College Readiness?
New Graduation Requirements?
Yes, We CAN Make a Difference
Susan Hudson Hull
Charles A. Dana Center, University of Texas at Austin
CAMT, San Antonio
July 15, 2010
2010
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19 low SES students entering 9th-grade
Algebra I classes in med/high SES school…
Picture these students. What do you think?
Are these students likely to be collegeready in 4 years?
• What percentage passed Algebra I?
• What percentage passed the 9th grade math TAKS?
• What percentage were commended on TAKS?
• What percentage passed Algebra I End-of-Course?
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Why the push for college-readiness for all?
• National interest
• Job opportunities
• Earnings
• Future
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The good news
Ninety percent of low-income students intend to
go to college after graduation, with little gap
between white and minority students’ collegegoing intentions.
The bad news
Only half actually enroll. Associated Press, 2009
And far fewer still earn a degree, either an
associate’s or a bachelor’s.
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What are we doing? What can we do?
Do our expectations of students limit their
choices?
What can we do to support students to achieve
their goals and keep their options open?
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If high school had demanded more, high
school graduates would have worked harder
Achieve 2006. Source: Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion
Strategies, Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for
College and Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
 Would have worked harder
 Strongly feel I would have worked harder
82%
 Wouldn’t have worked harder
80%
18%
17%
64%
63%
15%
High school graduates who
went to college
18%
High school graduates who did
not go to college
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The majority of graduates would have taken
harder courses
Knowing what you know today about the expectations of
college/work …
College students
Would have taken more
challenging courses in at least one area
Students who did not go to college
62%
72%
34%
Would have taken
more challenging
courses in:
Math
48%
32%
41%
Science
29%
English
38%
Achieve, 2006. Source: Peter D. Hart
Research Associates/Public Opinion
Strategies, Rising to the Challenge:
Are High School Graduates Prepared
for College and Work? prepared for
Achieve, Inc., 2005.
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And graduates who faced high expectations
in high school were twice as likely to feel
prepared for the future
Achieve, 2006. Source: Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge: Are High School
Graduates Prepared for College and Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.
Percentage saying they were extremely/very well prepared
100%
High school graduates who went to college
80%
80%
72%
High school graduates who did not go to college
58%
60%
53%
37% 36%
40%
20%
0%
High expectations
Moderate expectations
Low expectations
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Expectations and policies
The adults in the system need to set high
expectations for students, and help them reach
these expectations.
AND
We need policies that:
– encourage students to keep their options open for
beyond high school, and
– don’t allow students in high school (or even middle
school) to make decisions that will limit their choices
in higher education and careers.
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Expectations and policies: Texas
• Designed so all students will be college- or work-ready
upon graduation
• 4 x 4 requirements for graduation: Algebra I, Geometry,
Algebra II, and one additional year of mathematics
• End-of-course exams/STAAR (State of Texas
Assessments of Academic Readiness) assessments:
accountability for teaching/learning the high school
mathematics content
• Texas College and Career Readiness Standards:
Content and Cross-Disciplinary Standards
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Expectations and policies: Common Core State
Standards across the U.S. (except Texas and Alaska)
• Designed so that all students will be college- or work-ready upon
graduation, independent of state lines
• Fewer, clearer, higher standards for K–12; content through
Algebra II level; stresses the need for 4 years of math
• 48 states and Washington DC considering the Common Core
State Standards as the base for their state standards; 41 states
expected to adopt by end of 2010
• High school pathways for traditional (Algebra I / Geometry /
Algebra II) and integrated sequences
• Consortia of states are proposing to develop common
assessments based on the standards; Race to the Top funds
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Won’t higher requirements discourage
some students and increase drop-out
rates?
“… requiring students to take challenging math
does not increase high school dropout rates, as
long as students are given the support and highquality instruction they need to succeed.”
National Mathematics Advisory Council, 2008, quoted
from Achieve, The Building Blocks of Success, May 2008
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When are students most vulnerable?
Challenges of transitions
• Elementary to middle school
• Middle school to high school
• High school to higher education or the world of
work
See National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics journals for February 2010
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When are students most vulnerable?
Challenges of transitions
• Elementary to middle school
• Middle school to high school
• High school to higher ed or the world of work
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Too few students in the U.S. graduate from
high school “college ready”: 34% of 9th
graders graduate on time and college-ready
Achieve, 2006. Source:
Manhattan Institute, Public
High School Graduation
and College-Readiness
Rates: 1991–2002,
February 2005, http://
www.manhattaninstitute.org/html/
ewp_08.htm. Slide from
Achieve, 2005.
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College-bound does not necessarily mean
college-ready: The numbers range from
20% to 90% for 2-year and 4-year
institutions
Students find that they are able to meet graduation
requirements, and even college admission requirements,
but they are still unable to perform successfully enough
on college mathematics placement tests for them to enter
college-level mathematics courses.
—Conley, College Knowledge, 2005
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Most U.S. college students who take remedial
courses fail to earn degrees
Percentage not earning degree by type of
remedial coursework
Percentage of college students
100%
75%
76%
63%
50%
25%
0%
Remedial reading
Achieve, 2006. Source:
National Center for
Education Statistics, The
Condition of Education,
2004.
Many college
students who
need remediation,
especially in
reading and math,
do not earn either
an associate’s or
a bachelor’s
degree.
Remedial math
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What factors influence college success?
• Intensity and quality of high school curriculum
(Adelman, 2005)
o What students study in high school
o How much
o How deeply
o How intensely
• And these factors have more effect on AfricanAmerican and Latino/a students than does any other
indicator (Venezia, 2003)
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How can we help ensure that 4 years of high
school mathematics will influence student
success in higher education?
It is now, more than ever, critical that
students* have accurate and sufficient
information about what it takes not only to
enter, but to succeed in college, and…
That high school and college mathematics
courses align.
*and their parents, and their teachers, and
administrators
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Communicating expectations and bridging
the high school to higher education divide
Students often don’t have enough information about
what college requires—for entrance, for placement,
for success.
High school teachers and administrators, higher
education faculty, and students need to talk to each
other about:
• High school standards, courses, and assessments
• College courses and expectations
• College entrance exams and placement tests
• Quality and rigor of work (using samples of college course
assignments and exams)
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Support for students: Samples of resources
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19 low SES students entering 9th grade Alg I
classes in med/high SES school… Picture
these students. What do you think? Are
these students likely to be college-ready in
4 years?
• What percentage passed Algebra I?
• What percentage passed 9th grade math TAKS?
• What percenaget were commended on TAKS?
• What percentage passed Algebra I End-of-Course?
2010
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19 low SES students entering 9th grade Alg I
classes in med/high SES school… Picture
these students. What do you think? Are
these students likely to be college-ready in
4 years?
• What percentage passed Algebra I?: 100%
• What percentage passed 9th grade math
TAKS?: 79%
• What percentage were commended on
TAKS?:11%
• What percentage passed Alg EOC?: 68%
So, what’s up?
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Support for middle school to high school
transition: Algebra I and non-academic skills
• Students build their identifies as learners of mathematics
—where students value learning, seek challenge, and actively
participate in their own learning.
Example: Academic Youth Development, which includes
—a summer bridge class with both mathematics and youth
development components and
—an academic year follow up that is designed to influence
classroom culture.
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Goals of Academic Youth Development initiative
Three primary goals:
• Improve student performance in Algebra I
and all high school mathematics courses.
• Build a classroom culture focused on
respectful engagement in academics.
• Increase capacity for teaching to rigorous
mathematics standards.
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Inspirations from research and practice
The program incorporates ideas and
research from social psychology:
• Effective effort: Improving and getting better
at something requires the right kind of effort.
• Attribution: Success is attributed to taskspecific causes (e.g., effort), not to global
causes (e.g., luck or native intelligence).
• Malleable intelligence: Intelligence is
something that can be influenced and shaped
through actions and beliefs.
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Support for MS to HS transition: More time in —
and experience with—Algebra I in grade 9
• Curriculum for double-block Algebra I that will catch
students up with their peers in mathematics.
Example: Intensified Algebra provides a complete set of online
and print resources for teachers and students, including …
• Rigorous, comprehensive Algebra I curriculum and assessments
• Just-in-time review and repair
• Embedded strategies to shape students’ engagement,
confidence, and commitment to challenging academic programs
(from AYD)
• Instructional advice for teachers and complete lesson plans
• Supports routines for reaching special education students
• Literacy support, including for English language learners
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Support for high school to higher education
transition: Mathematics beyond Alg II
• 4th-year mathematics courses for after-Algebra II, in
addition to Precalculus:
AP Statistics, mathematical modeling, or dual or concurrent
enrollment classes for transferable college credit
Example: Advanced Mathematical Decision-Making—a 4thyear course developed by the Dana Center in partnership with the
Texas Association of Supervisors of Mathematics. AMDM includes
modeling, algebraic and geometric reasoning, and numeracy using
functions, statistics, probability, data analysis, and discrete and other
mathematics in a variety of contexts. A complete curriculum of student
and teacher materials is available with professional development—see
www.utdanacenter.org/amdm.
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Support for HS to HE transition: Texas College
and Career Readiness Standards
• The Texas CCRS emphasize content knowledge as a means
to an end—the content stimulates students to engage in
deeper levels of thinking (p. 3).
Mathematics content standards:
— Numerical Reasoning
— Algebraic Reasoning
— Geometric Reasoning
— Measurement Reasoning
— Probabilistic Reasoning
— Statistical Reasoning
— Functions
— Problem Solving
— Communication and Representation
— Connections
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Support for HS to HE transition: Texas College
and Career Readiness Standards
Cross-Disciplinary Standards:
Key Cognitive Strategies—Intellectual Curiosity, Reasoning,
Problem Solving, Academic Behaviors, Work Habits, Academic
Integrity
Foundational Skills—Reading across the Curriculum, Writing
across the Curriculum, Research across the Curriculum, Use of Data,
Technology
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Support for HE transition: Rethinking college
mathematics requirements and placement
Students enter college underprepared  Developmental mathematics
 Developmental mathematics
 Developmental mathematics
 Developmental mathematics
 College Algebra
 Precalculus
 Calculus
2/3 of students who start in Developmental Math never earn
degrees (associate’s or bachelor’s)
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Support for HE transition: Rethinking college
placement
Perhaps there is a better way…
Statway: A year-long mathematics credit-bearing course with
• Rigorous, comprehensive statistics curriculum and assessments
• Just-in-time review and repair
• Embedded strategies to shape students’ engagement, confidence,
commitment, and skills for “doing college”
• Instructional advice for teachers and complete lesson plans
• Supports routines for reaching special education students
• Literacy support, including English language learners
And other pathways to come. (A program from the Dana Center and the
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching )
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Thought for the day…
What would it take for schools (and
colleges) across the U.S. to provide
mathematics programs so rigorous and
inviting that all students could be prepared
to succeed in college-level mathematics
after high school?
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Whose concern is college readiness?
• It’s not just one teacher at a time, though one teacher can
make a huge difference.
• It’s not just one department at a time, though a cohesive
and focused mathematics department is important.
• It’s not just one school at a time; what about the students
that live right outside the school boundary?
• Or one district… Or one community… Or one state…
• 2010
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Whose concern is college readiness?
We all have a stake in keeping options open for
students: high schools and higher education,
administrators and counselors, teachers and
students, parents and community
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What messages can teachers give their students
to help with the transition to college math?
• Take challenging mathematics every year, and start
mathematics in your first semester of college.
• Prepare yourself for placement tests.
• Know how to read for understanding and how to understand
and use academic language.
• Form a study group.
• Understand the role of calculators.
• Accept that mathematics can be hard, and that it requires
persistence and productive struggle.
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What can high school math teachers do to
ease students’ transitions to postsecondary
education or work?
• Expect a lot from students.
• Build solid relationships with students.
• Help students learn to work through confusion, with strategies
for how to get unstuck.
• Talk with higher education math faculty in your area about
alignment and how to ensure student success.
• Know and communicate the importance of preparing for college
placement tests.
• Be aware of what is going on at the local, state, and national
levels of mathematics.
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What is next?
Together we can make college- and work-readiness
for all students a reality…
In this lifetime!
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Contact information:
Susan Hudson Hull
Director, Mathematics and National Initiatives
Charles A. Dana Center
shhull@austin.utexas.edu
See the Nov, 2009 NCTM
Mathematics Teacher for an
article elaborating these
ideas.
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