The College and Career Readiness (CCR) Act Evaluation

Overview:

In 2007 the state of Illinois passed the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Act, Public Act 095-0694, to fund pilot projects consisting of a community college and partner high schools and support the alignment of K-12 curriculum with college level coursework. This 3-year project seeks to evaluate the state’s attempt to align high school and college curriculum and enhance students’ academic preparation and readiness to transition to college. Results have implications for policy and practice at the high school, college, and state policy levels.

Goals:

• How do the partners (community colleges, high schools, and others) collaborate, what roles do they play, and how are partner roles and responsibilities perceived to impact CCR program implementation?
• What goals, elements, policies and practices are employed by the CCR partners in conjunction with implementation of college preparatory/remedial programs and supplemental services?
• What role does the ICCB and other state and local organizations play to support the CCR Act, and what role should they play to support local implementation?

Years two and three will document program implementation and gather detailed information to address the above questions. In addition, the evaluation will seek to ascertain the impact of the CCR pilot programs on high school students’ academic preparation to enter college without needing remediation. Whether students are prepared to begin college and able to succeed in college-level coursework are vitally important outcomes.

Project Profile: