college and career readiness

High Schools for Equity documents the practices and outcomes of five urban high schools in California that do an extraordinary job of preparing their students for success in higher education, productive careers, and a fulfilling life. The schools, which are non-selective in their admissions and...

This paper recommends an accountability approach that focuses on meaningful learning, enabled by professionally skilled and committed educators, and supported by adequate and appropriate resources, so that all students regardless of background are prepared for both college and career when they...

This article builds on Darling-Hammond, Wilhoit, and Pittenger’s (2014) new paradigm on Accountability for College and Career Readiness by focusing on one of its three pillars—professional accountability.

The article begins by offering a conceptual framework for professional ...

This research brief describes practical and measurable indicators of career as well as college readiness that the state and districts can look to as they develop accountability plans. The report includes specific information about how performance assessment can be used to measure student...

The purpose of this resource from CCSSO is to assist states who are interested in redesigning or reconsidering aspects of their accountability systems to better align with “next-generation” learning models designed to produce college and career ready outcomes for all students.

This study provides an overview of the landscape of next-generation accountability concepts implemented by states. In reviewing the work of the states and drawing upon the thinking in both CCSSO’s 2011 proposal and “Accountability for College and Career Readiness: Developing a New Paradigm” by...

This paper from Linda Darling-Hammond, Gene Wilhoit, and Linda Pittenger recommends an accountability approach that focuses on meaningful learning, enabled by professionally skilled and committed educators, and supported by adequate and appropriate resources, so that all students are prepared...

In this article, David Conley focuses on how to assess meaningful learning in ways that promote student achievement while simultaneously meeting system accountability needs.  This article presents a vision for a new system of assessments, one designed to support the kinds of ambitious teaching...

In this paper, Bae and Darling-Hammond propose three types of performance indicators for use in California's redesigned accountability system to measure and support career and college readiness. The report includes specific guidance for the use of performance assessment to measure both college...

This brief identifies three strategic practices to be taken collectively by schools, districts, and communities to mobilize around preparing students for college and career success:

• Collectively articulating and aligning a set of student outcomes that prioritize 21st century skills
...

Envision Schools uses performance assessment as a key tool for supporting student learning. In this graduate follow-up study, Envision Schools puts its model of “Rigor, Relevance, Relationships, and Results” to the test, examining the results of a longitudinal tracking study to measure the...

This brief outlines how the Envision Schools Charter Management Organization and the Stanford University School Redesign Network have collaborated to design a set of performance-based assessments for high school students that are both rigorous and credible, and are designed to build students’...

The purpose of this paper is to present findings regarding the reliability and validity of the performance based assessments used in the state pilot, including the results of three sets of studies: 1) Generalizability studies; 2) Regression analyses to ascertain the relationships between...

In this paper, David T. Conley, well-known for his influential research on college readiness, draws on a wealth of recent research to argue that the time is ripe for a major shift in educational assessment, from an over reliance on standardized tests of math and reading, which tell us little...

The authors of this paper from The Center for Innovation & Transformation in Education, define deeper learning as "directly linked to college- and career-readiness. It achieves this by shifting the focus of education to one in which students: master core academic content; develop the ability...

This document provides an overview of the Innovation Lab Network (ILN) vision for student-centered learning and a Logic Model to guide states as they explore unique pathways toward this shared vision. The document provides examples of how state chiefs are using the Logic Model to put their...

This report describes key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking. This includes such skills as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to...

This policy brief describes how four student-centered high schools support student success. In addition, it recommends policy strategies that could sustain schools like these on a much broader scale, so that they become the norm rather than the exception.  The four high schools featured in this...

This common anlaytic rubric evaluates skills that cut across disciplines, with a focus on college and career readiness. Dimensions include research & investigation, ideas & content, reading & analysis, communication, organization, accuracy, and experimental design.

In the broadest sense, learning progressions describe how students’ learning typically develops across and within domains of mathematics. In this way, learning progressions can help teachers to understand the learning experiences that could support individual and groups of students in making...