Executive Summary

As the nation struggles to close its graduation gap,= =20 Diplomas Count 2008 examines states' efforts to forge stronger=20 connections between precollegiate and postsecondary education.

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Young people on the road from high school to college face conflicting s= ignals=20 and too many offramps. While high schools require one set of courses and t= ests=20 to graduate, for instance, colleges may have different expectations for wh= at it=20 takes to do college-level work.

In recent years, 38 states have formed what are typically known as =E2= =80=9CP-16=E2=80=9D or=20 =E2=80=9CP-20=E2=80=9D councils to bridge the divide between precollegiate= and higher education.=20

Overview

E= xecutive=20 Summary

= P-16=20 Councils Bring All Tiers of Education to the Table

State=20 Councils Vary in Form and Focus

Profiles

Ariz= ona=20 Council Carves Out Solid Niche in Rocky Ground

= For=20 Kentucky=E2=80=99s P-16 Council, Quiet Influence Proves Best

Rhode=20 Island Governor Drives Agenda, Raising Questions About=20 Sustainability

Commentaries

Ri= ghting a=20 Troublesome =E2=80=98Disjuncture=E2=80=99

Setting=20 a P-16 Agenda

Th= e =E2=80=98Three=20 A=E2=80=99s=E2=80=99 of Successful P-16 Reform

State of the States

= States=20 Notch Slow, Steady Progress Toward Consistent Graduation=20 Goals

Those groups bring together people from the various levels of education= , from=20 preschool (hence the =E2=80=9CP=E2=80=9D) to college or beyond (years 16 t= o 20), and often=20 include representatives from state government, business, and the community= .

The goal is to strengthen the ties between schools and postsecondary=20 education and training so that more students successfully complete their=20 journeys.

This year=E2=80=99s edition of Diplomas Count=E2=80=94a report b= y Education=20 Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center=E2=80=94e= xamines the=20 status of state P-16 councils and whether they can help smooth the road fo= r=20 young people on their way to productive work and citizenship.

Graduation Rates Inch Up

Of course, for students to succeed in college, they first need to gradu= ate=20 from high school.

Despite the vital importance of education to young people=E2=80=99s job= prospects,=20 Diplomas Count 2008 projects that 1.23 million students will fail t= o=20 graduate from high school this year. The lowest graduation rates are among= =20 African-American, Hispanic, and Native American students.

Nationwide, about 71 percent of 9th graders make it to graduation four = years=20 later, according to data from 2005, the latest available. And that figure = drops=20 to 58 percent for Hispanics, 55 percent for African-Americans, and 51 perc= ent=20 for Native Americans.

Those rates improved slightly from 2004 to 2005 for all groups, but lar= ge=20 gaps remain across states. While more than eight in 10 students graduate o= n time=20 in Iowa, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin, for example, th= e=20 proportion drops to fewer than six in 10 in the District of Columbia, Geor= gia,=20 Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and South Carolina.

Analyses conducted for Diplomas Count by the EPE Research Center= also=20 continue to show wide disparities between state-reported graduation rates = and=20 the center=E2=80=99s estimates. Such disparities are one reason that the U= .S. Department=20 of Education proposed new rules this spring that would require all states = to=20 calculate graduation rates based on a uniform method that tracks cohorts o= f=20 students as they progress through high school.

States would need to have those methods in place by the end of the 2012= -13=20 school year. States, districts, and schools also would have to publish=20 graduation rates for subgroups of students, and to use those results in=20 calculating progress, to help close the kinds of gaps highlighted in this= =20 report.

For the first time in Diplomas Count=E2=80=99s three years of pu= blication,=20 this year=E2=80=99s report also includes graduation rates by U.S. congress= ional district=20 so that federal lawmakers who craft and monitor such policies can better=20 understand their importance.

P-16 Councils Widespread

Today, P-16 councils and their variants are one of the most popular veh= icles=20 for strengthening the connections between public schools and higher educat= ion,=20 so that more young people make it through high school and into college and= the=20 workplace.

Acknowledgements

The research on P-16 councils in this year=E2=80=99s Diplomas Count<= /I> report is=20 the product of a collaboration involving Editorial Projects in Education, = the=20 National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, and the Education= =20 Commission of the States. The NCPPHE supported the case studies conducted = in=20 Arizona, Kentucky, and Rhode Island and compiled background research on P-= 16=20 councils. We acknowledge and thank the individuals participating in this w= ork on=20 behalf of the NCPPHE, including Patrick M. Callan, Joni E. Finney, Michael= W.=20 Kirst, Nancy B. Shulock, and Michael D. Usdan, as well as Jonathan Felder,= =20 Heather Jack, Lori King, and Gail Moore. In addition, Diplomas Count=20 includes a special presentation of state-by-state information about P-16=20 councils, derived primarily from the ECS Database on P-16 and P-20 Council= s. We=20 acknowledge and thank Jennifer Dounay of the ECS for her efforts in compil= ing=20 the data, and her colleagues Roger Sampson and Kathy Christie for their su= pport.=20

This year=E2=80=99s Diplomas Count draws on a 50-state database = on such=20 councils compiled by the Denver-based Education Commission of the States. = It=20 also includes case studies of three such councils=E2=80=94in Arizona, Kent= ucky, and=20 Rhode Island=E2=80=94conducted by Education Week and the EPE Resear= ch Center in=20 collaboration with the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Educat= ion,=20 based in San Jose, Calif.

The ECS Database on P-16 and P-20 Councils shows:

=E2=80=A2 More than half the 40 councils now in existence have been for= med since=20 2005, with four states=E2=80=94Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, and Maine=E2= =80=94creating=20 councils just this year.

=E2=80=A2 Governors established such councils by executive order in 12 = states, 13=20 councils were authorized by state legislatures, and two councils were form= ed by=20 state board of education resolutions. The remaining councils are strictly= =20 voluntary gatherings with no legal authorization.

=E2=80=A2 The agency responsible for coordinating the work of the counc= ils varies,=20 with such work most typically falling to the state education department, a= =20 postsecondary education agency, and the governor=E2=80=99s office, alone o= r in=20 combination. Rarely do agencies responsible for early learning or workforc= e=20 development play a leadership role.

=E2=80=A2 The councils range in size from five members in Missouri to 5= 2 in=20 California. Their membership may include representatives of the state agen= cies=20 and boards for early-childhood, K-12, and higher education; community coll= ege=20 and university presidents; governors and state legislators; and business a= nd=20 community leaders.

=E2=80=A2 Nine states also have local or regional councils in addition = to a statewide=20 body.

As the report stresses, however, simply creating a P-16 or P-20 council= =20 doesn=E2=80=99t guarantee progress in aligning high school and college exp= ectations,=20 curricula, assessments, and financing.

Experts suggest that for such councils to be effective, they need to fo= cus on=20 a few, high-leverage priorities; meet regularly; dedicate money and staff = time=20 to keep the agenda moving forward between meetings; and set performance go= als=20 and publicly report on their progress. Those themes are stressed in three = guest=20 commentaries in the report.

As shown by the ECS database, the councils as a group focus on a wide r= ange=20 of policy areas, including early learning, graduation requirements, teache= r=20 quality, and data systems that span prekindergarten to college. Only five= =20 councils reported activity in six or more specific policy areas, suggestin= g that=20 most councils target their efforts to a few goals.

And while 29 states have councils that meet at least quarterly, only 21= =20 states have dedicated at least half a full-time employee to focus on the=20 council=E2=80=99s agenda; and only 26 states have secured financing for th= eir councils=20 beyond the in-kind contributions of state agencies.

Perhaps the biggest opportunity for improvement, the research for Di= plomas=20 Count suggests, is in setting performance goals and publicly reporting= on=20 progress, without which it is hard to assess the councils=E2=80=99 work. <= /P>
According to the ECS, only 18 states have P-16 performance goals set by= or=20 for their councils.

Councils are trying to make information about their work public. Thirty= -six=20 of the 40 P-16 councils have a Web presence. But councils and their key=20 membership agencies vary widely in what they post online, an analysis by t= he EPE=20 Research Center found. While three-quarters post mission statements and=20 two-thirds post membership lists, for example, fewer than half post their= =20 meeting agendas or the minutes of past meetings.

What It Takes

This year=E2=80=99s Diplomas Count also looks at states=E2=80=99= efforts to define=20 what they mean by college and work readiness and establish other=20 graduation-related policies. In a 50-state survey, the EPE research center= =20 found:

=E2=80=A2 Fifteen states have a definition of college readiness=E2=80= =94typically based on=20 high school course requirements or content standards=E2=80=94and 12 more a= re working on=20 one.

=E2=80=A2 Twenty-six states have a definition of work readiness, and ei= ght more are=20 working on one. Most of those definitions emphasize standards for career a= nd=20 technical education and skills.

=E2=80=A2 States, on average, require 20.6 course credits for students = to earn a high=20 school diploma, with 24 states offering advanced recognition to students w= ho=20 exceed standard graduation requirements.

=E2=80=A2 Twenty-three states now require students to pass an exit exam= to earn a=20 diploma. In 19 of those states, the exams are based on standards at the 10= th=20 grade level or higher.

=E2=80=94THE EDITORS

Vol. 27, Issue 4= 0, Pages=20 3-4

Back=20 to Top
= Diplomas Count is=20 produced with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.= =20

June 7, 2008 | <= A=20 href=3D"http://www.edweek.org/ew/rss_feeds.html">Receive RSS =

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