dayna jean defeo, phd community & technical college [email protected] 907.786.6464
TRANSCRIPT
A new model for college & career readiness
Dayna Jean DeFeo, PhDCommunity & Technical [email protected]
College readiness doom & gloom Low HS graduation
65.8% in AK12
Low college attendance 30.1% in AK enroll
directly out of high school12
AK has lowest college-going rate in nation12
Lots of developmental education 2013 – Nationwide ACT
scores lowest in 5 years6
High college drop out rate 20.6% persist to
sophomore year12
Low graduation rate Poor time to
completion 6.6% graduate in
150% timeframe12
Exorbitant debt upon graduation Average debt $35,2005
Google “college readiness”Ambiguous representations…
ACT Standardized test performance
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “graduate on-time with the skills
and knowledge they need to succeed beyond high school”
“provide all students—especially low-income and minority students—with the opportunity to realize their full potential”
The College Board Standardized test performance Study habits & skills
CBS News article ACT scores of high school seniors
Extrapolations…
Subtractive Deficit paradigm Focused on low-income or
minority students Narrowly defined
Test scores Academic skills Limited predictive validity
for college success Quantitatively measured Focused on 4-year, liberal
arts education
College readiness as a label Dangerous to label students13
College-Ready/Underprepared* Urban/Rural Low-income First-generation Gifted
Move away from dichotomous classification systems that: Abridge the richness of students’ experience Highlight deficits over strengths Tacitly blame students for systemic shortcomings Create divisions along racial, geographic, or
socioeconomic lines1,2,11
Scholarly perspective
Conley: College Knowledge4
Cognitive strategies Content knowledge Academic skills Contextual skills & awareness
Karp & Bork: Balancing Roles8 Academic habits Balance multiple roles Cultural know-how Help-seeking
McDonald & Farrell: Holistic Approach10
Academic Social Personal preparedness
College & career pathways framework for college and career readiness Holistic Dynamic Strengths-
based Steeped in
literature
College Knowledge
Attitudes
Goal Setting
Habits
Academics
Academics
Quantitative measures Assessments (snapshots)▪ ACCUPLACER, SAT, ACT, others
GPA Rigorous coursework
Honors classes AP or IB classes 4 years of math & English
Focus & intentionality Students contextualize their classes within their
intended career field
Cognitive Strategies
Study habits Study strategies2
Prioritizing Time management
Critical thinking Information literacy3,15
Metacognitive skills Learning style awareness Self-monitoring Help-seeking
Dispositions & Attitudes
Ethical conduct Initiative Resilience (grit) Motivation Leadership Intellectual curiosity
Goal setting
Self-knowledge Aptitudes Interests
Career exploration Planning
Personal Learning and Career Plan (PLCP) Salient goals Major declaration Contextualized learning7,14
College knowledge
Knowledge of institutional culture3,8
Navigate bureaucratic system Understand processes and procedures
Registration Withdrawal Office hours Email etiquette
Ethos of college Academic integrity Scholarship
Difference between high school and college expectations
Resource awareness & access
Complicating the definition…
… Or more accurately representing a concept?
Complications Measurement & analysis▪ Indicators are multiple, qualitative, subjective, and of variable
influence Benefits
More accurate Eliminate the label ▪ The concept applies to all students
Strengths emerge Collaborative effort and responsibility
College & career readiness is everyone’s business
Everyone has a responsibility
Everyone reinforces messages
Shifts onus of responsibility from English and math teachers
Change requires ecological and systemic buy-in1
Student
Parents & families
Teachers
Counselors
Administrators
Postsecondary outreach
Academic advisors
Youth leaders
Coaches
Industry
References
1. Arnold, K.D., Lu, E.C., & Armstrong, K.J. (2012) The ecology of college readiness. ASHE Higher Education Report 38(5).
2. Conley, D.T. (2005). College knowledge: What is really takes for students to succeed and what we can do to get them ready. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
3. Cox, R. D. (2009). Fear factor: How students and professors misunderstand one another. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
4. Educational Policy Improvement Center. (2009). Toward a more comprehensive conception of college readiness. Portland, OR: Conley, D.T.
5. Ellis, B. (2013, May 17). Class of 2013 grads average $35,200 in loans, credit card debt. CNN Money.
6. Grasgreen, A. (2013, August 21). ACT scores fall to lowest level in 5 years. Inside Higher Ed.
7. Hooley, T., Marriott, J., Sampson, J.P. (2011). Fostering college and career readiness: How career development activities in schools impact on graduation rtes and students’ life success. Derby UK: International Centre for Guidance Studies, University of Derby.
References
8. Karp, M.M. & Bork, R.H. (2012). “They never told me what to expect, so I didn’t know what to do”: Defining and clarifying the role of a community college student. Community College Research Center. Working Paper No. 47.
9. MAPWorks. (2013). Fall 2013 preliminary survey results. University of Alaska Anchorage.
10. McDonald, D., & Farrell, T. (2012). Out of the mouths of babes: Early college high school students’ transformational learning experiences. Journal of Advanced Academics 23(3), 217-248. doi: 10.1177/1932202X12451440
11. Moore, G.W., State, J.R., Edmonson, S.L., Combs, J.P. Bustamente, R., & Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2011). High school students and their lack of preparedness for college: A statewide study. Education and Urban Society 42(7), 817-838. doi: 10.1177/0013124510379619
12. National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS), Student Pipeline Data: http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=119&year=2008&level=nation&mode=data&state=0#/-1/
References
13. Popkewitz, T. S. (1998). Struggling for the soul: The politics of schooling and the construction of the teacher. New York: Teacher College Press.
14. Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy. (2011). Student Learning Plans: Supporting Every Student’s Transition to College and Career. Cambridge, MA: Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy.
15. Rose, M. (1989). Lives on the boundary: A moving account of the struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
16. Weis, L., & Fine, M. (2005). Working method: Research and social justice. New York, NY: Routledge.