1 Hawai`i’s HS Graduates – Ready for College? – Survey re: Language and Math Skills is a “first step” in the effort to improve readiness January 2008.

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Hawai`i’s HS Graduates –Ready for College?

–

• Survey re: Language and Math Skills is a “first step” in the effort to improve readiness

January 2008

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Too many students drop out of the education pipeline in the nation and

in Hawai`i

65%

33%

21%13%

70%

39%

27%18%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Graduate highschool

Start college Persist 2nd year Earn degree

Perc

enta

ge o

f 9t

h gr

ade

stud

ents

United States

Hawaii

Source: Student Pipeline 2004, unpublished data from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, October 2006. Data are estimates of pipeline progress rather than actual cohort.

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One National Effort – The American Diploma Project

• A partnership of:– K—12 Education– Higher Education– Major Employers

Focused on:

-- ALL students leaving high school ready for work or post-secondary education

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ADP –Four “Action Pillars”

(1) Aligning StandardsAlign high school standards with college and work

expectations

(2) Curriculum and Graduation RequirementsRequire all students to take curriculum aligned with

standards in order to graduate from high school

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Four Pillars (cont’d)

(3) College-Ready AssessmentsInclude “college-ready” test, aligned with state standards, in

high school assessment system

(4) High School and Postsecondary Institutions Accountability

Hold high schools accountable for graduating students college- and work-ready, and hold postsecondary

institutions accountable for student success. 

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Action Pillar 1 --Aligning Standards

• HCPS III English and Math Standards were compared to ADP Benchmark Standards

• Side-by-side analysis revealed:

-- more instruction needed in reading and writing for informational purposes

-- more instruction in math needed, esp. Algebra II

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Aligning Standards (cont.)

• How to align standards?-- Provide survey instruments which get

input from post-sec, employer perspectives

-- Provide opportunities for secondary English and math faculty to work in collaboration with post-secondary English and math faculty and with employers who supervise entry-level employees

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The Surveys

• This report focuses on the surveys of post-secondary faculty, conducted on-line in October 2007.

• Two separate surveys were conducted: one on English skills and one on math skills.

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Who completed them?

• English Survey completed by 290 faculty members:– 258 from the ten UH campuses– 32 from BYUH, Chaminade and HPU

• Math Survey completed by 160 faculty members:– 134 from the ten UH campuses– 26 from BYUH, Chaminade and HPU

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Campus Participation Data – English Survey

85

36

26 23 2320

1512 11

710

4

18

0

20

40

60

80

100

MAN KAP LEE HON MAU HAW HIL WIN WO KAU HPU Cham BYUH

University of Hawai‘i Hawai‘i PrivateInstitutions

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Campus Participation Data – Math Survey

43

17 1614

118 8 7 6

47

4

15

0

10

20

30

40

50

MAN HON KAP HAW LEE MAU WIN WO HIL KAU HPU Cham BYUH

University of Hawai‘i Hawai‘i PrivateInstitutions

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Respondents identified the course. . .

Please indicate below the SINGLE specific course you have in mind as you respond to this survey about English language skills needed for success in the course. Include course name AND number (e.g., MATH 135, AERO 100, NURS 153, PHIL 110, RAD 100, etc.)

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Subject Areas of Responses – English Survey

AHLL217%

Communications10637%

Math7

2%

Natural Sciences30

10%

Career & Tech Ed9

3%

Professional Schs48

17%

Social Sciences69

24%

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Subject Areas of Responses – Math Survey

Math56

34%Natural Sciences

3118%

Career & Tech Ed128%Professional Schs

2013%

Social Sciences25

16%

AHLL128%

Communications4

3%

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Respondents determined degree of skills essential

Rank [the skill listed here] on a scale from 1 (not essential) to 10 (most essential) for a student to be successful in the entry-level course you identified in question #3.

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Eight skill areas in English Survey

• Language• Literature• Communication• Writing • Research • Logic • Media • Informational Text

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Five Skill Areas in Math Survey

• Number Sense and Numerical Operations • Algebra • Geometry • Data Interpretation, Statistics and Probability • Mathematical Reasoning

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What Did the Post-Secondary Surveys Say?

• English Survey– Results reinforce the skills identified as

significant by Achieve and by Hawai`i employers

• Math Survey– Much less agreement about “which skills are

essential”

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English Survey Results

• 22 skills (out of 70 items) rank as essential to student success across multiple academic areas– 8 are writing skills– 4 are “informational text” skills– 3 are communication skills and 3 are research

skills– 2 are language and 2 are logic skills

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Writing Skills

• Q 30 -- Plan writing with notes• Q 31 -- Select and use informal/technical

language• Q 32 -- Organize writing with a thesis, etc• Q 33 – Develop writing process (revise based on

feedback)• Q 34 -- Edit for grammar• Q 35 -- Cite sources• Q 37 -- Use Excel and Powerpoint• Q 38 -- Write an academic essay

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Informational Text Skills

• Q 60 -- Follow written instructions

• Q 61 -- Identify main ideas in informational text

• Q 64 -- Interpret maps, charts, etc

• Q 67 --Draw conclusions based on evidence

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Communication Skills

• Q 23 -- Give and follow instructions• Q 24 -- Summarize oral information• Q 29 -- Work in teams

Research Skills• Q 42 -- Gather info from primary and secondary

sources• Q 43 -- Evaluate credibility of sources• Q 44 -- Report findings within time/length limits

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Language Skills• Q 7 -- Use standard English• Q13 -- Quantitative and Technical Information

Logic Skills• Q 46 -- Distinguish fact from fiction

• Q 54 -- Construct arguments -- oral and written

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Differing Perceptions of Importance by Subject Area --One Example

• Q 13 – Quantitative & Technical Info– Ranked important by faculty from CTE,

Professional Schools and Natural Sciences at twice their rate of participation

– Ranked important by faculty from communications at less than half their rate of participation

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Conclusions -- English

• Consistency across the studies from Achieve, post-secondary faculty and 3-Point’s survey of employers

• Best places to begin dialogue – around the eight writing skills and the four informational text skills

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Math Survey Results

• 5 skills (out of 60 items) rank as essential to student success across multiple academic areas– 3 are algebra skills– 1 is a geometry skill– 1 is a mathematical reasoning skill

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Math Skills

• Algebra• Q 11 -- basic algebra operations • Q 22 -- solve word problems • Q 18 -- solve algebraic equations

• Geometry• Q 39 -- linear equations

• Mathematical Reasoning• Q 52 -- inductive and deductive reasoning

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Differing Perceptions of Importance by Subject Area --One Example

• Q52 – Inductive and Deductive Reasoning is important to social science (at double the proportion of their overall participation) and is also important to natural sciences, but is not important to math faculty

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Conclusions -- Math

• The definition of “college and career ready” -- in terms of math skills -- varies depending upon college major/ career field.

• Additional investigation is needed in order to define “college and career readiness” in math.

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Joint Secondary and Post-Secondary Discussions. . .

• Define what makes a student “ready” for English 100 and for college-level math

• Consider assessments of college readiness that might serve as alternatives to COMPASS for placement into Eng 100 and college-level math

• Gather data about student performance to support recommendations

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Hawai`i Timeline

• Feb 23, 2008• Dialogues between secondary and post-

secondary faculty, facilitated by Achieve, Inc.

• March 2008 Quality Review 2• DOE submits proposed strategies to address

Achieve’s analyses of Hawai`i Content and Performance Standards

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Hawai`i Timeline (cont’d)

• 2008 and Beyond– Identify and secure incentives for students to

earn Career and College Ready Diploma– Collect data to inform decision-making and

evaluation• HI-PASS (expected Jan-Mar 2008)• College-going and remediation data by high school

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Hawai`i Timeline (cont’d)

• 2008 and Beyond (cont’d)– Plan for implementation, including teacher

training, curriculum/course alignment and student support

• Ed Trust West consulting for high schools• Site visit to Cal State’s Early Assessment Program• Curriculum alignment plans

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For More Information

Kathy Jaycox, P-20 Senior Associate

UH Office of the VP for Academic Planning and Policy

956-7678

[email protected]