Education Groups Form New College Ready Multi- State Institute

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>Eight Leading States Selected to Develop Cutting
>Edge College- and Career-Ready Assessment and Accountability Policies
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>WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 10, 2008 - Today
>Achieve, the Data Quality Campaign, the
>EducationCounsel, Jobs for the Future and the
>National Governors Association Center for Best
>Practices announced an unprecedented partnership
>to provide guidance, advice and support to
>states through the "College & Career-Ready
>Policy Institute" ("Institute"). The Institute
>is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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>The Institute is designed to help states put
>K-12 assessment and accountability systems in
>place that will ensure that all students
>graduate from high school college- and
>career-ready. In addition, the Institute will
>also assist states in developing strategies for
>building the capacity of districts and schools
>so that all students successfully reach higher
>standards. The support to states by the partners
>will include multi-state gatherings where state
>teams will participate in cross-state leadership
>sessions, the first of which begins today in
>Washington D.C., as well as in-state, customized technical assistance.
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>The eight Institute states, all participants in
>Achieve's American Diploma Project Network, are
>Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana,
>Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio and Tennessee. The
>Institute states were chosen through a
>competitive selection process based on the
>states' strong leadership and commitment to a
>college- and career-readiness agenda as
>demonstrated by their success in raising
>academic standards and graduation requirements
>for all students. These states are now well
>positioned to tackle the difficult, but
>essential, task of ensuring that their
>assessment and accountability systems are
>likewise anchored in college- and
>career-readiness and that state education
>policies cohesively support this critical goal.
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>Specifically, the Institute will assist states in:
> * Developing goals for improving high school
> graduation, college- and career-readiness and postsecondary attainment rates;
> * Putting in place a comprehensive state
> assessment system that is aligned with college-
> and career-ready standards and that measures student progress over time;
> * Establishing a coherent system of
> accountability that makes college- and
> career-readiness a central priority and that
> "incentivizes" proper actions, promotes
> accurate judgments, and drives effective supports and interventions;
> * Designing a statewide system of supports
> and interventions to assist low performing
> districts and schools and ensure continuous
> improvement for all schools and districts around the state; and
> * Providing educational options and supports
> to boost the achievement of low-income students
> and other groups at high-risk of not achieving
> college-ready standards and college success.
>In addition to assisting the eight states in
>developing and implementing a comprehensive
>college- and career-ready policy, it is hoped
>that the lessons learned from these Institute
>states can assist other states also committed to
>the college- and career-ready agenda, therefore
>boosting the academic prospects for even more U.S. students.

Labels: College Readiness