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
1
Percentage of 9th grade students
Too many students drop out of the
education pipeline in the nation and
in Hawai`i
100%
75%
70%
United States
Hawaii
65%
50%
39%
33%
25%
27%
21%
18%
13%
0%
Graduate high
school
Start college
Persist 2nd year
Earn degree
Source: Student Pipeline 2004, unpublished data from the National Center for Higher Education Management
Systems, October 2006. Data are estimates of pipeline progress rather than actual cohort.
2
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
3
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
4
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.
5
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
6
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
7
The Surveys
• This report focuses on the surveys of
post-secondary faculty, conducted online in October 2007.
• Two separate surveys were conducted:
one on English skills and one on math
skills.
8
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
9
Campus Participation Data –
English Survey
100
85
80
University of Hawai‘i
60
Hawai‘i Private
Institutions
36
40
26
23
23
20
15
20
18
12
11
10
7
4
0
MAN
KAP
LEE
HON
MAU
HAW
HIL
WIN
WO
KAU
HPU
Cham BYUH
10
Campus Participation Data –
Math Survey
50
43
40
University of Hawai‘i
30
20
17
16
Hawai‘i Private
Institutions
15
14
11
8
10
8
7
6
7
4
4
0
MAN
HON
KAP
HAW
LEE
MAU
WIN
WO
HIL
KAU
HPU
Cham BYUH
11
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.)
12
Subject Areas of Responses –
English Survey
Social Sciences
69
24%
AHLL
21
7%
Communications
106
37%
Professional Schs
48
17%
Natural Sciences
30
10%
Math
7
2%
Career & Tech Ed
9
3%
13
Subject Areas of Responses –
Math Survey
Social Sciences
25
16%
Professional Schs
20
13%
Natural Sciences
31
18%
AHLL
12
8%
Communications
4
3%
Career & Tech Ed
12
8%
Math
56
34%
14
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.
15
Eight skill areas in English Survey
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Language
Literature
Communication
Writing
Research
Logic
Media
Informational Text
16
Five Skill Areas in Math Survey
•
•
•
•
•
Number Sense and Numerical Operations
Algebra
Geometry
Data Interpretation, Statistics and Probability
Mathematical Reasoning
17
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”
18
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
19
Writing Skills
• Q 30 -- Plan writing with notes
• Q 31 -- Select and use informal/technical
language
• Q 32 -- Organize writing with a thesis, etc
• Q 33 – Develop writing process (revise based on
feedback)
• Q 34 -- Edit for grammar
• Q 35 -- Cite sources
• Q 37 -- Use Excel and Powerpoint
• Q 38 -- Write an academic essay
20
Informational Text Skills
• Q 60 -- Follow written instructions
• Q 61 -- Identify main ideas in informational
text
• Q 64 -- Interpret maps, charts, etc
• Q 67 --Draw conclusions based on
evidence
21
Communication Skills
• Q 23 -- Give and follow instructions
• Q 24 -- Summarize oral information
• Q 29 -- Work in teams
Research Skills
• Q 42 -- Gather info from primary and secondary
sources
• Q 43 -- Evaluate credibility of sources
• Q 44 -- Report findings within time/length limits
22
Language Skills
• Q 7 -- Use standard English
• Q13 -- Quantitative and Technical Information
Logic Skills
• Q 46 -- Distinguish fact from fiction
• Q 54 -- Construct arguments -- oral and
written
23
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
24
Conclusions -- English
• Consistency across the studies from
Achieve, post-secondary faculty and 3Point’s survey of employers
• Best places to begin dialogue – around the
eight writing skills and the four
informational text skills
25
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
26
Math Skills
• Algebra
• Q 11 -- basic algebra operations
• Q 22 -- solve word problems
• Q 18 -- solve algebraic equations
• Geometry
• Q 39 -- linear equations
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Q 52 -- inductive and deductive reasoning
27
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
28
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.
29
Joint Secondary and PostSecondary 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
30
Hawai`i Timeline
• Feb 23, 2008
• Dialogues between secondary and postsecondary 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
31
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
32
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
33
For More Information
Kathy Jaycox, P-20 Senior Associate
UH Office of the VP for Academic Planning
and Policy
956-7678
jaycox@hawaii.edu
34