The following is the first in a series of monthly articles from Webster County High School regarding efforts to help students earn the distinction of College and/or Career Ready, which is a key component of the Kentucky Department of Education’s “Unbridled Learning” accountability initiative aimed at producing graduates that are better prepared for the rigor of college-level coursework and the increasing demands of the world of work and a global economy.
by Tim Roy
WCHS principal
Blue tassels, gold tassels, black tassels – all symbols of distinction earned by 2013 graduates of Webster County High School as part of the Kentucky Department of Education’s new focus of producing graduates who are better prepared for life after high school. For the past two years, schools at all levels across the commonwealth have been working diligently to meet the mandate that has been presented by KDE and state education commissioner, Dr. Terry Holliday.
The focus has shifted away from the previous model of assessing students and schools with tests that typically were only used and understood by the school and district. Those have now been replaced with a more balanced set measures that are not only universally understood and accepted by public/private schools and post-secondary institutions, but also by the general public and business and industry.
At the high school-level, schools are held accountable for five primary areas: Achievement (performance of students on state assessments); Gap (performance of students who fall into one or more categories classified as “at-risk”); Growth (tracked improvement from when students take the PLAN Test as sophomores until they take the ACT as juniors); Graduation Rate (the percentage of students we retain and graduate within 4 years); and College/Career Readiness (the number of students that can meet the qualifications for one or both categories by the time they graduate).
While most of the five areas of accountability are fairly understandable, the one area we want to make certain that our students, parents and the community are aware of is College/Career Readiness. This particular area is one that we have tremendous potential to immediately impact and has major implications for students and parents, as well as the community as a whole.
College/Career Readiness, as the name suggests, has two very distinctive areas in which students can achieve and prepare themselves for success after high school: College Readiness and Career Readiness.
In order for a student to become College Ready, he/she must demonstrate the ability to perform at a high level on the ACT. The way this is measured can be found in terms of meeting ACT benchmark scores. A perfect score on the ACT is 36; however, in order to reach the benchmark scores on each section of the test (as determined by the Council on Post-secondary Education), a student must earn the following scores: 18 on the English portion; 19 on the Math portion; and 20 on the Reading portion. Currently, in the state of Kentucky, there is no CPE benchmark score for Science. If a student is able to achieve at the benchmark level, ACT research indicates that he/she will have a 75% chance of earning at least a B in college courses. If the student scores below the benchmark scores, the percentage decreases quickly.
Another opportunity for students to earn the College Ready label is by successful completion of one or more COMPASS tests. If a student has not performed up to par on one or more areas of the ACT, he/she can take a single COMPASS test for English, Math, and/or Reading in order to achieve the benchmark score. For the past two years, we have been successful in helping several seniors earn qualifying scores and avoid having to take remedial-level, non-credit-bearing courses when they go to college.
Earning Career Readiness is a bit more complicated. To earn that distinction, a student must meet the criteria in two different areas: Career Ready Academic and Career Ready Technical. The key to Career Readiness is scheduling. To even have an opportunity to earn this title, a student must beenrolled in and complete a sequenced program in one of three areas that WCHS offers:
Agriculture, Family Consumer Sciences, or one of several certification programs at the Webster Count Area Technology Center.
To meet the Career Ready Academic requirement, a student must make a minimum score of 50 on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) assessment, which is typically offered during the junior and senior year. Another means of earning this requirement is by taking and passing the ACT Work Keys assessment (Applied Math, Locating Information, and Reading for Information), which would qualify a student to earn the National Career Ready Certificate (NCRC).
The NCRC is widely recognized by business and industry and is often a requirement in order to even receive an interview for a job. A student must successfully complete either the ASVAB or the ACT Work Keys in this category.
As part of the completion process for technical programs and achieve the Career Ready Technical label, students in the technical programs must take and pass the Kentucky Occupational Skills Standards Assessment (KOSSA), which are typically given during the spring semester. Another avenue to earn Career Ready Technical is by completing requirements to receive an Industry Certificate. Currently, WCHS offers these certificates as part of the following programs: CAD, Health Sciences, Machine Tool, and Welding.
In terms of accountability, our school earns 1 point for every student who becomes College or Career Ready. However, if we are able to graduate a student who is both College and Career Ready, we are rewarded by earning 1.5 points. As you can imagine, our strategy has now become strategic scheduling so that students will have the opportunity to enroll in technical programs and work toward earning both the College and Career Readiness labels.
As we began the 2012/2013 school year, our motto became: One Goal: College/Career Readiness for All Students. During the course of the year, through careful planning, tracking of students, and advising and testing, we were able to move over half of our graduating seniors to one or both of these levels. While we are not where we want to be, currently, our mission is to continue helping more and more students earn qualifying scores and certifications so that they and we can become more successful in preparing them for life after high school. It has to be a collaborative effort involving students, school staff, parents, and commitment on the part of the community. In doing so, it becomes a win-win for all involved.
For the 2013/2014 school year, our mission begins this Thursday, September 19. This is the day when our 10th grade students will take the PLAN Test, which is a predictor of performance on the junior-year ACT and also counts toward school accountability. In addition, our 9th graders will take a practice PLAN and 11th graders will take a practice ACT, which will set the baseline for instruction for the remainder of this academic year. Additionally, representatives from post-secondary education, business/industry and the armed forces will be here to conduct a CCR workshop for our seniors.
As we move forward into the school year, we need your support. Whether or not you have a young person in school, we want you to act as an encourager to our high school students. Talk to them about their PLAN/ACT scores, the types of classes they are taking to prepare for after high school, and what their education and career plans are. The more emphasis they see from school, family and community, the more they will begin to understand the importance of where we are leading them.
Our goal is to have to spend a significant amount of money on those blue, gold, and black tassels for seniors when graduation time rolls around in May. We’re asking for your help in making that happen for our students.
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