Beyond Access: The Challenge of Student Persistence

Beyond Access: How the First Semester Matters for Community College Students’ Aspirations and Persistence, by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), provides evidence that the first semester in community college is a pivotal point in students’ academic careers. Students whose first academic experience in college is positive and successful are more likely to remain in school, and to sustain their aspiration to transfer to a four-year college. This analysis suggests that a focus on access is necessary, but it is not sufficient to achieve the goal of a more educated population and workforce. To realize the goal of extending higher education to a larger proportion of the next generation, policy makers must also focus on the factors that foster student persistence in college.

Alligning Postsecondary Expectations and High School Practice

A new study released by ACT, Inc., Aligning Postsecondary Expectations and High School Practice: The Gap Defined, points to a gap between what high schools are teaching students and what colleges want incoming students to know. The study finds that there are specific differences between high school instruction and postsecondary expectations in every major curriculum area. Because of this and other discrepancies, states are now working to better align high school standards, tests and curricula with college expectations, and creating "P-16" or "P-20" councils to help coordinate goals and activities across the various levels of education. To bring states closer to meeting the goal of ensuring that a high school education prepares its graduates for the challenges of postsecondary education and the workforce, the study recommends ten action steps, including establishing core course requirements for high school graduation, measuring student progress with college readiness assessments, and beginning to measure college readiness earlier.

Diversified Teacher Compensation Systems

With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act and its emphasis on establishing a minimum standard for highly qualified teachers and accountability for student performance, policymakers throughout the nation are attempting to improve teacher quality by changing the way in which teachers are compensated. Education Commission of the States (ECS), with the support of the Joyce Foundation, has created resources to provide policymakers and leaders with information on redesigned compensation systems. The resources include a series of four issue papers addressing various aspects of diversified teacher compensation systems.

• Funding Issues in Diversified Teacher Compensation Systems
• Teacher Evaluation in Diversified Teacher Compensation Systems
• Student Performance Assessment in Diversified Teacher Compensation Systems
• The Use of Diversified Compensation Systems to Address Equitable Teacher Distribution

Fifty States of Achieving the Dream

In each state where Achieving the Dream colleges are located, the initiative is working with lead organizations to develop policies that will enhance student success. Achieving the Dream: State Policies to Enhance Access to and Success in Community Colleges Across the United Statesreports the results of a state policy audit undertaken to help guide that effort. The policies that states have in place are analyzed with respect to key community college practices in three main areas: access, success, and performance accountability. In addition, the report examines how the effectiveness of those policies was judged by state and local community college leaders.

Returning to Learning

Increasing global economic competition and the rapid pace of technological change are revolutionizing the skills and educational qualifications necessary for individual job success and national economic well-being. Adult students, however, are often left out of discussions of higher education policy. The Lumina Foundation for Education, as part of the Emerging Pathways project, has released a report to begin addressing the challenges of documenting, discussing and understanding adult students. Returning to Learning: Adults’ Success in College is Key to America’s Future describes today’s adult learners and how they currently fit into the postsecondary world, identifies areas of concern, and makes a number of recommendations for change.

The Essential Cognitive Backpack

According to a recent poll, approximately 40% of high school graduates indicated key gaps in their preparation for college. A recent report assessing the knowledge and skills employers view as crucial to success in the workplace identified critical thinking/ problem solving, information technology application, teamwork/collaboration, creativity/innovation, diversity, and leadership as priorities. In response, ASCD argues for the development of key cognitive skills in high school in order to avoid preparation gaps and fulfill the needs of employers. According to the author, equipping every graduate’s ‘cognitive backpack’ with interpretation, instrumentation, interaction, and inner direction, schools will enhance the odds that students will be ready for their career journeys—skillfully deploying their insights, strengths, values, and affinities as they stay on course for self-realization.