Posts Tagged ‘accountability’

“College Dropout Factories” Stay Open Despite Poor Graduation Rates

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

In College Dropout Factories, authors Ben Miller and Phuong Ly illustrate the story of Nestor Curiel, a promising high school graduate failed by the American higher education system.  Miller and Ly spotlight the consistently low-performing colleges and universities that graduate inadequately-prepared students year after year. Miller and Ly describe a bleak scenario where the same colleges and universities are not held accountable for the poor quality of education provided to their students. The article included the 2010 rankings of 4-year public and private not-for-profit colleges in America with the worst graduation rates, including several schools that offer associate and bachelor’s degrees or certificates in CTE-related areas.

The authors assert that colleges and universities with very high dropout rates are often overlooked; they maintain accreditation and student enrollment despite dismal graduation rates. One major complaint is that students do not receive sufficient academic support; studies suggest a correlation between “extensive student support, especially during freshman and sophomore years, and high graduation rates.” Unfortunately, some schools do not have incentive to provide additional student support because they receive federal financial aid and state appropriations as long as they continue to enroll students.

The authors propose two steps to curtail the problem of very low-performing schools producing inadequately-prepared students:

1)     Acknowledge that colleges share responsibility for graduation with students

2)     Shut the worst institutions down

The authors also suggest that governors and state legislatures intervene by tying state funding to graduation rates. Additionally, they indicate that accreditors should make the colleges’ evaluations public, and hold them accountable by tying graduation rates to accreditation. As more attention is drawn to very low-performing colleges and universities, the schools will need to make rapid and dramatic improvements to maintain their student populations.

By admin in News
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New Report Finds 48 States on Track to Use Common Graduation Rate in 2011

Tuesday, January 4th, 2011

In 2005, governors from all 50 states signed the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Graduation Counts Compact to voluntarily implement a common and reliable formula for calculating their state’s high school graduation rate.  The Compact focuses on: using a common, four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate formula; building state data collection and reporting capacity; developing additional student outcome indicators; and reporting annually on progress toward these commitments.

A new report from the NGA Center for Best Practices shows that 26 states are now reporting high school graduation rates according to a common formula. Implementing Graduation Counts: State Progress to Date, 2010 also reports that 48 states plan to report their graduation rates using a common formula by the end of 2011.

“Governors agreed to use a more consistent and accurate graduation rate formula because they understand that better information on student outcomes is critical for ensuring that all students graduate from high school prepared for college, work and life,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center. “The 2010 update shows that states are making significant progress toward this end and are expected to continue to do so in 2011.”

By admin in Public Policy
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DQC Webinar: Exploring a New Role for States: From Compliance-Based to Service-Supporting

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Historically, statewide longitudinal data systems were designed to meet compliance and accountability requirements. With the increasing focus on using data to improve student success, states must ensure that these systems inform and support data use at all levels. States and districts are beginning to take action to work together to align their data efforts to improve system-wide performance and student achievement.

Join the Data Quality Campaign for a webinar on December 15 at 2 p.m. ESTExploring a New Role for States: From Compliance-Based to Service-Supporting. This engaging discussion will focus on the current landscape in three states of their state-district alignment efforts, promising approaches to this work, and drivers for evolving the role of the state. Presenters include:

– Peter Gorman, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
– Bill Hurwitch, Maine Department of Education
– Brian Rawson, Texas Education Agency

Click here to register.

By admin in Webinars
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New NCES Brief Series Highlight Privacy Issues Related to SLDS

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010

Due the increased mandatory reporting and expanded record keeping required by the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has authored a new series of briefs on different topics related to the protection of personally identifi­able information in students’ education records. These SLDS Technical Briefs provide “best practices” to guide states that are developing Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems.

The first brief in the series, Basic Concepts and Definitions for Privacy and Confidentiality in Student Education Records, discusses basic concepts and definitions, namely “personally identifiable information,” “privacy,” and “confidentiality.” The brief also touches on concepts such as disclosing confidential information, protecting confidentiality by de-identifying and making data anonymous, data stewardship, and privacy frameworks.

Topics for future SLDS Technical Briefs include:

You may send any feedback about this and future SLDS Technical Briefs to NCES at [email protected].

By admin in Public Policy
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NASDCTEc Fall Meeting: OVAE Holds Perkins Listening Session

Friday, November 5th, 2010

The concluding session at last week’s Fall Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland was a listening session on Perkins reauthorization, moderated by Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education, Brenda Dann-Messier, and Sharon Miller, the director of the Division of Academic and Technical Education. Assistant Secretary Dann-Messier told the attendees that this listening session was going to be the start of a national conversation about Perkins reauthorization. She and her staff plan to host a series of listening sessions that will conclude at NASDCTEc’s Spring meeting in April 2011. She also said OVAE is soliciting feedback and comments from the public about Perkins reauthorization at [email protected].

The session was structured around four topic areas: Programs of Study, secondary to postsecondary transitions, performance measures, and whether there should be more specific or common measures and definitions, including regulations.

Programs of Study

o   Need to better engage postsecondary, but Perkins does not mandate secondary and postsecondary collaboration

o   Need a clear definition of POS

o   Not all community colleges offer all POS, so it can be limiting for students

o   It is also limiting for students that many four-year colleges do not accept credit from two-year institutions

Secondary to Postsecondary Transitions

o   Two-year schools are struggling to get four-year schools to accept credit

o   Not all states have statewide articulation agreements

o   As more and mores students flood into community colleges, there is less of a priority in serving high school students through articulation agreements and dual enrollment

Performance Measures

o   Academic attainment at secondary level – because students are often tested before 11th grade (when most students begin CTE), it is tough to the impact of CTE on academic attainment

o   Certificate completion at postsecondary level – the results go to the students, and it is hard for states to track this information

o   Technical skill attainment at secondary level – this is tough to measure, and is not always appropriate at the secondary level

o   Placement at the secondary level – tough to track because of FERPA restrictions on collecting data

Common measures/definitions and regulations

By admin in Legislation, Meetings and Events
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Final Program Integrity Rules Issued

Friday, October 29th, 2010

This summer the U.S. Department of Education released draft changes to the Higher Education Act that seek to ensure program integrity in federal financial aid programs, as well as draft changes to the gainful employment definition. The final rules for program integrity were released yesterday, and will go into effect on July 1, 2011. These rules are aimed at strengthening federal student aid programs at for-profit, nonprofit and public institutions by “protecting students from aggressive or misleading recruiting practices, providing consumers with better information about the effectiveness of career college and training programs, and ensuring that only eligible students or programs receive aid.”

“These new rules will help ensure that students are getting from schools what they pay for: solid preparation for a good job,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in a statement.

Final rules on a gainful employment definition will be released in early 2011 and will go into effect on July 1, 2012. The Department plans to hold several stakeholder meetings during the next several weeks, as well as public hearings on November 4th and November 5th. These meetings will allow individuals to clarify the comments they submitted and respond to questions from Department officials.

By admin in Public Policy, Uncategorized
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The State of State Postsecondary Data Systems

Friday, October 22nd, 2010

A new report released by the State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), which examined 59 data systems in 44 states and the District of Columbia, has found that not all postsecondary data systems are alike. Data systems are not comprehensive, and not all share the same data elements. Even more alarming is that only eight states have the capacity to link their K12, postsecondary, and workforce data systems.  Strong Foundations: The State of State Postsecondary Data Systems describes existing state postsecondary student-level data systems and provides examples of how they have been used. Among the report’s key findings:

By admin in Public Policy
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Advantages and Disadvantages of Postsecondary Accountability Databases

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Shortly after taking office last year, President Obama announced that “by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” thrusting the spotlight on postsecondary accountability. A new report from the American Council on Education, College Graduation Rates: A Look Behind the Numbers, explores the complexities of measuring college graduation rates and finds that existing databases do not give a full picture of student outcomes and success at the postsecondary level.

The report details the most commonly reported graduation rates and the databases used to calculate these rates, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of each database. The report also suggests several factors for policy makers to consider before using graduation rate data from existing databases. What this report does not do is focus on disparities in graduation rates, or on how to improve graduation rates, or how to fix graduation rates calculations. Rather, the goal of this report is “to help policy makers better understand the challenges inherent in using current graduation rate data to determine or inform federal or state policy decisions regarding postsecondary education institutions.”

As the President and other policymakers advance their goal of improving postsecondary completion rates, it will be important for them to take into consideration all the caveats and work to capture all of the missing information in the current system.

By admin in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: Improving Student Testing Act, Education Jobs Fund

Friday, September 17th, 2010

Congress returned from their August recess this week and is planning to be in session until October 8.

Improving Student Testing Act

Senators Russ Feingold (WI) and Pat Leahy (VT) this week introduced S. 3771, Improving Student Testing Act, which would provide grants to States, SEAs, LEAs and schools to design and implement high-quality and innovative assessments, including adaptive assessments, performance assessments, standardized portfolio assessments, interim assessments, and other assessments that measure higher-order thinking skills and are aligned with common core standards or State challenging academic content standards and challenging student academic achievement standards. This bill is aimed to be a part of the larger Elementary and Secondary Education Act reauthorization which will likely not happen until next year.

Education Jobs Fund

The U.S. Department of Education has approved 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands and the Northern Marianas for Education Jobs funding. Texas’ application was denied because it did not contain assurance to spend the money on education over the next three years. Department officials have asked the state to reapply. South Carolina and Wyoming do not have their applications posted on the Department’s website.

By admin in Legislation
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Race to the Top Assessment Winners Announced

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Today, the Department of Education announced more than $330 million in Race to the Top assessment grant awards to the consortia of states that submitted applications. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) will receive $170 million and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) will receive $160 million. The goal of these two consortia is to develop a “new generation” of math and English language arts assessments for third grade through high school that will be aligned to the Common Core State Standards. The assessments will be put into place by the 2014-2015 school year.

PARCC is a coalition of 26 states and will test students’ ability to read complex text, complete research projects, excel at classroom speaking and listening assignments, and work with digital media. The consortia will replace the single year-end high stakes test with a series of assessments given throughout the year. PARCC’s application stated that its assessment system “will provide the tools needed to identify whether students—from grade 3 through high school—are on a trajectory for postsecondary success and, critically, where gaps may exist and how they can be remediated well before students enter college or the workforce.”

SBAC is comprised of 31 states that will test students using computer adaptive technology that will ask students tailored questions based on their previous answers. The consortia will still use a single test at the end of the year for accountability purposes, but will create a series of interim tests throughout the year to let students, parents, and teachers know whether students are on track. You can see which states are included in both of the consortia here.

In a speech this morning at Achieve, Inc. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that states in both consortia have agreed to set the same achievement levels or cut‐scores on their  assessments and that the Department will ask them to collaborate to make sure student test results are comparable across participating states. Duncan also laid out how these assessments differ from existing state tests, including the use of smart technology, immediate feedback, accommodations, and the use of formative assessments that document student growth. Finally he said that “for the first time, the new assessments will better measure the higher‐order thinking skills so vital to success in the global economy of the 21st century and the future of American prosperity. To be on track today for college and careers, students need to show that they can analyze and solve complex problems, communicate clearly, synthesize information, apply knowledge, and generalize learning to other settings.”

As you may be aware, there was a third group of states, the State Consortium on Board Examination Systems, that applied for $30 million in funding under the competition to support assessments at the high school level. However, this group did not win an award.

By admin in News, Public Policy
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