1 Hawai`i’s HS Graduates – Ready for College? – Survey re: Language and Math Skills is a “first step” in the effort to improve readiness January 2008

2 Too many students drop out of the education pipeline in the nation and in Hawai`i Source: Student Pipeline 2004, unpublished data from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, October Data are estimates of pipeline progress rather than actual cohort.

3 One National Effort – The American Diploma Project A partnership of: –K—12 Education –Higher Education –Major Employers Focused on: -- ALL students leaving high school ready for work or post-secondary education

4 ADP – Four “Action Pillars” (1) Aligning Standards Align high school standards with college and work expectations (2) Curriculum and Graduation Requirements Require all students to take curriculum aligned with standards in order to graduate from high school

5 Four Pillars (cont’d) (3) College-Ready Assessments Include “ college-ready ” test, aligned with state standards, in high school assessment system (4) High School and Postsecondary Institutions Accountability Hold high schools accountable for graduating students college- and work-ready, and hold postsecondary institutions accountable for student success.

6 Action Pillar 1 --Aligning Standards HCPS III English and Math Standards were compared to ADP Benchmark Standards Side-by-side analysis revealed: -- more instruction needed in reading and writing for informational purposes -- more instruction in math needed, esp. Algebra II

7 Aligning Standards (cont.) How to align standards? -- Provide survey instruments which get input from post-sec, employer perspectives -- Provide opportunities for secondary English and math faculty to work in collaboration with post-secondary English and math faculty and with employers who supervise entry-level employees

8 The Surveys This report focuses on the surveys of post-secondary faculty, conducted on- line in October Two separate surveys were conducted: one on English skills and one on math skills.

9 Who completed them? English Survey completed by 290 faculty members: –258 from the ten UH campuses – 32 from BYUH, Chaminade and HPU Math Survey completed by 160 faculty members: –134 from the ten UH campuses – 26 from BYUH, Chaminade and HPU

10 Campus Participation Data – English Survey

11 Campus Participation Data – Math Survey

12 Respondents identified the course... Please indicate below the SINGLE specific course you have in mind as you respond to this survey about English language skills needed for success in the course. Include course name AND number (e.g., MATH 135, AERO 100, NURS 153, PHIL 110, RAD 100, etc.)

13 Subject Areas of Responses – English Survey

14 Subject Areas of Responses – Math Survey

15 Respondents determined degree of skills essential Rank [the skill listed here] on a scale from 1 (not essential) to 10 (most essential) for a student to be successful in the entry-level course you identified in question #3.

16 Eight skill areas in English Survey Language Literature Communication Writing Research Logic Media Informational Text

17 Five Skill Areas in Math Survey Number Sense and Numerical Operations Algebra Geometry Data Interpretation, Statistics and Probability Mathematical Reasoning

18 What Did the Post-Secondary Surveys Say? English Survey –Results reinforce the skills identified as significant by Achieve and by Hawai`i employers Math Survey –Much less agreement about “which skills are essential”

19 English Survey Results 22 skills (out of 70 items) rank as essential to student success across multiple academic areas –8 are writing skills –4 are “informational text” skills –3 are communication skills and 3 are research skills –2 are language and 2 are logic skills

20 Writing Skills Q Plan writing with notes Q Select and use informal/technical language Q Organize writing with a thesis, etc Q 33 – Develop writing process (revise based on feedback) Q Edit for grammar Q Cite sources Q Use Excel and Powerpoint Q Write an academic essay

21 Informational Text Skills Q Follow written instructions Q Identify main ideas in informational text Q Interpret maps, charts, etc Q 67 --Draw conclusions based on evidence

22 Communication Skills Q Give and follow instructions Q Summarize oral information Q Work in teams Research Skills Q Gather info from primary and secondary sources Q Evaluate credibility of sources Q Report findings within time/length limits

23 Language Skills Q 7 -- Use standard English Q13 -- Quantitative and Technical Information Logic Skills Q Distinguish fact from fiction Q Construct arguments -- oral and written

24 Differing Perceptions of Importance by Subject Area -- One Example Q 13 – Quantitative & Technical Info –Ranked important by faculty from CTE, Professional Schools and Natural Sciences at twice their rate of participation –Ranked important by faculty from communications at less than half their rate of participation

25 Conclusions -- English Consistency across the studies from Achieve, post-secondary faculty and 3- Point’s survey of employers Best places to begin dialogue – around the eight writing skills and the four informational text skills

26 Math Survey Results 5 skills (out of 60 items) rank as essential to student success across multiple academic areas –3 are algebra skills –1 is a geometry skill –1 is a mathematical reasoning skill

27 Math Skills Algebra Q basic algebra operations Q solve word problems Q solve algebraic equations Geometry Q linear equations Mathematical Reasoning Q inductive and deductive reasoning

28 Differing Perceptions of Importance by Subject Area -- One Example Q52 – Inductive and Deductive Reasoning is important to social science (at double the proportion of their overall participation) and is also important to natural sciences, but is not important to math faculty

29 Conclusions -- Math The definition of “college and career ready” -- in terms of math skills -- varies depending upon college major/ career field. Additional investigation is needed in order to define “college and career readiness” in math.

30 Joint Secondary and Post- Secondary Discussions... Define what makes a student “ready” for English 100 and for college-level math Consider assessments of college readiness that might serve as alternatives to COMPASS for placement into Eng 100 and college-level math Gather data about student performance to support recommendations

31 Hawai`i Timeline Feb 23, 2008 Dialogues between secondary and post- secondary faculty, facilitated by Achieve, Inc. March 2008 Quality Review 2 DOE submits proposed strategies to address Achieve’s analyses of Hawai`i Content and Performance Standards

32 Hawai`i Timeline (cont’d) 2008 and Beyond –Identify and secure incentives for students to earn Career and College Ready Diploma –Collect data to inform decision-making and evaluation HI-PASS (expected Jan-Mar 2008) College-going and remediation data by high school

33 Hawai`i Timeline (cont’d) 2008 and Beyond (cont’d) –Plan for implementation, including teacher training, curriculum/course alignment and student support Ed Trust West consulting for high schools Site visit to Cal State’s Early Assessment Program Curriculum alignment plans

34 For More Information Kathy Jaycox, P-20 Senior Associate UH Office of the VP for Academic Planning and Policy