New Conceptions of College and Career Ready Report Cover

New Conceptions of College and Career Ready

A college and career ready student possesses the content knowledge, strategies, skills, and techniques necessary to be successful in any of a range of postsecondary setting. Success is defined as the ability to complete entry-level courses at a level of performance that is sufficient to enable students to continue to the next courses in their chosen field of study. Not every student needs exactly the same knowledge and skills to be college and career ready. A student’s college and career interests help identify the precise knowledge and skills the student needs.

A New Era for Educational Assessment Cover

A New Era for Educational Assessment

The goal of this paper is to present a vision for a new system of educational assessment, one designed to support the kinds of ambitious teaching and learning that parents say they want for their children. Thankfully, the public schools do not have to create such a system from scratch—many schools already exhibit effective practices upon which others can build. For that to happen though, educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders must be willing to adopt new ways of thinking about the role of assessment in education.

A Complete Definition of College and Career Readiness

A student who is ready for college and career can qualify for and succeed in entry-level, credit- bearing college courses leading to a baccalaureate or certificate, or career pathway-oriented training programs, without the need for remedial or developmental coursework. However, not every student requires the same proficiency in all areas. A student’s interests and post-high school aspirations influence the precise knowledge and skill profiles necessary to be ready for postsecondary studies.

ThinkReady

ThinkReady is an innovative assessment designed to track the development of Key Cognitive Strategies (KCS), which are the thinking skills necessary for college and career readiness and success.

Washington Adequacy Funding Study Report Cover

Washington Adequacy Funding Study

The constitution of the state of Washington declares, “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.” This establishes education and education funding as the highest priorities for the state. In recent years, Washington has experienced periods of rapid student population growth and disproportionate increases in the number of low-income students, the number of students in special education, and the number of students who have limited English proficiency. At the state level, despite the constitutional obligation of the state to provide an adequate education, a significant number of students are falling short of the state’s own expectations, as measured by the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL). The goal of this study was to determine the level of educational expenditure necessary to make ample provision for the education of all students, providing all students with the skills to meet long-term academic standards, pursue additional learning beyond high school, and become productive citizens and contributing members of society.