTRATION OF 21 st CENTURY, LEARNING AND LIFE SKILLS CRITERIA Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness is not just academic preparation but also the level of skills a student has that will help them be successful in a 21 st century workforce and postsecondary environment. All of these skills are important not only in school but throughout life, enabling the student to learn and set goals independently and collaboratively. Students will have many opportunities to apply these skills in and outside of the classroom, in order to demonstrate their level of readiness for college or a career. The PWR definition describes nine learning and life skills that align quite nicely with the five 21 st century skills that are embedded in the new Colorado Academic Standards. To effectively communicate these 20

7 skills to P12, higher education, and the community, we have consolidated the two sets of skills by embedding the PWR skills in the five 21 st century skills (described below). In order to receive a PWR endorsed diploma a student must demonstrate his/her aptitude in the following skill areas: o Information Literacy ( PWR Find and Use Information & Information Technology) o Invention (PWR Creativity and Innovation) o Collaboration (PWR Collaboration and Communication) o Critical Thinking (PWR Critical Thinking and Problem Solving, & Global and Cultural Awareness) o Self Direction (PWR Personal Responsibility, Civic Responsibility, Work Ethic) Students must demonstrate their aptitude in the skill areas in two ways: o Student must demonstrate skills and leadership by excelling in at least one of the following extra-curricular activities: participates in at least 3 school activities, business or employment or volunteer activities. AND o Academic excellence from any of the following indicators: Demonstrates mastery of skills through classroom coursework, based on district-certified valid and reliable measurements. Qualifying State summative assessment results Honors, scholarships, achievements or awards aligned with student s Career and Academic Plan Other indicators to be determined by the CDLE Workforce Council Other indicators as certified by districts 4. ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE General The Academic criteria requires a student to demonstrate academic excellence through high school course completion, other performance indicators (AP or ACT scores), or college course completion. o The criteria address seven content areas including: reading, writing and communicating, mathematics, science, social sciences, arts and humanities, world languages, and career and technical education. 21

8 o A student must demonstrate their excellence in three of the content areas in order to be eligible to receive an endorsed diploma. All of the content areas include specific content-specific high school courses, performance indicators, and college-level course work. All high school course requirements can be met through both traditional high school courses and qualifying CTE course(s) if the student receives a B or better. The performance indicators for each subject area include the following indicators, where applicable: AP and IB scores, ACT and SAT scores, Advanced (or equivalent) score on State Summative assessment if administered in the 11 th grade and others. (Please see specific performance indicators in the draft criteria). Postsecondary credit-bearing coursework must be aligned to the gtpathways curriculum in the content area and the student must receive a course grade of B or better to satisfy the academic criteria in order to be eligible for the PWR endorsed Diploma. (Please see specific performance indicators in the draft criteria). Two Anomalies - Reading, Writing and Communicating, and Math Criteria Reading, Writing, and Communicating and Mathematics are treated differently than the other content areas in two significant ways: A. Both content areas require that a student must successfully complete a rigorous high school coursework and demonstrate excellence in the other two categories as well, including other performance indicators (e.g. ACT score) or earning a B in a college-credit bearing course in Reading, Writing, and Communicating and Math. Reasons why these two content areas deserve the additional focus is because of the high remediation rates, the view that coursework is not enough, and the fact that all students will have access to the Colorado ACT and be able to demonstrate their level of performance in these areas. B. The student must enroll in and earn a B in the high school course requirement specifically in their 12 th grade year. The other content areas require a student meet the course 22

9 requirements at any given point during their education career. One reason Reading, Writing, and Communicating and Math are treated differently is because we want to encourage students to continue to engage in higher level coursework their senior year in order to enter into postsecondary without the need for remedial education and ready for college-level coursework. Reading, Writing and Communicating High school courses: at least four years of Reading, Writing, and Communicating courses that address standards from all three areas: reading, intensive writing, and communicating (e.g., speech or debate classes). At least one course must be taken during the student s 12th grade. And the student must demonstrate excellence on approved performance indicators or this student must receive a B or better in a college-level Math High school courses: at least one course beyond Algebra II/Integrated Math III including but not limited to Trigonometry, Calculus, Pre- Calculus, Probability and Statistics, or Discrete Math. At least one course must be taken during the student s 12th grade; And a student must demonstrate excellence on approved performance indicators or student must receive a B or better in a college-level Science High school courses: at least four science courses, (three of which must be lab-based) including at least biology, chemistry, and physics in high school; Or student demonstrated excellence on approved performance indicators, Or student must receive a B or better in a postsecondary creditbearing 23

10 Social Sciences High school course: at least four Social Science courses, which must include US and World history and one course in the social or behavioral science; Or student demonstrated excellence on approved performance indicators, Or student must receive a B or better in a postsecondary creditbearing Arts and Humanities High school course: at least three years of coursework in a single area of focus from the arts and humanities (e.g. theater, music, fine arts, etc.); Or student must demonstrate excellence on approved performance indicators, Or student must receive a B or better in a postsecondary creditbearing World Languages High school course: at least 3 sequential units in a single world language area (with increasing rigor); Or student demonstrated excellence on approved performance indicators, Or student must receive a B or better in a postsecondary creditbearing Career and Technical Education High school course: at least three years (or equivalent) of coursework in Career and Technical education, two of which must be from a single area of focus; Or student demonstrated excellence on approved performance indicators, Or student must receive a B or better in a postsecondary creditbearing 24