Diploma in Hand but No Path Forward
Are Schools Preparing Students to be College- and Career-Ready? New Report Says No.
Forty-seven percent. This figure represents the share of American high school graduates who complete neither a college- nor career-ready course of study, according to a new report released today by The Education Trust.
The report, Meandering Toward Graduation: Transcript Outcomes of High School Graduates, shows that too many students leave high school with a diploma in hand but no clear path forward.
Only 8 percent of high school graduates complete a full college- and career-prep curriculum — defined here as the standard 15-course sequence required for entry at many public colleges, along with three or more credits in a broad career field such as health science or business. The report also reveals that less than one-third of graduates complete a college-ready course of study only, and just 13 percent finish a career-ready course sequence only.
Read the full report, recommendations and resources.
Early Reading Bill Heading to Conference
Last month, after passing the State Senate 31-6, legislators sent House Bill 4822 (Price – R) to conference committee. This committee will hammer out differences in the bills passed by the House and Senate before each chamber takes a final vote on the bill.
Conference committee members include Speaker Kevin Cotter (R – Mt. Pleasant), Representatives Amanda Price (R – Park Township) and Adam Zemke (D – Ann Arbor), and Senators Phil Pavlov (R – St. Clair Township), Geoff Hanson (R – Hart) and David Knezek (D – Dearborn Heights).
The bill is currently supported by much of the public education community, including Oakland Schools and the Michigan Association of School Boards. Additionally, the Great Lakes Education Project (GLEP) identified four issues to be addressed in the conference last week, including recommending the removal of a section that provides parents and legal guardians the right to request a good cause exemption from holding their student back.
Click here for EdTrust-Midwest’s testimony to the Senate on how the bill could better support literacy in Michigan.
Student Assessments Begin
Next week, end-of-year assessments begin for students in grades 5, 8 and high school. While scheduling is left up to districts and schools, 5th and 8th grade students will take the M-STEP assessment in English language arts, math and social studies at some point during the three week assessment window. Students in other grades will take the M-STEP assessment later in April or May.
For the first time this year, Michigan will be using the SAT college entrance assessment. Students in 11th grade will take the SAT on Tuesday, April 12 and ACT WorkKeys on April 13.
Students in 9th and 10th grades will take the PSAT on April 12 or April 13.
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