Topic: College and Career Readiness
Valuing Both Cs in College- and Career-Readiness Accountability Systems
How states can use career pathways to close credential attainment and skills gaps.
This publication explores how state accountability systems currently address college readiness and academic and technical career readiness and offers recommendations and examples of policies and practices that incentivize and reward districts and schools for preparing more students to earn credentials and degrees in high-demand career fields.
Tenets of State Accountability for Increased College and Career Readiness
SREB has identified key tenets of accountability that can guide states toward creating meaningful and valid accountability systems. These key accountability tenets support efforts to increase college and career readiness among the SREB region’s future high school graduates.
SREB Readiness Courses: Preparing Students for Success
Program Overview
For states and schools that wish to close the readiness gap, SREB
has
developed two sets of readiness courses in literacy and
mathematics. This brochure presents an overview of the
courses to prepare students for college and for high
school.
Math Ready
Ready for College
SREB’s Math Ready course for the senior year of high school is designed to prepare students who aren’t yet ready for college math. This flier presents a quick overview of the eight units in the course.
The ACT and SAT: No Longer Just College Admission Tests
SREB states adopted key education policies that increased the proportion of seniors taking the ACT and SAT while they were in high school from 2008 to 2013. This brief covers state-by-state college testing policies, plus data on test-taking by racial and ethnic group.
State Policies to Support a Statewide College- and Career-Readiness Agenda
Essential Elements of State Policy for College Completion
A statewide college- and career-readiness agenda signals clearly and universally what knowledge and learning skills or readiness standards are essential for students to succeed in a substantial majority of postsecondary education programs. The standards need to be reinforced by a series of additional steps that include assessment, supplemental course work, and school accountability. SREB’s College- and Career-Readiness Action Agenda includes five essential components across the educational pipeline: 1. Adopt statewide readiness standards. 2. Assess high school juniors for readiness. 3. Offer transitional readiness courses for juniors assessed as underprepared. 4. Apply the standards in college placement. 5. Hold schools accountable.
Transitional Courses for College and Career Readiness
Essential Elements of State Policy for College Completion
Offering high school courses to prepare underprepared students for success in college or career training after graduation is a key strategy to reduce remediation, increase postsecondary completion and provide greater access to making a living wage. This Essential Elements policy brief details efforts in states across the nation, outlines questions policymakers need to address, and recommends 12 essential elements for an effective statewide policy to implement transitional courses.