Moving Forward with College and Career Readiness

by Jessica Barrientos and Brian Durham

INTRODUCTION

Community colleges are the state of Illinois’ leaders in the delivery of developmental/remedial education. From 2003–2007, community college students in Illinois earned an average of 385,772 credit hours in developmental education (Illinois Community College Board [ICCB], 2008).  Further, the percentage of first-time, full-time students in Illinois required to take developmental/remedial coursework averages 50% percent, with some districts as high as 80 percent (Illinois Board of Higher Education [IBHE], 2008).  These statistics suggest that graduates will immediately encounter academic obstacles.  The College and Career Readiness (CCR) Pilot Program was designed to combat this problem by making students’ transition from high school to college more seamless and by reducing the need for developmental/remedial education.  

The CCR Act, Public Act 095-0694, became effective in November of 2007.  Sponsored by Senator Edward Maloney and Representative David Miller, the legislation was funded in the amount of a $750,000 appropriation to the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB).  The program grants funds to Moraine Valley Community College, South Suburban College, Southwestern Illinois College, and a partnership between John A. Logan College and Shawnee Community College.  These colleges were selected to participate based on a number of criteria, including demographics, geographic diversity, and partnerships with local high schools.  The response to the CCR Pilot Program has been overwhelmingly positive.  Faculty members, counselors, and administrators from both secondary and postecondary institutions, along with civic and business leaders, are discussing the needs of their respective communities and collaborating to develop effective interventions.    

The five CCR Pilot Programs are to meet five specific objectives specified in the legislation:

1. Diagnose college readiness through the development of a system that aligns ACT scores to specific community college courses in developmental and freshman curriculum;
2. Reduce the need for remedial coursework in math, reading, and writing at the college level; 
   
3. Align high school and college curriculum;
   
4. Provide resources and academic support to enrich students’ senior year of high school; and
   
5. Develop an appropriate evaluation process to measure effectiveness of intervention strategies.

DIAGNOSING COLLEGE READINESS

ACT has been a committed partner through this process. As a part of the diagnosis of college readiness, the colleges submitted developmental and general education transfer courses to ACT’s Course Placement Service. This service assesses a college’s cutoff test scores for entry into courses.  In addition to working with ACT, all sites utilized a local college placement exam to determine student placement in their interventions.  In the second year of this pilot, the ICCB, in cooperation with ACT, invited colleges from around the state to participate in the Course Placement Service.  To date, over 40 colleges have submitted their courses for ACT analysis. 

REDUCING THE NEED FOR DEVELOPMENTAL/REMEDIAL COURSEWORK

To reduce the need for developmental/remedial coursework in math, reading, and writing, the pilot program sites are administering a number of interventions that target current high school juniors and seniors.  The types of interventions vary in scope, timeline, and method. The diversity in the initiatives reflects the diverse needs of the community colleges’ districts and the various innovative responses to the legislation’s mandate.

During the first year, John A. Logan College (JALC) developed a summer orientation that offered incoming freshman the opportunity to learn about the college and the CCR Pilot Program, along with a three-day math intervention focused on math remediation. For the second year of the CCR Pilot Program, JALC is expanding its math intervention to six weeks.

After taking the COMPASS test, seniors attending three partner high schools associated with Moraine Valley Community College (MVCC) were invited to participate in an 8-week summer program at MVCC to receive instruction in math, study skills, and “college knowledge”.  The focus on graduating seniors will continue during the second year, but attention to high school juniors will become a larger component. 

Shawnee Community College(SCC) delivered a summer intervention that incorporated the CCR Act goals into an established credit recovery program.  The credit recovery program was complimented with an academic enrichment component, providing students an opportunity to further develop their college and career readiness. 

Southwestern Illinois College(SWIC) administered the College Success Initiative (CSI) to give qualified students in high-need areas the chance to improve their college and career readiness knowledge.  CSI was a semester-long program during the spring of 2008 that provided instruction in math remediation, college counseling, and academic tutoring.  In year two of the CCR Pilot Program, SWIC will expand its CSI program to the fall and spring semesters and provide more student-focused workshops with additional partner high schools. 

During the first year of the CCR Pilot Program, South Suburban College (SSC) implemented the Academic Intervention for Matriculation, or AIM Program, to provide qualified juniors from three partner high schools the opportunity to improve their skills in math or reading/writing.  During the second year of the pilot program, SSC will increase its number of partner high schools to recruit more students and expand its AIM Program to include multiple cohorts.

ICCB continues to emphasize the importance of student impact.  These interventions have the potential to provide a large number of students with the skills and knowledge needed for college and career readiness.  During year two, ICCB has requested that sites outline their recruitment strategies.  ICCB has provided sites with feedback and facilitated conversations between the sites so that the program administrators can learn about effective recruitment methods that other sites are implementing. 

ALIGNING HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE CURRICULUM

Across the sites, program administrators stressed that the approach taken to curricular alignment must be one of collaboration and to avoid playing a “blame game” of high schools’ alleged academic deficiencies.  Faculty members from both high schools and community colleges are eager to provide their input on student transitions and to learn about curricular alignment and best practices.

Arrangements for discussing curricular alignment vary at each site.  JALC held numerous workshops and meetings that gave faculty members an opportunity to talk about their high school students’ needs and to identify promising practices for readying students for college.  With the CCR Act grant, SWIC was able to further enhance and expand existing curricular alignment projects in which high school and community college members compare grading rubrics and grading styles. SCC held a CCR Summit with high school and college faculty to identify strategies to help students reduce remediation.  Comparison of grading rubrics are also a component of SCC’s curricular alignment agenda.   

Conversations about curricular alignment are not always easy.  MVCC found it important to hire a high school liaison to represent both the high school and community college perspectives on curricular alignment and assist in facilitating communication between institutions. The liaison helped to bring the parties together to engage in a productive dialogue about future opportunities.

ENRICHING THE SENIOR YEAR

Several of the interventions delivered last year were designed to include high school seniors, such as SSC’s AIM program and SWIC’s CSI program.  These program sites will continue to enhance these models while other sites will implement academic enrichment opportunities for juniors and seniors throughout the school year.  For example, SCC intends to offer ACT preparation workshops and science enrichment activities, while JALC will provide seniors with CCR guides/tutors and offer dual credit opportunities for qualified students.   

Administering the COMPASS test to high school seniors is also a goal of all program sites.  After students take the test, they will have a chance to learn the meaning of their test scores through follow-up assemblies and workshops.  It is the hope that by understanding the significance of COMPASS scores, students will better understand what is needed to be college ready. 

EVALUATION PROCESS

The ICCB has contracted with the Office of Community College Research and Leadership (OCCRL) at the University of Illinois to evaluate the project.  The OCCRL brings years of experience to evaluation and significant expertise surrounding transitions from high school to college.  The state is using the evaluation to describe the programs and practices that the pilot sites are using, to assess student outcomes, and to plan for sustainability beyond the life of the project, including documenting how the colleges are evaluating their own programs. 

During the second year of the evaluation, programs are asked to submit information on how they are using the OCCRL evaluation in the development of their own local evaluation.  In the third year, the evaluation will focus more intensively on student outcomes and sustainability, both in these pilots and on the continuation of the legislation.  Evaluation results are a critical tool to making this a reality.

THE STATE’S ROLE

The ICCB intends to provide program administrators a national perspective of curricular alignment.  At future meetings, program administrators will learn about approaches other states are taking to address curricular alignment and to develop state and local policies that attempt to smooth the transition from high school to college.  

The CCR Pilot Program is an important part of the larger state agenda around strengthening the transition from high school to college and reducing leakages in the educational pipeline.  For example, the Public Agenda for College and Career Success (Public Agenda), led by the Illinois Board of Higher Education (2008), places developmental/remedial education as a centerpiece of its several goals. The Public Agenda says Illinois must “reduce remediation for recent high school graduates through stronger postsecondary/high school partnerships for early identification and correction of gaps in knowledge and skills” (IBHE, 2008, p. 18).  The CCR Act will facilitate local community college integration into this broader higher education initiative. 

Also, Illinois is the 34th American Diploma Project (ADP) state.  Originating from Achieve, Inc., the ADP is aimed at aligning high school standards to college curriculum and closing the gap between high school and college expectations (Achieve, Inc., 2009; Office of the Governor, 2008).  The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is working with the ICCB, the IBHE, and the Illinois Business Roundtable, along with countless other state and local stakeholders, to achieve this goal. Colleges that have already participated in the CCR Pilot Program and the ACT Course Placement Service are poised to partner in this initiative as it begins to be implemented locally. 

Recently, Senators Heather Steans, Kimberly A. Lightford, Edward D. Maloney, James T. Meeks, Pamela J. Althoff and Dan Cronin sponsored the P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act.  If passed, this Act would require the development of a P-20 student unit record system (P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act, 2009).  This legislation mirrors a goal of the Public Agenda and provides an opportunity to refine and develop the data driven decision-making that often eludes developmental/remedial education policy. This legislation will help drive better alignment between secondary and postsecondary systems, a critical component of strengthening college readiness (Achieve, 2009; Callan, P., Finney, J., Kirst, M., Usdan, M., Venezia, A., 2006; IBHE, 2008).

CONCLUSION

The CCR Pilot Program has not been without its obstacles.  The late appropriation of grant monies during year one (due to a delayed state budget) prompted the pilot sites to develop intervention strategies quickly to meet the mandates of the legislation.  During the second year, the pilots have been able to devote the necessary time and resources to fully develop their innovative interventions and readiness prescriptions.  Some of these interventions are working better than others.  However, this fits with the ICCB’s overall expectation for CCR and the philosophical goal of the law, to examine what works and to develop effective strategies of developmental/remedial education and curricular alignment that can be pursued aggressively and sustained. 

The ICCB commends the pilots for their work thus far.  Nonetheless, the ICCB and the community college system recognize the daunting nature of the problem. Only through continued innovation, trial and error, and support from the General Assembly can the projects be sustained. Efforts thus far have been fruitful but more will be required in the coming years as the economy cools further and the number of enrollments in the system climb. With an increase in enrollments, students’ developmental/remedial educational needs are expected to increase.  The CCR pilots are expected to lead the state in providing preparation and remediation for future classes of community college students.

REFERENCES

Achieve, Inc., (2009).  Closing the expectations gap.  Retrieved March 5, 2009 from http://www.achieve.org/ADPNetwork

Callan, P., Finney, J., Kirst, M., Usdan, M., Venezia, A. (2006). Claiming common ground:  state policymaking for improving college readiness and success. The Institute for Educational Leadership. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from http://www.highereducation.org/reports/reports.shtml

College and Career Readiness Pilot Program Act, Public Act 095-0694 (2007).

Illinois Board of Higher Education. (2008). A public agenda for college and career success.  Springfield:  Illinois Board of Higher Education.  Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.ibhe.org/masterPlanning/materials/010909_PublicAgenda.pdf

Illinois Community College Board. (2008). Illinois Community College System Transitions Report. Springfield:  Illinois Community College Board. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.iccb.org/pdf/reports/TransitionsReport08.pdf

Office of the Governor. (2008). Illinois joins American Diploma Project, moves to tighten academic standards and better prepare students for college and the workforce. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://www.isbe.net/news/2008/oct12.pdf

P-20 Longitudinal Education Data System Act, SB1828, 96th Illinois General Assembly (2009).

Jessica Barrientos is Director of Academic Affairs at the Illinois Community College Board and can be reached at jessica.barrientos@illinois.gov.

Brian Durham is Senior Director for Academic Affairs & Career and Technical Education at the Illinois Community College Board and can be reached at brian.durham@illinois.gov.