Center for Educational Policy Research

Beyond the Rhetoric: Frameworks and Definitions of College Readiness

Director

Dr. David T. Conley

Educational Policy Improvement Center

CEO

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Beyond One-dimensional Models of College Readiness to Comprehensive Conceptions• Current models of college readiness focus on notions of aptitude

conceptualized in the 1920s and measures of achievement developed since the 1950s

• This conception of readiness is gauged with tools (tests, mostly) that do not measure well the full range of readiness factors necessary for success in entry-level college courses

• Course titles and grades, which are also considered primary readiness measures, vary greatly from school to school and even class to class

• New conceptions of college readiness take into account four dimensions and measure them in context:– Key cognitive strategies– Key content knowledge– Academic behaviors (self-management)– Contextual knowledge and skills (college knowledge)

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Beyond One-dimensional Models of College Readiness to Comprehensive Conceptions

Please refer to the handout for detailed explanation of the model

• Key Cognitive Strategies– Analytic reasoning, problem solving,

inquisitiveness, precision, interpretation, evaluating claims

• Key Content Knowledge– Writing skills, algebraic concepts, key

foundational content and “big ideas” from core subjects

• Academic Behaviors (self-management)– Persistence, time management, study

group use, awareness of performance• Contextual Skills and Awareness (“college

knowledge”)– Admissions requirements, cost of

college, purpose and opportunities of college, types of colleges, college culture, relations with professors

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Four Key Dimensions of College Readiness

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EPIC-developed Tools to Generate A Complete Profile of the College-Ready Student• College Ready Evaluation for Schools and Teachers (CREST)

– Diagnoses a high school’s program in terms of each of the four dimensions of college readiness from the comprehensive model

• College-ready Performance Assessment System (C-PAS)– Formative assessment of key cognitive strategies development

from 6th-12th grade– Embedded performance tasks scored by teachers, with external

scoring moderation to ensure consistency of scoring– Closely aligned with entry-level college courses

• Aligned Courses and SyllabusMaker– Aligned courses are pairs of an exit-level high school course and a

corresponding entry-level college course– SyllabusMaker helps educators produce quality syllabi that address

key college readiness dimensions

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Creating Local Partnerships for Comprehensive College Readiness Systems• Local secondary-postsecondary partnerships, in combination with

policy changes and new tools, catalyze better alignment between high school and college

• EPIC conducted five regional secondary-postsecondary partnership workshops in Massachusetts from April-June 2008

• Over 400 secondary and postsecondary educators participated• Each workshop paired high school educators and administrators with

representatives from college that enrolled many of their students• These teams then developed plans built around specific actions to be

taken locally and tools to be used to improve alignment• EPIC developed statewide policy recommendations for improving

alignment based on the content of these plans• This type of “top-down, bottom-up” partnership can create a system in

which more students are prepared to succeed in college

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Lessons for Educators and Policy Makers

• A state’s indicators of readiness need to be more comprehensive than course titles and tied directly to what is required for college success

• Local partnerships supported by state policy provide important lessons about systems alignment that can inform state policy in this area

• High schools should be encouraged to diagnose their programs against all four dimensions of college readiness and to develop means to help all students become proficient in all four dimensions

• High schools and colleges can benefit from coordinated data systems that allow for more complex descriptions of student readiness (profiles) to be transmitted in both directions

• Placement testing in particular is poorly understood by high schools, not necessarily well aligned with entry-level courses, and only assesses one dimension of college readiness— basic content knowledge

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For More Information:

• Educational Policy Improvement Center• 877-766-2279• charis_mcgaughy@epiconline.org• http://www.epiconline.org