Kentucky's P-16 Council as Agent of Change: Implications for College and Career Readiness in Illinois

by Jason L. Taylor

INTRODUCTION

Established in 1999, Kentucky’s P-16 Council is an advisory board and coordinating body for Kentucky’s education system, particularly the Kentucky Department of Education (P-12) and Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education. The P-16 Council was formed for the purpose of improving communication and collaboration between the two agencies in an effort to increase student success at the secondary and postsecondary levels (Kentucky Council, 2008). The P-16 Council has since expanded to include representatives from Kentucky Adult Education, Kentucky Workforce Investment and other business and community representatives. This article uses document review and analysis of meeting minutes from the Kentucky P-16 Council, Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education (CPE) and the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) to highlight select college and career readiness efforts. Based on the policies implemented over the last several years, this article considers the role of Kentucky’s P-16 Council in advancing college and career readiness and considers implications of Kentucky’s efforts for Illinois.

THE EMERGING P16/P20 CONTEXT

The notion of a P-16 Council is a relatively recent idea that has emerged in many states to connect parts of the overall education system that has been disconnected historically. Early documentation of P-16 Councils highlight variation in name and structure, but most are named a P-16 or P-20 Council and include preschool, K-12, and postsecondary education (Van de Water & Rainwater, 2001). Education Week conducted an inventoryin 2008 that showed 40 states have established P-16 or P-20 Councils (Hightower, 2008), and most attempt to address the following kinds of systemic issues by expanding access, aligning standards, easing student transition, reducing remediation, strengthening the relationships between educators and families, improving accountability, and improving teacher quality (Krueger, 2006; Van de Water & Rainwater, 2001). 

KENTUCKY'S P-16 COUNCIL

Since its inception, the Kentucky P-16 Council has reported periodic progress reviews of P-16 collaborations in the state. The most recent review appears in Kentucky P-16 Collaboration: A Review After Eight Years, released in September, 2007. This document is divided into six parts:

• Teacher preparation and professional development—from early childcare through grade 12
• Alignment of P-12 and postsecondary curriculum and competency standards between high school and college
• Increasing the college-going rate and success of Kentucky’s students
• Improved data systems
• E-learning and access
• Local P-16 Councils.

Each section describes progress on P-16 collaboration, with implications for college and career readiness.

This article describes three policies articulated under the category of alignment of P-12 and postsecondary curriculum and competency standards between high school and college: the Statewide Placement Policy, the Revised High School Graduation Requirements, and the Statewide Administration of the Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS), ACT and WorkKeys. 

STATEWIDE PLACEMENT POLICY

The Statewide Placement Policy is a standard postsecondary placement policy for English and mathematics that was implemented by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) in 2004, with the full support of the P-16 Council (State P-16 Council, September 2007). Prior to implementation of this policy, Kentucky embarked on a series of processes beginning with CPE’s call to public institutions for benchmarks. Second, the CPE convened two placement policy groups, one in math and the other in English. Each policy group was composed of nine members who represented each of the eight public universities and one representative of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Third, the policy groups developed the policies and shared them among their colleagues at each institution. Finally, recommendations were presented by the CPE to the P-16 Council (State P-16 Council, 2004).

The placement policy standardizes English and math placement in public postsecondary institutions based on students’ ACT scores as an indicator of readiness for credit-bearing college coursework. The cutoff scores, one for English and three for various levels of math, mandate placement in credit-bearing coursework in a public postsecondary institution. The English policy states that an ACT English sub-score of 18 or higher qualifies a student for a credit-bearing writing course. The math policy states: 1) an ACT math sub-score of 19 or higher qualifies a student for a credit-bearing math course; 2) an ACT math sub-score of 22 or higher qualifies a student for college algebra; and 3) an ACT math sub-score of 27 or higher qualifies a student for placement in calculus. The policy also notes that institutions may exercise individual discretion for students who do not meet the cutoff scores.  This placement policy is applicable to all public postsecondary institutions, including colleges within the technical and community college system. (State P-16 Council, 2004)

REVISION OF HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Another initiative aimed at improving college and career readiness resulted from the approval of a regulation to update and raise minimum high school graduation requirements1. The regulation was given final approval in 2006 by the KDE oversight board, the Kentucky Board of Education (Kentucky Board, February 2006). Reflective of college and career readiness, an articulated goal is the preparation of students for postsecondary entrance and careers (State P-16 Council, December 2005). Three noteworthy activities stand out in Kentucky’s efforts to raise graduation requirements.

First, the revisions take a broad view of graduation requirements, avoiding making simple changes to courses and disciplines. Kentucky’s approach includes changes to both “content and standards” (Kentucky Board, February 2006, p. 2). Rather than conceiving of minimum requirements as exclusively courses or years (e.g., 4 years of English courses), the approach includes a comprehensive set of criteria with detailed content and standards.

A second notable activity was a discussion of whether students should graduate high school with competency in a second language. This suggestion elicited high levels of discussion by the KBE and received full support from the P-16 Council.  Presumably, supporters were seeking ways to increase graduate competition in the workforce and increase the academic preparation of graduates entering postsecondary education who choose advanced language coursework. However, the second language requirement was not included in the final revised graduation requirements. There was interest to continue conversations and development work about this requirement and the KBE passed a motion to “develop capacity…and move toward the goal of students demonstrating competence by 2016” (Kentucky Board, January 2006, p. 9)

The third major revision to the graduation requirements includes a provision to increase the mathematics requirement. Final changes in the high school graduation requirements indicate that a math course is taken all four years of high school (instead three years) and Algebra II as a required course (Kentucky Board, January 2006). 

Some opposition to the Algebra II requirement came from those who believed that an “opt-out” option should be available for students, resulting in the insertion of two alternatives to the Algebra II requirement. One alternative is an “integrated, applied, interdisciplinary or technical/occupational course” to replace a math course while also adhering to content standards (Kentucky Board, January 2006, p. 7). The other alternative is the option of attaining a credential indicating work readiness and employability. These alternatives demonstrate Kentucky’s desire to promote college and career readiness by providing multiple paths to a single credential for all high school students.

The broad rationale for the modified graduation requirements also promote college and career readiness as reflected in a KDE staff note: “the amendments to the minimum requirements are just one of the necessary steps in the broader refocusing secondary initiative that will ensure students reach the goal of being credentialed as prepared for the next level of education or work” (Kentucky Department, February 2006, p. 5).  

STATEWIDE ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION

A third policy relative to college and career readiness and advanced by the P-16 Council was legislative Senate Bill 130, passed by the Kentucky General Assembly in 2006 that requires statewide administration of the Educational Planning and Assessment System (EPAS), the ACT, and the voluntary administration of WorkKeys. EPAS “provides a longitudinal, systematic, approach to educational career planning, assessment, instructional support, and evaluation” (ACT, 2008a).

Essentially, EPAS is a system that encourages successful student transitions from middle school to high school to college. Four components – student planning, instructional support, assessment, and evaluation – allow adjustments by students, teachers, schools, and districts. The ACT is a standardized exam (also part of the EPAS system) used for college admissions and placement decisions in Kentucky, and WorkKeys is a system developed by ACT that measures career readiness by assessing individuals’ job skills against employer standards (ACT, 2008b). The bill requires a careful and active integration of EPAS into the education system by mandating that: a) high school readiness is assessed in 8th grade (EXPLORE); b) college readiness is assessed in 10th grade (PLAN); and c) the ACT is administered to all students in 11th grade.

Beyond the use of EPAS as an assessment system, the bill mandates a certain degree of utilization of assessment scores. This legislation specifies at least two uses for exam results: 1) students scoring high are counseled and encouraged to enroll in advanced courses of study; and 2) students who score low must participate in accelerated learning. Both outcomes demonstrate a commitment to support individual learners and encourage acceleration to better prepare students for the next level of education. In addition to using assessment results for individual counseling, the legislation specifies the generation of an individual report that includes test scores and an evaluation of passing/not passing standards to “identify, assess, and remedy academic deficiencies prior to high school graduation” (Kentucky Senate Bill 130, 2006, p. 7). By making this information available to students, parents, and teachers, the state supports opportunities for student success.

The EPAS system has been strengthened by recent work to link assessments to standards. Given the misalignments that sparked new polices, Kentucky aligned their Program of Studies for Kentucky Schools Primary-12, Core Content for Assessment, and the American Diploma Project (ADP) College Readiness Standards. A result of these alignment activities was a document that aligns Kentucky’s Program of Studies standards with ACT’s College Readiness Standards (Kentucky Department, 2008). The aggregation of these seemingly disparate components was the alignment of state secondary content and standards to secondary assessments and to college and career readiness expectations (Kentucky Council, July 2006).

IMPLICATIONS FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS IN ILLINOIS

Has Kentucky’s P-16 Council contributed to the advancement of college and career readiness activities? Without question, the P-16 Council has contributed to college and career readiness. Many of the changes to alignment activities and policies can be attributed to Kentucky’s participation in ADP, of which Kentucky was one of five pilot states. ADP aims to create stronger links between secondary and postsecondary educators at the state level by helping participating states to “create a system of assessments and graduate requirements that – considered together – signify readiness for college and work” (Achieve, Inc., 2004, p. 7). The college and career readiness goals articulated by ADP are similar to the original goals articulated by Kentucky’s P-16 Council (State P-16 Council, December 2004), and Kentucky’s P-16 Council has been cited as a primary promoter of ADP activities in Kentucky (Klein, 2008).

Illinois has recently added two elements to state policy similar to Kentucky. First, Illinois became the 34th state to join the ADP Network in 20082, and second, the legislature passed a statute authorizing the formation of a P-20 Council. It seems the confluence of the ADP and the P-16 Council (and likely other variables) helped to advance college and career readiness in Kentucky. Whether the recent adoption of these initiatives will stimulate change in Illinois is unknown, but anticipated. Similar to Kentucky, Illinois would benefit from embarking on a collective process of benchmarking and creating buy-in before attempting to implement readiness standards. By building consensus, Illinois could move forward to define statewide standards.

How should Illinois proceed with the P-20 Council? Education Week’s June 5, 2008 edition on P-16/P-20 Councils reviews various state council efforts and provides recommendations for implementation of a Council. At the least, it appears that Kentucky’s P-16 Council provides an official forum for state education leaders to communicate, collaborate, and send a consistent message to various constituencies and the public. Similarly, agendas and discussions are documented and posted on the KPE and KDE websites so meeting minutes and supporting documents are easily accessible. It is also worth studying Kentucky’s Regional and Local P-16 Councils, which have been credited with advancing collaborative work at the local level and strengthening state level work.

The type of collaborative policy work conducted by the Kentucky P-16 Council is informative to Illinois and should be studied by policymakers and state agencies. The Illinois P-20 Council has the potential to positively affect college and career readiness systematically, and policies can be enhanced by careful review and consideration of P-16/P-20 efforts in Kentucky and other states.

REFERENCES

Achieve, Inc. (2004). Ready or not: Creating a high school diploma that counts. Retrieved October 26, 2008 from http://www.achieve.org/files/ADPreport_7.pdf

ACT. (2008a). Educational planning and assessment. Retrieved November 18, 2008 from http://www.act.org/epas/index.html

ACT (2008b). WorkKeys. Retrieved November 18, 2008 from http://www.act.org/workkeys/index.html

Hightower, A.M. (2008). State councils vary in form and focus. [Electronic Version]. Education Week.

Kentucky Board of Education. (2006, February). Kentucky Board of Education regular meeting: Summary minutes. Retrieved December 4, 2008 from http://www.education.ky.gov/users/spalmer/KBE%20Summary%20Minutes%20of%20Feb%202006%20mtg.pdf

Kentucky Board of Education. (2006, January). Kentucky Board of Education regular meeting: Summary meetings. Retrieved December 5, 2008 from http://www.education.ky.gov/users/spalmer/KBE%20Summary%20Minutes%20of%20January%202006%20mtg.pdf

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. (2004). Statewide Public Postsecondary Placement Policy. Retrieved November 8, 2008 http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/54D3A49D-7AB0-4C2A-AF94-3F5BAAA13945/0/20041108_AgendaItem7.pdf

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. (2006, July). Minutes. Retrieved November 2, 2008 from http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/AAF151AE-5620-4B14-96A6-3AF80B096D5D/0/071006CPE.pdf

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. (2008). State P-16 Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved November 2, 2008 from http://cpe.ky.gov/committees/p16/p16_faq.htm

Kentucky Department of Education. (2006, February). Staff Note. Retrieved November 26, 2008 from http://www.education.ky.gov/kde/administrative+resources/kentucky+board+of+education/february+12+2006+kbe+regular+meeting.htm

Kentucky Department of Education. (2008). Program of Studies and College Readiness Alignment. Retrieved November 28, 2008 from http://www.education.ky.gov/users/otl/POS_CRSA/Program_of_Studies_and_College_Readiness_Standards_Alignment.pdf

Kentucky Senate Bill 130. (2006). Retrieved December 4, 2008 from http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/06rs/SB130.htm

Klein, A. (2008). For Kentucky’s P-16 Council, quiet influence proves best. [Electronic Version] Education Week.

Krueger, C. (2006). P-16 collaboration in the States. Education Commission of the States. Retrieved November 7, 2008 from http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/69/26/6926.pdf

State P-16 Council. (2004, December). Minutes. Retrieved November 8, 2008 from http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/17CDF687-787F-4780-922D-084B8F515EED/0/20050323_minutes20041214.pdf

State P-16 Council. (2005, December). Minutes. Retrieved December 4, 2008 from http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/7977931E-F82A-412A-B592-F1B33FE244B6/0/December2005Minutes.pdf

State P-16 Council. (2007, September). Kentucky P-16 collaboration: A review after eight years. Retrieved November 2, 2008 from http://cpe.ky.gov/committees/p16/

Statewide P-16 Council Agenda. (2005, December). Attachment A: Kentucky Minimum High School Graduation Requirements. Retrieved November 23, 2008 from http://cpe.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/BD424A2B-D03F-4294-9C84-44F3DE28FA6A/0/VAAttachmentAHSGradrequirementschart.pdf

Van de Water, G. & Rainwater, T. (2001). What is P-16 education? A Primer for legislators – A practical introduction to the concept, language, and policy issues of an integrated system of public education. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED454592)

Jason Taylor is a Master’s degree student in Higher Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He currently works as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Office of Community College Research and Leadership and can be reached at taylor26@illinois.edu.