College & Work Readiness

Frequently Asked Questions About Math

maureen — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:40:04 -0600

We all know math skills are important, but how necessary are they to a student's future success? This one-pager for teachers and parents breaks down just how crucial math skills are for all students.

Questions to ask your child's math teacher

maureen — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:16:09 -0600

A helpful list of questions to help parents connect with their child's math teacher to ensure students get the assistance, instruction and preparation they need.

Partnership for Learning Releases "Improving the Odds" Policy Report

Anne — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 14:18:55 -0500

In 2007, Partnership for Learning and the College & Work Ready Agenda released Improving the Odds: Preparing Washington Students for Family-Wage Jobs. In the report, we refuted the notion that a high school diploma is sufficient to ensure a family-wage job. Instead, the research made clear that, to earn a family-wage job, students must receive an education that prepares them to succeed in college and beyond.

Since the release of Improving the Odds, changing economic conditions have only increased the demand for family-wage jobs. Since 2007, the United States has faced one of the worst economic recessions since the Great Depression. This national recession has had ripple effects in Washington, and employment reports released through the spring and summer of 2011 have confirmed a slowdown in both the national and Washington state economies.

That's why Partnership for Learning has updated this important report. In Improving the Odds "2.0", we provide an analysis of the existing workforce needs and outline policies that Washington state must address if every student is to graduate prepared to succeed in our globally competitive economy.

To read this report, click here.

Supt. Dorn Formally Adopts Common Core Standards for Washington

maureen — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:46:39 -0500

The new standards will be implemented in state classrooms in the 2013-14 school year

OLYMPIA — State Superintendent Randy Dorn announced today that he is formally adopting the Common Core State Standards for English language arts and mathematics.

Washington became the 44th state, in addition to one territory and the District of Columbia, to adopt the common core standards. Washington will officially begin the process to introduce the standards into state classrooms by the 2013-14 school year – a timeline and resources can be viewed at www.k12.wa.us/corestandard s. The goal of the standards is to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare students for college and the workforce.

“I believe the common core standards are the first step in helping our nation move forward with true education reform,” Dorn said. “The standards are clear and will benefit our students. They’ll be better prepared for post-high school, no matter the path they choose.

“In addition, having similar learning standards throughout most states will certainly help students who move to Washington. We live in a mobile society, and with our state’s large number of military families, the transition to a new state and new school will be made a little easier as they’ll be able to essentially pick up where they left off in their previous home.”

Dorn, as directed by Section 601 of the Engrossed Second Substitute Senate Bill 6696, provisionally adopted the common core standards in July 2010. The formal adoption and implementation of the new standards could not occur until after the 2011 state Legislature had an opportunity to review a report by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and take action if necessary.

In June, OSPI convened a bias and sensitivity committee to review the standards and provide implementation recommendations around instruction and instructional supports to ensure the success of traditionally underserved groups in our state. The committee supported formal adoption of the common core standards.

Washington is also the lead fiscal state for the 29-state SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium, one of two multi-state consortia’s developing assessments based on the common core standards. Those new exams will first assess the common core standards in the 2014-15 school year.

In a time of continued cuts to the state education budget, Dorn said the common core standards, along with the multi-state assessments, will have a positive financial benefit as states will be able to pool their resources for textbooks and assessments.

“The availability of aligned textbooks and other instructional materials will be significantly increased,” he said. “And, testing costs will be reduced because we’ll have common assessments – not 50 different states designing and administering 50 different tests.”

The common core standards were developed by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers in collaboration with teachers, school administrators and education experts.

The common core standards will be rolled out to state teachers beginning in the 2012-13 school year. During the 2011-12 school year, OSPI and statewide educational partners, including the nine Educational Service Districts, will begin key transitional activities that will include forming advisory groups and developing regional support structures and materials.

Students will continue to be tested on Washington’s 2005 reading and writing standards, and on the 2008 mathematics standards through the 2013-14 school year. Testing on Washington’s common core state standards for English language arts and math will occur in the 2014-15. Washington’s learning standards in other subject areas remain intact and can be located at http://k12.wa.us/CurriculumInstruct/EALR_GLE.aspx.

Visit OSPI’s common core standards Website (www.k12.wa.us/corestandards) for timelines and resource materials and continue to visit that site for updates.

The Undereducated American

maureen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 15:08:51 -0500

NEW REPORT FINDS U.S. HAS BEEN UNDERPRODUCING COLLEGE-EDUCATED WORKERS FOR THIRTY YEARS

Report Calls for 20 Million Additional Graduates to Meet Demand and Reverse Income Inequality

Washington, D.C., June 27, 2011 – A new study by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce confirms that over the past 30 years, the demand for college-educated workers has outpaced supply, resulting in economic output below potential and growing income inequality. The current recession and grudging recovery, however, hides the fact that we are underproducing college graduates. "The data are clear," said Anthony P. Carnevale, the Center's director and co-author of the report, "the demand for college-educated workers is growing much faster than the supply. In recession and recovery, we remain fixated on the high school jobs that are lost and not coming back. We are hurtling into a future dominated by college-level jobs, unprepared."

Using an economic growth model pioneered by noted labor economists, the study finds that if we are to make up for lost ground in postsecondary attainment and respond to future economic requirements, we will need to add an additional 20 million postsecondary-educated workers to the economy by 2025. This includes 15 million new Bachelor’s degree holders, 4 million workers with non-degree postsecondary credentials, and 1 million Associate’s degree holders. In the new report, The Undereducated American, the Center demonstrates that adding these workers will boost GDP by $500 billion, add over $100 billion in additional tax revenues, and stop and begin to reverse the growth of income inequality. Many of these additional graduates could come from the half a million students per year who graduate in the top half of their high school class but do not go on to college.

The problem is not just economic. According to co-author Stephen J. Rose, a senior economist at the Center, "As a result of our failure to keep up with the demand for college-educated workers, we have lost our number one global position in college graduates and have become the number one industrialized nation in income inequality."

Should we do nothing, the report finds, income inequality will only get worse. The disparity between the wages of college-educated workers and high school-educated workers will jump from 74% to 96%. If we add 20 million postsecondary-educated workers, however, wages for all groups will rise -- wages for those with a high school diploma will rise 24%, wages for those with an Associate's degree will rise by 15%, and wages for Bachelor's-educated workers will rise by 6%.

Adding 20 million college-educated workers would mean that we would reach the President's goal of being number one in the world in terms of degree attainment among the workforce. By 2025, 60% of American youth would have an Associate's or a Bachelor's degree, making the United States first in terms of degree attainment world-wide.

The Undereducated American is available online at http://cew.georgetown.edu/undereducated. There are two documents: a full report and an executive summary. The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (cew.georgetown.edu) is an independent, nonprofit research and policy institute that studies the link between individual goals, education and training curricula and career pathways.

Washington Students Continue to Excel in Reading and Writing, Struggle in Math and Science

maureen — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:06:55 -0500

On Tuesday, Washington Superintendent Randy Dorn released the 2011 statewide results from the High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) in reading, writing, math and science. The HSPE measures the proficiency of students in core high school subjects and serves as the state's exit exam in reading and writing. Its name conveys the goal of the test: to measure a student’s proficiency in basic skills.

Results from this year’s HSPE paint a similar picture compared to last year: Students continue to earn high passing marks in reading and writing, whereas the number of students excelling in math and science remains stagnant and low.

- In reading and writing, where passing the HSPE is a graduation requirement, 94 percent of 12^th grade students passed the exam.
- In math and science, where passing the HSPE is currently not a graduation requirement, students continue to struggle:

61 percent of 12^th grade students passed the math exam; with 9 percent of students meeting the assessment requirement by earning two math credits after the 10^th grade; and
39 percent of 12^th grade students passed the science exam (note: students are required to take this exam their 10^th grade year).

The requirements that students must meet in order to earn a high school diploma will soon increase. This year’s 10^th graders, the class of 2013, will be the first class required to pass the reading and writing exams, as well as one math end-of-course exam to earn a high school diploma. The class of 2015, this year’s 8^th graders, will be the first required to pass five exams: the reading and writing exams, two math end-of-course exams and one science end-of-course exam.

The increased graduation requirements, and focus on math and science, will require our state to shift the focus on student achievement from reading and writing to math and science. “Our state has had great success in raising our reading and writing scores during the past 10 years” Superintendent Dorn said, “But now, we must focus our efforts on math and science so our students can compete for the high-paying jobs in our state that industry leaders must look elsewhere to fill.”

The message is clear: Washington state leaders, educators and policymakers must come together to ensure that all students are receiving the skills they need to succeed after graduation—skills in reading, writing, math and science.

To learn more about the requirements for the Class of 2011 and upcoming requirements for the Classes of 2013 and 2015, visit OSPI’s resource page.

Boeing and Microsoft Pledge $50 Million to New Scholarship Fund

maureen — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 15:30:09 -0500

SEATTLE — June 6, 2011 — The Boeing Company and Microsoft Corp. today announced a joint commitment to support efforts to increase the number of Washington students earning bachelor’s degrees. The state’s two largest private employers are pledging $25 million apiece over the next five years to the new public-private Washington Opportunity Scholarship program and endowment signed into law today by Gov. Christine Gregoire. Together with matching state contributions under the new program, this will raise $100 million for scholarships for low- and middle-income students, as a first step toward creating a billion-dollar endowment by the end of this decade.

“These new contributions help forge a partnership between the public and private sectors to put higher education on a stronger financial footing and enable more students to go to college,” said Microsoft general counsel and senior vice president Brad Smith, who chaired a Higher Education Funding Task Force appointed by Gov. Gregoire last year. “Given tougher state budget climates here and across the country, we need new and creative steps to ensure that our colleges remain open to talented students from all economic backgrounds. This new initiative gives our state and our students a new opportunity to develop the skills that a globally competitive economy will require.”

“Technology leadership and innovation define and distinguish Washington state, and we need creative solutions to ensure businesses across the state have a pipeline of talent to remain competitive in a global economy,” said Jim Albaugh, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO. “The reforms approved by state lawmakers, including this public-private endowment, represent a very positive step toward ensuring our young people have economic and intellectual opportunity into the future.”

At the beginning of this year, Gov. Gregoire’s Higher Education Funding Task Force recommended to the legislature the creation of a public-private higher education endowment. Under the new legislation (HB 2088) spearheaded by Rep. Tim Probst, D-Vancouver, the state will create a nonprofit Opportunity Scholarship Board to oversee two new scholarship funds. The first of these funds will begin providing scholarships as early as December 2011 to state students who intend to pursue bachelor’s degrees at public universities and colleges in Washington, while the second will build a long-term endowment with earnings that will provide an ongoing source of financial aid.

The board, made up of private sector representatives appointed by the governor and legislators, will be responsible for establishing student eligibility criteria, application process and scholarship amounts. Students from families with incomes of up to 125 percent of the state median income will be eligible to apply for the scholarships, which will be focused primarily on high-demand fields such as healthcare, manufacturing, science, mathematics and technology.

Initially, at least 50 percent of the donations will go to providing immediate scholarships, but after $20 million is raised for that account, donors will have the option of specifying whether the money will go to immediate scholarships or the long-term scholarship endowment. The state will match private contributions to the two scholarship accounts beginning in 2014 with a cap of $50 million annually. The goal is to raise $1 billion during the coming decade, based on a combination of private donations and matching contributions from the state.

“Washington is the first state in the nation to create a scholarship program like this,” Probst said. “We hope that other companies will follow Microsoft and Boeing’s incredible example, so we can offer 10,000 scholarships or more before Christmas of this year.”

“The economic downturn has caused direct state support to shrink over the recent past,” said Laura Peterson, Boeing vice president for State & Local Government Relations in the Northwest, and a member of the governor’s Higher Education Funding Task Force. “Tuition increases are playing a greater role in funding our public colleges and universities. The new Washington Opportunity Scholarship program will help reduce the burden of these tuition increases on students and their families.”

“We recognize that this isn’t the complete answer for giving our state’s students access to higher education,” Smith said. “We must find a way to shore up state support for higher education in good times and bad. But this is a critical step in the right direction

Legislature Approves $3 million for PASS Program

maureen — Wed, 25 May 2011 18:11:35 -0500

Money would be used for programs that reduce dropouts and increase graduates

OLYMPIA — May 25, 2011 — The state Legislature yesterday approved spending $3 million in 2011-13 for the Pay for Actual Student Success Program.

The PASS program, established during the 2011 legislative session through Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1599, creates a coordinated dropout prevention system.

“There are a number of dropout programs that are producing great results,” said Randy Dorn, state superintendent. “The PASS program provides a way to sustain those programs and keep kids in school and get them to graduate. Credit goes to Rep. Tim Probst, who sponsored the bill.”

During the 2011-13 biennium, the $3 million would be allocated to dropout programs that are proving to work in Washington state. Examples include:

Opportunity Internship program;
Jobs for America’s Graduates;
Building Bridges; and
Services provided by a college scholarship organization that has proven successful in managing scholarships for low-income, high-potential students and students living in foster care.

In addition to the $3 million, a total of $944,000 was approved for Jobs for America’s Graduates and Building Bridges; an additional $2 million was approved for the college scholarship organization.

“According to a 2007 study, every dropout costs taxpayers more than $10,000 a year,” Dorn said. “Reducing dropout rates is one of my top priorities, and I believe it should be everybody’s.”

Schools in High Gear: Reforms That Work When They Work Together

Anne — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:02:45 -0500

As the urgency for improving America’s schools increases, the core ideas guiding education reform remain remarkably stable, defying the ideological or partisan claims that can often stifle political change. “Schools in High Gear, Reforms That Work When They Work Together” is a collection of essays from some of the leading minds in education, explaining why a silver bullet won’t fix America’s schools–comprehensive policy solutions are needed.

Leaders of five national organizations that serve as policy partners for the Policy Innovators in Education (PIE) Network co-authored the paper. They explain how the following core ideas crucial to education reform evolved and why they continued to be sharpened through the interplay with other goals.

The State of State U.S. History Standards 2011

Anne — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:33:38 -0600

In the Fordham Foundtion's first review of the quality of state U.S. history standards since 2003, The State of State U.S. History Standards, reviewers evaluated state standards for U.S. history in grades K-12.

What they found is discouraging: Twenty-eight states deserve D or F grades for their academic standards in this key subject. The average grade across all states is a dismal D; the same grade Forhdam Foundation issued Washington state.