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Senior-Year Transitional Courses for College and Career Readiness




Goal: Provide transitional courses in mathematics and English language arts no later than the 12th grade for students who do not demonstrate on diagnostic examinations that they are  prepared to succeed in college-level courses.

Too few high school graduates are well-prepared for college or career training, and state leaders and policy-makers often do not recognize the size and nature of the readiness problem. Solving this problem is complex and requires navigating many educational issues on a statewide level. An important component of a state’s efforts to increase college and career readiness is assessing student readiness in mathematics and English no later than the junior year in high school and providing transitional courses in mathematics and English/language arts during the senior year to enhance students’ skills and their chances for success in college or the workplace.

Critical role of accelerated learning experiences during the senior year:
Specific statewide readiness standards and related junior-year assessments can enable states to identify and better serve two groups of students as they enter their last year of high school: (1) students who likely will not be ready to graduate on time from high school, and (2) students who will graduate but who will not be college- or career-ready. Development and delivery of specific statewide courses, learning modules and online tutorials — especially for students who state assessments identify as not ready for college — can transform the senior year for students who are at risk of leaving school before graduation or graduating unprepared for college or a career that will provide a living wage.


SREB Tools to Help States Adopt a College- and Career-Readiness Agenda


SREB has developed a model college- and career-readiness agenda composed of six interrelated and essential components including:
 
  • College- and career-readiness standards that are universal and statewide.
  • Assessments of state-adopted standards with qualifying scores denoting readiness.
  • Public school curriculum that aligns with college- and career-readiness standards.
  • Assurance from public higher education that standards will be used for college placement.
  • Statewide professional development plans for teachers to implement standards.
  • State accountability programs that incorporate the college- and career-readiness standards.

In testing these six components, SREB review the progress in six states — Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia — to  improve readiness, suggest ways to build on existing policy, research and practice, and engage state leaders to develop and implement transitional senior-year courses in mathematics and English/language arts.

To do the same in your state, SREB proposes the following steps:
  1. Convene statewide committees of higher education and K-12 education representatives, faculty, and state-level curriculum and assessment officials.
  2. Analyze the extent to which state readiness standards are highlighted in existing senior-year course work, ascertaining not only whether the specific skills are taught but the intensity with which they are targeted.
  3. Using this gap analysis, identify how readiness standards can be emphasized through new or revised curricula, such as different courses or modules.
  4. Develop course specifications or guidelines for other types of learning activities, including content standards and expected performance levels, and identify effective ways to deliver such instruction.
  5. Analyze how a state’s current curricula and policies will accommodate such changes and explore necessary policy recommendations.
Click on a blue state below to see the work under way on English and math transitional courses:

Texas Oklahoma Louisiana Arkansas Mississippi Florida Tennessee Alabama Georgia Kentucky South_Carolina North_Carolina Virginia West_Virginia Delaware MarylandStatesMap





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