News Briefs

Ten Recommended State Actions Related to Data Systems

In 2009, the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) initiated the following 10 state actions to improve the use of test scores to track students’ progress every day and not just at the end of the school year: link data systems; create stable, sustained support; develop governance structures; build state data repositories; provide timely, role-based access to data; create progress reports with student-level data for educators, students, and parents; create reports with longitudinal statistics to guide system-level change; develop a purposeful research agenda; implement policies and promote practices to build educators’ capacity to use data; and promote strategies to raise awareness of available data. Since that time, DQC has reported national and state progress toward achieving these 10 goals. This year’s report (DQC, 2014) shows this progress toward reaching the goals:

DQC suggests that high-quality reporting is trustworthy, focused on meeting people’s information needs, timely and ongoing, and easy to find, access, and understand. They conclude, “Data can be used every day to help every student succeed regardless of where he or she lives” (DQC, 2014, p. 18).

College Attainment Rates

A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (2014) examines college enrollment and college attainment rates (see Completing College: A National View of College Attainment Rates—Fall 2008 Cohort). Their database tracks 96% of the nation’s total college enrollment. Institutions submit enrollment data several times per term to the Clearinghouse each year, which results in highly current data. Looking at the 6-year paths of first-time students enrolled in college in 2008, the Clearinghouse reported that 2.7 million students enrolled in college but only 55% of those students earned a degree or certificate by fall 2014. At 4-year public institutions, 62.8% of students earned a degree within 6 years. However, the completion rate for 2-year institutions, regardless of whether the completion occurred at a 2- or 4-year institution, was just 39.1%. For students who started at 2-year institutions and transferred to 4-year institutions, just 16.2% earned a degree. At 4-year for-profit institutions, 38.4% of students completed within 6 years, similar to 2-year institutions. As older students might have returned to education from the workforce to gain skills while waiting for the employment climate to improve, the Clearinghouse suggested that this latter completion rate might be attributed to improving economic conditions (e.g., students left to return to the job market). Because of the variation in completion rates, the Clearinghouse suggests that measures need to be developed that capture the complexity of students’ postsecondary pathways. To help students successfully complete college, institutions have the obligation to adjust their institutional practices to meet the needs of their student population, including part-time and mixed enrollment students, adult learners, and students who delay enrolling in college for a few years after high school.

Opportunities for African American Girls

A recent report from the National Women’s Law Center and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (2014) suggests that the ongoing experiences of African American girls in schools is rarely considered or discussed. Because of the intersection of race and gender discrimination, African American girls confront these obstacles to achievement in school:

To address these obstacles, the authors make these recommendations for policy makers, schools and districts, parents and caregivers, advocates, and philanthropic organizations:

Principal Turnover

Strong principals positively influence the school culture, the instructional quality of teachers, and the students’ academic performance. Positive effects require efforts by the same leader for at least 5 years. Unfortunately, a recent report from the School Leaders Network (2014) found that 25% of the country’s principals leave their schools each year and almost 50% quit during their third year. Those who remain frequently do not stay at high poverty schools. Principals leave for many reasons: workload, expensive personal costs related to long hours, local and state policies that limit principal’s decision-making power, and isolation. They suggest that these specific solutions are needed to improve retention:

College Policies Mixed on Accepting Advanced Coursework

Students frequently take more advanced classes in high school to increase their chances of being admitted to a highly selective school, gaining credit for college courses, having opportunities to work with other high-achieving students, and/or learning from a favored teacher (Adams, 2014). Parents also view Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and dual-enrollment courses as avenues for their children to earn college credit and ultimately save money needed for tuition. However, colleges and even departments within a college do not have uniform policies for recognizing AP, IB, and dual-credit courses. According to the College Board, 68% of policies give AP credit for a score of 3 or better on a scale of 1 to 5 and another 30% for a score of 4, with 2% requiring a score of 5. However, the California Institute of Technology and Dartmouth College refuse to use AP for credit or placement. Because of the inconsistency, some state legislatures are passing laws requiring public institutions to accept advanced course credits. For example, more than a dozen states require public institutions to accept AP exam scores for credit, setting the minimum at a score of 3. Twenty-two states have adopted policies guaranteeing that dual-enrollment credits be accepted by colleges. Regardless of whether or not credits are accepted, the National Student Clearinghouse reports that students who enter higher education with college-level experience through dual enrollment have higher 6-year graduation rates. The College Board reports similar results finding that those who pass AP exams are more likely to graduate on time in 4 years when compared with academically and demographically matched peers. IB suggests that the purpose of their courses is not to get students college credit but to prepare them for college work, emphasizing critical thinking.