Chapter 9 - College Readiness: Students are college and career ready




Chapter Introduction

The main goal of both elementary and secondary education is to successfully prepare students for college and the workforce. Unfortunately, less than 30% of college professors believe that public school adequately prepares students for college and an estimated 41% of college students have to take at least one remedial course upon entering college (Achieve, 2005; NCES 2004). Likewise, too few students who enter the workforce right after high school have the job readiness and occupational skills that they need to gain access to more stable, higher paying jobs.

There are several measures an educator can use to monitor if a student has the competencies and skills for success in higher education and beyond. Algebra enrollment and course completion have been identified by researchers as early indicators of success in the upper levels of math both at the secondary and postsecondary levels. Several states also use a high performance on state standardized tests as an indicator of college readiness. There are several national exams that are administered from the 8th through 10th grade levels to prepare students for success on college entrance exams, including ACT’s EXPLORE® and PLAN® programs and the College Board’s PSAT/NMQST® exam. A student’s score on these early tests helps provide educators early indicators in several key areas: scores can identify students who have potential for enrollment in advanced courses, and scores can also identify areas where students need focused intervention in order to perform well on college entrance exams. The SAT® and ACT® are the most widely  accepted college entrance exams. While the SAT® is more of a reasoning test, assessing how well students apply the subject matter and skills they have learned in high school with a mandatory writing section, the ACT® is curriculum-based with questions directly related to high school courses in english, math, reading and science, with an optional writing assessment. Measures that track postsecondary success, such as first year success, grades and credits, and completion rates, will demonstrate that students are not only profiled as college ready, but actually have the skills to thrive in a postsecondary environment. Aggregated at the campus and district level, educators can use this information to target patterns of weakness in college preparation as well as scale areas of success. Although all students should have the skills necessary to enter college, not all students will choose to do so. It is therefore important for schools to have necessary programs to help prepare students who want to earn professional and technical certifications. 

Collectively, these indicators give educators a clear picture of whether or not students are prepared to meet and exceed the challenges of a postsecondary education and beyond. 

Back to Top


 

Pre-Algebra

Introduction

Basic math skills lay the foundation for later success in school.  At the middle school level, students should be enrolled and passing Pre-Algebra by grade seven.  If students are enrolled and passing Pre-Algebra by grade seven, they will be enrolled in and likely passing Algebra I by grade eight.  Educators should monitor both enrollment and passing rates of Pre-Algebra.

  • Higher-level high school math courses provide students with the intellectual preparation and abstract reasoning ability that are needed for success in college (Achieve, 2008).
  • More importantly, students who take higher-level math courses generally perform better in both college courses and in the workplace (Achieve, 2008).
  • Success in Algebra is also correlated to job readiness and higher earnings (Rose & Betts, 2001).

Related Metric(s)

  • Algebra I: whether students have taken and mastered Algebra I by the eighth and ninth grades.

How to Use the Metric

The Pre-Algebra metric allows educators to easily identify students who are not meeting the key prerequisite for higher math.  Educators can readily view for each student whether or not they are currently enrolled in and passing Pre-Algebra, or have taken and passed Pre-Algebra during a prior year.  To fully understand a student’s progression toward higher math, educators should also review a student’s academic history to understand when and where an Pre-Algebra course was or is being taken, current grades, or, for prior Pre-Algebra students, how credit was obtained and final grades.  Teachers and counselors may also view Pre-Algebra performance by student and for the class as a whole in a “classroom” dashboard, allowing educators to identify groups of students with similar math achievement levels within a particular classroom.   

As schools and districts work to increase participation and performance in advanced math courses, this information can be used in several ways:

  • In the case of students who have never enrolled, teachers and counselors can quickly identify students who need to be enrolled and, based on each student’s academic history, provide the necessary support to register and prepare them for Pre-Algebra.
  • For students who are currently enrolled in Pre-Algebra, teachers can quickly identify students who need additional academic support to successfully complete the course.
  • In the case of former Pre-Algebra students, teachers of advanced math courses can view Pre-Algebra performance to evaluate the level of support students may require as they engage in more rigorous coursework. 

By quickly identifying students in need of support, teachers and counselors can work collaboratively to implement strategies research suggests can improve math performance, including (National Math Advisory Panel, 2008):

  • Team teaching approaches that allow teachers to target the full range of student needs;
  • After school or summer programs with a math focus; and
  • Small group and one-on-one tutoring sessions.

Teachers and counselors should view Pre-Algebra information for their students at the beginning of each school year and as often as new grades are available.

Back to Top

 

Algebra I

Introduction

At the High School level, students should be enrolled in and passing Algebra I by grade nine.  This course lays the foundation for math success and starting Algebra I by grade nine enables students to progress to Algebra II by grade eleven.

  • Many public and private four-year colleges and universities require students to take at least Algebra II, if not a course beyond it in high school, just to be eligible for admissions.
  • More importantly, students who take higher-level math courses generally perform better in both college courses and in the workplace (Achieve, 2008).
  • Success in Algebra is correlated to job readiness and higher earnings (Rose & Betts, 2001).

Regarding the impact of completing higher-level math on students’ postsecondary success, job readiness and earnings:

  • Students who study math at least though Algebra II in high school are more than twice as likely as non-Algebra II students to earn a four-year degree (Adelman, 2006).
  • Moreover, the likelihood of a student completing a bachelor’s degree is significantly greater with each increasing level of rigor in high school math courses completed by the student (Rose & Betts, 2001).  After controlling for demographic factors correlated with college entry (including ethnicity, parental education and income, school size and demographics, and teachers’ education level):
    • seventy three percent of students who took calculus during high school earned a bachelor’s degree
    • fifty six percent of students who took “advanced” algebra (beyond Algebra II), but not calculus, earned a bachelor’s degree
    • thirty four percent of those who took “intermediate” algebra (comparable to Algebra II) earned a bachelor’s degree
    • Just 13% of those who only took some algebra and/or geometry earned bachelor’s degrees
    • Only 3% of those who took “vocational” math completed a bachelor’s degree

Regarding access to and participation in higher level math courses, economically disadvantaged, African American and Hispanic students have been underserved.  Monitoring gaps in performance and closing them  addresses the following concerns:

  • In a study of the 1992 national cohort of twelfth grade students, students from the lowest socioeconomic status quintile were much less likely to attend high schools that even offer any math courses above Algebra.  For example, only 64% of the high schools attended by students in the lowest quintile offered trigonometry compared to over 83% of the high schools attended by students in the highest quintile (Adelman, 2006).
  • In a study of California high school students, 9 and 10% of Hispanic and African American students, respectively, took advanced Algebra or calculus, compared to 22% of White students and 43% of Asian students (Rose & Betts, 2001).

Related Metrics

None.

How to use the Metric

The Algebra I metric allows educators to easily identify students who are not meeting the key prerequisite for higher math.  Educators can readily view for each student whether or not they are currently enrolled in and passing Algebra I, or have taken and passed Algebra I during a prior year.  To fully understand a student’s progression toward higher math, educators should also review a student’s academic history to understand when and where an Algebra course was or is being taken, current grades, or, for prior Algebra students, how credit was obtained and final grades.  Teachers and counselors may also view Algebra performance by student and for the class as a whole in a “classroom” dashboard, allowing educators to identify groups of students with similar math achievement levels within a particular classroom.   

As schools and districts work to increase participation and performance in advanced math courses, this information can be used in several ways:

  • In the case of students who have never enrolled, teachers and counselors can quickly identify students who need to be enrolled and, based on each student’s academic history, provide the necessary support to register and prepare them for Algebra I.
  • For students who are currently enrolled in Algebra I, teachers can quickly identify students who need additional academic support to successfully complete the course.
  • In the case of former Algebra I students, teachers of advanced math courses can view Algebra I performance to evaluate the level of support students may require as they engage in more rigorous coursework. 

By quickly identifying students in need of support, teachers and counselors can work collaboratively to implement strategies research suggests can improve math performance, including (National Math Advisory Panel, 2008):

  • Team teaching approaches that allow teachers to target the full range of student needs;
  • After school or summer programs with a math focus; and
  • Small group and one-on-one tutoring sessions.

Teachers and counselors should view Algebra I information for their students at the beginning of each school year and as often as new grades are available.

Metric Specifications

Back to Top

 

PSAT/NMSQT, PLAN and EXPLORE

Introduction

Educators need to know if students are on track for being college ready as early as possible.  Since the PSAT/NMSQT® is traditionally taken either in 10th or 11th grade, it is an earlier indicator than the SAT®.  Similarly the EXPLORE® and PLAN® tests, which can be taken as early as eighth grade, are earlier indicators than the ACT® which is commonly taken in the 11th grade.  Additionally, the EXPLORE® and PLAN® tests are designed to help students plan for high school course selection as well as career and technical education.  PSAT/NMSQT® is not only a practice exam for the SAT®, but also a way for students to qualify for merit based scholarships.  Educators can use these metrics to catch students who have not taken any of these exams and also to challenge students to their full potential.

  • Students who take the PSAT/NMSQT® score an average of 120 points higher on the SAT® than those who do not (The College Board 2010).
  • The majority of PSAT/NMSQT® test takers who met the college ready benchmarks went on to meet or exceed the college ready level on the SAT® (Proctor et al., 2010).
  • PSAT/NMSQT® scores are predictive of success in AP courses (Camara & Millsap, 1998).

Related Metrics

  • Advanced Course Potential: students who are not enrolled in advanced courses but have demonstrated potential based on state assessment scores and proficiency on early college entrance exams (PSAT/NMSQT®) in core subject areas.
  • SAT®/ACT® Performance: whether students have taken the SAT® or ACT® by a certain grade level and whether exam performance meets a defined criterion (state-defined or some other level).  In addition, the SAT®/ACT® performance metric reports growth from the PSAT/NMSQT® (Preliminary SAT/National Metric Qualifying Test) to the SAT® for students who have taken both tests. 

How to Use the Metric

The PSAT/NMSQT® Performance metric allows educators to easily identify students who require support in either completing or performing well on a college admission test, a prerequisite for acceptance to most colleges and universities.  Any student who has not taken the test, but is eligible based on grade level, is immediately flagged.  Additionally, students who have scored above the 80th percentile on the PSAT/NMSQT® should be flagged as having advanced course potential.  Having access to this information early allows educators to ensure that all students will be able to take the SAT® or ACT® and perform well. 

The metric also allows educators to quickly identify students who have taken the test, but have not scored at or above the specified state criterion.  For these students, educators can review detailed information regarding the student’s performance in each subject area of the test in order to provide appropriate and prompt academic support.   

Ideally, teachers and counselors should review PSAT/NMSQT® performance on an annual basis as the test is only administered once a year. 

Metric Specifications

    Back to Top

     

    SAT/ACT

    Introduction

    The SAT® and ACT® are the exams most commonly used by four year colleges to determine admission eligibility. For this reason, educators need to help students become college ready as well as help them make a successful transition to college. Monitoring to be sure that 11th grade and 12th students have taken the SAT® and/or ACT® and ensuring success for mastery of the exam(s) is valuable for all levels of educators.

    • Most colleges and universities require applicants to take an admission test like the SAT® or ACT®.
    • Taking the SAT® or ACT® gives students access to scholarship opportunities.
    • The SAT® and ACT® provide students and educators with comprehensive performance feedback on college readiness.

    Related Metric

    • PSAT/NMSQT® Performance: whether students have taken the PSAT/NMSQT® and whether or not exam performance meets a defined criterion (state-defined or some other level).   

    How to Use the Metric

    The SAT®/ACT® Performance metric allows educators to easily identify students who require support in either completing or performing well on a college admission test, a prerequisite for acceptance to most colleges and universities.  Any student who has not taken one of the tests, but is eligible based on grade level, is immediately flagged for intervention. Having access to this information early and often, educators can work with students to identify and eliminate barriers to taking the test. For example, students may require information on when and where to register for the test or, in the case of financial difficulties, how to obtain a fee waiver. 

    The metric also allows educators to quickly identify students who have taken the test, but have not scored at or above the specified state criterion. For these students, educators can review detailed information regarding the student’s performance in each subject area of the test in order to provide appropriate and prompt academic support. 

    Ideally, teachers and counselors should review SAT®/ACT® performance on a monthly basis to ensure timely identification of students in need of support. The tests are offered several times per year, creating multiple opportunities for educators to intervene and help struggling students be successful in taking and passing the test.

    Metric Specifications

      Back to Top

       

      Career and Technical Education Mastery

      Introduction

      Not all students will pursue a college education.  High schools must prepare these students to enter the workforce with a skill set that will make them active and productive members of society.  Educators and counselors must monitor a student’s progress and completion of a particular career and technical course sequence to ensure they are prepared to receive relevant certifications and succeed in the workforce. 

      • Dropout rates are lower when CTE classes are offered (Kulik, 1998).
      • Students who take at least one semester of math enhanced CTE score higher on college entrance exams (Stone, Alfeld, Pearson, Lewis, & Jensen, 2005).
      Back to Top

       

      Sources

      Adelman, Clifford (2006). The Tool Box Revisited, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, United States Department of Education.

      Achieve. (2005). Rising to the challenge: Are high school graduates prepared for college and work. Retrieved from http://www.achieve.org/files/pollreport_0.pdf

      Achieve (2008). The Building Blocks of Success: Higher-Level Math for All Students.

      Camara, W.J., & Millsap, R. (1998). Using the PSAT/NMSQT® and course grades in predicting success in the Advanced Placement Program. (College Board Research Report No. 98-4). New York: College Board.

      Kulik, J. A. (1998). Curricular tracks and high school vocational education. In A. Gamoran (Ed.), The quality of vocational education: Background papers from the 1994 National Assessment of Vocational Education. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.

      National Center for Education Statistics. (2004). The condition of education 2004. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/2004077.pdf

      National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2008). Foundations for Success: The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel, United States Department of Education. https://www.collegeboard.com/

      Proctor, Thomas P., Jeffery Wyatt and Andrew Wiley (2010). PSAT/NMSQT® Indicators of College Readiness. (College Board Research Report No. 2010-4). New York: College Board.

      Rose, Heather and Julian R. Betts (2001). Math Matters: The Links Between High School Curriculum, College, Graduation, and Earnings. Public Policy Institute of California.

      Stone, J. R., Alfeld, C., Pearson, D., Lewis, M. V., & Jensen, S. (2005). Building Academic Skills in Context: The Value of Enhanced Math Learning in CTE. Columbus: National Research Center for Career and Technical Education University of Minnesota.

      US Census Bureau (2009). Educational Attainment in the United States: 2007. Washington DC.

      US Bureau of Labor and Statistics (2009). Education Levels and Employment at the End of 2008.  Washington DC. 

      Back to Top