Presentation on College & Career Readiness - Decatur Area ...

For Immediate Release

Education Coalition of Decatur and Macon County

January 11, 2013

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?Illinois has many important initiatives designed to improve the alignment of K-12 and postsecondary. Among these various efforts (e.g., the Common Core Standards, Career-Technical Education reform with Programs of Study, State Longitudinal Data System), the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Pilot Program Act represents an important opportunity to align core high school math, reading and writing with entry-level college-credit courses offered by community colleges.^1?

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Professor George C. Reese, Director of the Office of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and co-author of the report on Illinois? College and Career Readiness Implementation Evaluation:? Year-Five (2011-2012) Results, spoke to a group of community stakeholders including representatives from Richland Community College, private schools and public and private business sectors, at a meeting organized by the Education Coalition (EdCo) on Thursday, January 10 at the Arts Building.

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His message was one of a need for strong communication bridge between schools and post-secondary providers to prepare students to move from high school to community colleges.? Some issues to be discussed in that forum include:

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• The change in the business culture in the United States and worldwide that requires post-secondary training in order to earn a sustainable wage, from trades to profession careers;
• The need for remedial coursework? (at a rate of 49% of students in the State of Illinois and a rate in excess of 75% for freshman entering Richland Community College from 16 area high schools);
• The need for alignment of high school coursework with entrance requirements nationwide;
• The need for tests to assess readiness at the community college level to align with high school coursework.

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The study documented the activities of five community colleges around the state that were enlisted to address:

1. Diagnosis of college readiness by developing a system to align ACT scores or alternative college placement examination scores to specific community college courses in developmental and freshman curriculums;
2. Reduction of remediation by decreasing the need for remedial coursework in mathematics, reading, and writing at the college level;
3. Alignment of high school and college curriculums;
4. Provision of resources and academic support to students to enrich the senior year of high school through remedial or advanced coursework and other interventions; and,
5. Development of an appropriate evaluation process to measure the effectiveness of readiness intervention strategies²

The next step will be for representatives from area high schools and Richland staff to meet together at EdCo to begin the conversation about alignment and focus, based on Common Core standards and the goal of the community to prepare students for success as adults.

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The study is a product of The Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL), which was established at the UIUC in 1989 to provide research, leadership, and service and assist in improving the quality of education in the Illinois Community College System.? Reference the full report at http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Projects/ccr/Report/FINAL%20CCR%20Report%202012.pdf

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¹ http://occrl.illinois.edu/articles/college-and-career-readiness-in-illinois-what-illinois-pilot-projects-tell-us-about-the-challenges-of-alignment/

²ibid

Source: http://www.edco4kids.org/presentation-on-college-career-readiness/

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