College‐andCareer‐Ready–‐Whatabouttherestofthechild?
Whatessentialqualitiesmustthenextgenerationoflearnersacquireinorderto
ensuretheirfuturesuccesses?....andwhatessentialqualitiesmustthenext
generationoflearnersacquireinordertoensurethetypeofsocietywewouldall
hopefor?
Acomprehensiveeducationprovidesthefoundationforfuturepersonal,
professional,andsocietalsuccesses.Ithasbeenassumedforthelastcenturythat
ourchildrenwillreceivea“good”educationfromourlocalpublicandprivate
schoolsandbepreparedforasuccessfulandsatisfyinglife.Inthecurrentcontextof
arapidlychangingglobalenvironment,identifyingtheessentialskillsandhabitsof
mindforsuccessisevolvingasrapidlyastheworldinwhichwelive.
Thequalitiesthatareneededforsuccessinourglobalenvironmentgobeyondthe
traditionalskillsthatwouldhavebeenrequiredacoupleofdecadesago.AsTony
Wagner(2008)statedintheGlobalAchievementGap,“...inthetwenty‐firstcentury,
masteryofthebasicskillsofreading,writingandmathisnolongerenough."The
skills,knowledgeandhabitsofmindneededforfuturesuccessesarequitedifferent,
complexandinterrelated.Futuregraduatesneedtobeflexibleandadaptablefor
theever‐changingworkplace;creativeandentrepreneurialseekingnew
opportunities;whileatthesametimeutilizingcomplexcommunicationandcritical
thinkingstrategiesthatengagecolleaguesfromdiverseperspectives.
ThevisionoftheIowaCore(IC)states,“Eachstudent[pk‐12]graduatesprepared
forcareer,college,andcitizenry”.TheICdefinesessentialconceptsandskillsthat
eachlearneristoacquireinthefollowingareas:21stCenturySkills(CS),
Mathematics,Literacy,ScienceandSocialStudies.The21stCSincludesthe
UniversalConstructs(UC)ofcollaboration,creativity/innovation,complex
communication,criticalthinking,adaptability/flexibilityand
productivity/accountability.TheIowaCoreestablishestheexpectationthat
educatingthe“whole”childisvaluedandapriorityinIowa.
However,onanationalandstatelevel,thereferencetoaqualityeducationis
definedas“College‐andCareer‐Ready.”Toprovideguidanceondefiningcollege
andcareerreadiness,theCouncilofChiefStateSchoolOfficers(CCSSO)andthe
NationalGovernor’sAssociation(NGA)collaboratedinthedevelopmentofnational
studentstandardsintheareasofmathematicsandEnglish/languageartsreferredto
astheCommonCoreStateStandards(CCSS).
InIowa,theCCSSwereintegratedwiththeIowaCoreessentialconceptsandskills
intherespectiveareasofmathematicsandliteracy.Thebaseassumptionand
criteriawithachievingtheCCSSisthatthestudentwillbesuccessfulincollegeand
careersasmeasuredthroughstandardizedtesting,studentreadinessforcredit‐
bearingcollegecoursesandcareersuccess.ThemajoremphasisontheCommon
CoreStateStandardsandpressurestoperformonhighstakestestshasresultedin
thenarrowingoftheschoolcurriculumandlearningopportunitiesforstudents.In
addition,thehighstakestestsdonotevaluatethenewessentialqualitiesthatour
studentsmustacquireforsuccessinourincreasingcomplexglobalenvironment.
Themajorconversationsabout“career‐andcollege‐readiness”aremissingamajor
componentthatisessentialforournextgenerationlearner,citizenry‐ready.As
statedin“ACrucibleMoment:CollegeLearning&Democracy’sFuture(2012),“A
high‐qualityeducation,workforcepreparation,andcivicengagementare
inextricablylinked.”
MalcolmPriceLaboratorySchool(MPLS)providesastrongprogrammaticmodelof
theintegrationCollege‐,Career‐,andCitizenry‐ReadyStandards,asevidentinthe
implementationoftheIowaCoreandrecognitionearnedthroughcompetitive
processesfromexternalentities.TheMPLSgraduationrateis100percentwith92
percentofthegraduatesattendingpost‐secondaryeducationalinstitutions.Over
halfofthegraduatesannuallyreceivepost‐secondaryscholarshipsfromfour‐year
universities.MPLShasreceivedanumberofcompetitiveawardsbasedtherigorous
learningopportunities,inclusiveschoolcultureandcollaborativecommunity
partnerships.Theseawardsincludethefollowing:
•Firsteverawarded,VisioninAction:WholeChildAwardsponsoredbythe
InternationalASCD.
•NationalSchoolsofCharacterFinalist,CharacterEducationPartnership
(CEP),2008
•IowaSchoolofCharacterandNationalNominee,InstituteforCharacter
Development(ICD),2008
•NationalSchoolsofCharacterFinalist,CharacterEducationPartnership
(CEP),2007
•IowaSchoolofCharacterandNationalNominee,InstituteforCharacter
Development(ICD),2007
•IowaSchoolofCharacter,InstituteforCharacterDevelopment(ICD),2005
•FirstAmendmentSchoolsGrantRecipient,FirstAmendmentCenterand
ASCD,2005‐2008
Wemustaddresstheglobalcontextinwhichwelivebyprovidingasystemof
schoolingthatisquitedifferentfromwhatweknowandhaveexperienced.Using
themetricsofstandardizedteststomeasurestudent,school,educatorandsystem
successisobsolete.Newassessmentprocessesmustbedevelopedthatfocusonthe
demonstrationofcorecompetenciesofauthentictasks.AsWagner(2008)states,
“Intoday’shighlycompetitiveglobal‘knowledgeeconomy,’allstudentsneednew
skillsforcollege,careers,andcitizenship."TheIowaCoreisthebeginningfor
creatingtheseredefinedexpectationsforourlearningsystemsandhelpingtodefine
whatisneededforcollege,careerandcitizenship.