Align high school graduation standards, assessments, and course requirements with college readiness so a diploma signals preparation for credit-bearing college work¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The report recommends that states tightly link high school completion with college readiness by aligning standards, assessments, and graduation requirements across K-12 and higher education, so that meeting state requirements means being "prepared to enter college without remediation." It urges that high school standards "assure readiness for college" just as eighth grade standards should assure readiness for high school, and that communities get clear information on test content and on the skills expected of entering first-year college students. Leading states illustrate the strategy in practice.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• K-12 and higher education faculty and leaders must come to consensus on what students need to know at the boundary of high school and college

Constraints¶

• The report cautions that fixing tests and requirements alone will not fix achievement; teachers and administrators will need help replacing outdated curricula and rethinking instruction
• Each state must tailor the approach to its own climate, politics, and educational traditions; there is no one right way

Target Learners¶

• all high school students, with particular focus on poor students and students of color

Target Learning Goals¶

• college readiness without remediation in English language arts and mathematics

Affordances¶

• K16 Square Four Commitments

Related Strategies¶

• Use an unweighted GPA of 3.0 as a college readiness benchmark signaling a high probability of four-year college graduation
• State-level international benchmarking actions for 21st century readiness

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Haycock, Kati, Ed.; Barth, Patte, Ed.; Mitchell, Ruth, Ed.; Wilkins, Amy, Ed. (1999). Ticket to Nowhere: The Gap between Leaving High School and Entering College and High-Performance Jobs. Thinking K-16; v3 n2 Fall 1999. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED457262