Sophomores: Ready or Not: College Readiness for All Sophomores: Ready or Not: College Readiness for All? The Critical Importance of the Sophomore Year Sophomore Open House Point Pleasant Jr Sr High 17 & 18 August 2009

Losing the Leading Edge US was leader in high school graduation rates – 40 years ago Now it ranks 18th out of 24 industrialized countries US was tied for first in the proportion of young adults with a college degree in 1995 Now it ranks 14th and is below the average of industrialized countries

Losing the Leading Edge PISA – 2006 US Performance Relative to 30 Industrialized Countries Subject Rank Mathematics 25 Science 21 Reading 15 Problem Solving 24 http://www.pisa.oecd.org/

Ready or Not: College Readiness for All? How we define it What we know about it

College Readiness: Definition Based on actual success students experience in credit-bearing college entry-level courses ACT Benchmarks: median ACT score needed for 50% chance of college course grade B or 75% chance of C or better ACT Benchmarks are directly tied to ACT College Readiness Standards

Does College Ready Equal Work Ready? 2006 ACT Study Provides Empirical Evidence (research data) of Comparability: Level of expectations needed for entry-level college courses is comparable to expectations needed to enter workforce training programs for jobs that: Offer salaries above poverty line Can sustain family of four Have prospects for career advancement

Ready or Not: College Readiness for All? How we define it What we know about it

College Readiness: What We Know Right number of core courses Right kinds of core courses Rigorous courses focused on college readiness outcomes Progress monitoring and timely interventions

College Readiness: What We Know Percentage of 2008 ACT-Tested High School Graduates Taking Core Nearly 40% of our nation’s high school graduates are not taking a core curriculum.

College Readiness: What We Know Impact of Core on College Readiness Students who take a core curriculum are significantly more likely to be college and career ready.

The Core: An Unfulfilled Promise Students who take more than core meet ACT’s College Readiness Benchmarks in greater percentages than students who take only core. This chart shows the benefit additional math courses have on benchmark attainment. Similar results are seen in the other core subjects. In English, the percent of students who meet the benchmark after the core 4 years of English is 67%, but the percentage for those who take 4.5 years is 77%. In Science, 26% of the students who take the core 3 years meet the benchmark, while 38% of the students who take 4 years do. And in Social Studies, the 3 year core yields 50% benchmark attainment, with each additional half-year moving the percentage to 53%, 55%, and 60%. Mathematics

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Post Secondary Training On the Job 1 month to 10 month certificate programs Apprenticeships – 1 yr to 5 yr Associates Degree Programs (3 to 5 semesters) Bachelors Degree Programs (8 to 10 semesters)

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Entrance Requirements Post Secondary Training Skilled Pathway Diploma On the Job Training 1 month to 10 month certificate programs Apprenticeships Associates Degree Programs (Community and Technical Colleges, Institutes)

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Entrance Requirements Post Secondary Training Professional Pathway Diploma On the Job Training 1 month to 10 month certificate programs Apprenticeships Associates Degree Programs Bachelors Degree Programs (4yr colleges and universities)

Sophomores: Ready or Not: What to choose? Professional Pathway Skilled Pathway What’s the difference?

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Graduation Requirements CORE 4 Language Arts (English) 4 Social Studies (History) 4 Mathematics 3 Sciences Plus: PE, Health, Comp App, Fine Art

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Graduation Requirements Career Concentration Skilled Pathway * 4 Specified CTE Courses in career concentration ** Science courses may be conceptual technical sciences Professional Pathway * 2 years of the same Foreign Language * 4th Lab Science * A higher level course in Career Concentration

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Entrance Requirements Associates Degree Programs HS Diploma – Skilled or Professional Pathway ACT score not required*, but will administer an ACT or ACT like test at their school. Like to see at least a 15 or 16 composite score. 2.0 GPA minimum preferred. *for most programs Bachelors Degree Programs HS Diploma – Professional Pathway ACT score of at least 18 or 19 composite. Some Programs require at least a 24 to 27 minimum composite . 2.5 GPA minimum preferred.

Sophomores: Ready or Not: PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP as of today HS Diploma – Professional Pathway ACT Score of at least 22 composite. Subtests (English, Math, Reading and Science Reasoning) scores are to be at least 20 or…….. A combined SAT score of 1020 with at least a minimum sub-score of 490 in the  critical reading section and 480 in the math section 3.0 Core GPA 3.0 GPA overall

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Assessment Opportunities – THIS year! ACT PLAN – the pre-ACT in October (no cost) PSAT – the pre-SAT in October (about $13) Sophomores must sign up for this test ASVAB – provides academic and career insights different from ACT PLAN in October (no cost) Sophomores must sign up for this test WESTEST – writing assessment in winter and academic testing in May (no cost)

Sophomores: Ready or Not: Planning Opportunities – THIS year! As a result of participating in these assessments, your child will be provided the interpretation of the results for each assessment. Beginning in January, in accordance to POLICY 2510, you, your student and their advisor or school counselor will review their ACT PLAN results and use the information to declare their Career Major and Pathway. Then an Individualized Student Transition Plan (ISTP) will be developed to map out their Junior and Senior Years of their high school career that best supports their post secondary training goals.

Sophomores: Ready or Not: The Sophomore Year is of critical importance Sophomore Open House ACT information was provided by Cyndi B. Schmeiser President and Chief Operating Officer, Education Division PLEGGETT@access.k12.wv.us