Ready For The Future

Ready for the FutureEducator Convenings

•Rowan University October 6, 2006•The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey October 10, 2006•Montclair State University October 12, 2006•The College of New Jersey October 16, 2006•County College of Morris October 18, 2006

Our world is changing—What will this require of our kids?

The world we know is changing

• Our economy is now global.• New technologies are being developed

each day reshaping our way of life in the process.

• Technological advances are eliminating lower-skill jobs.

• High schools will need to change in order to adequately prepare all students.

There was a time when…

• Mail was delivered by horse and it took six months to deliver a letter from New Jersey to California.

• Trains/cars took six days to deliver a letter from New Jersey to California.

• Planes could deliver a letter overnight.• But now, the Internet takes seconds to

send a message.

Circa 1990

• Things that did not yet exist include:– Cell phones– Digital cameras– Wireless connections– DVDs– Satellite television– E-mail and instant messaging

Technological advances tend to eliminate lower-skill jobs

• Lower-skill jobs are disappearing:– Toll takers replaced by E-Z Pass– Telephone operators replaced by voice

recognition systems– Bank tellers replaced by ATM machines and

online banking programs

Competitive pressures on New Jersey graduates

• Now that employers have a global workforce to draw from, competition for U.S. jobs comes from around the world.

• Today’s students will need the skills necessary to compete in a global arena.

Employment outlook• Jobs that require at least some postsecondary

education are expected to make up more than two-thirds of new jobs.

• With only 25% of today’s New Jersey high school graduates actually obtaining a college degree, who will fill these jobs? Will these jobs stay in New Jersey?

• Those who complete college earn, on average, almost $1 million more than high school graduates over the course of a lifetime.

Share of new jobs, 2000–10that require…

10%

22%

36%31%

0%

20%

40%

60%

High schooldropout

High schooldiploma

Somepostsecondary

credential

Bachelor'sdegree

Source: Carnevale, Anthony P. and Donna M. Desrochers, Standards for What? The Economic Roots of K–16 Reform, Educational Testing Service, 2003.

Workforce readiness also requires advanced skills and knowledge

• A high school diploma is no longer a ticket to the middle class.

• Blue-collar jobs now require high-level skills:– Requirements for car mechanic

• The ability to read at a level equivalent to a junior in college

– Requirements for tool and die makers • Four or five years of apprenticeship and/or postsecondary training• Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and statistics

– Requirements for sheet metal workers• Four or five years of apprenticeship• Algebra, geometry, trigonometry and technical reading

What does being prepared mean?

Prepared equals

• Students must graduate from high school ready for the workforce or further education.

The American Diploma Project (ADP)

• ADP benchmarks represent a consensus of business and higher education viewpoints on essential skills.

• The NJ Chamber of Commerce and The NJ Council of College and University Presidents have endorsed the ADP Benchmarks.

Graduates going on to college or work need the same skills

Source—American Diploma Project Network

CollegeMath

Required Skills:

! Add, subtract, multiply, divide and simplify rational expressions

! Understand functional notation

! Solve systems of two linear equations in two variables

! Solve quadratic equations in one variable

! Graph a linear equation and quadratic function

! Determine the perimeter and the circumference of geometric shapes

Machine OperatorEastman Chemical Company

Required Skills:

! Add, subtract, multiply, divide and simplify rational expressions

! Calculate and apply ratios, proportions and percentages to solve problems

! Recognize and solve problems using a linear equation and one variable

! Apply units correctly in expressions involving measurements

! Determine the perimeter and the circumference of geometric shapes

ADP Benchmarks outline a rigorous sequence of courses for high school

students

• Four math courses– Content equivalent to:

• Algebra I and II• Geometry• A fourth course such

as statistics or precalculus

• Four English courses– Content equivalent to:

• Four years of grade-level English or higher (e.g., honors or Advanced Placement English)

How do New Jersey’s students measure up?

Too many New Jersey students are dropping out of the education system

90%

60%

44%

25%

68%

40%

27%18%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Graduate highschool

Start college Persist 2ndyear

Earn degree

Per

cent

age

of 9

th g

rade

stu

dent

s

New JerseyUnited States

Source: National Center for Public Policy & Higher Education, Policy Alert, April 2004. Data are estimates of pipeline progress rather than actual cohort.

How ready for college are New Jersey students?

• While New Jersey leads the nation in college preparedness, it still leaves about half of its students underprepared for the rigor of higher education.

College instructors confirm high school graduates lack preparation

Source: Peter D. Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies, Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? prepared for Achieve, Inc., 2005.

• According to a recent Achieve, Inc. survey of college instructors, 42% of high school graduates are not prepared for college-level classes.

New Jersey public college and university remediation rates

Institution % Needing Remediation

Kean 70%

Montclair 54%

New Jersey City University 62%

NJIT 40%**

Ramapo 23%

Rowan 21%

Rutgers 33%

Stockton 14%

The College of New Jersey 8%

William Paterson 72%

Total 40%

Among first-time students

**Estimate

Community college remediation ratesCommunity College % Needing Remediation

Atlantic Cape 77.6%

Bergen 81.8%

Brookdale 79.8%

Burlington 73.8%

Camden 81.0%

Cumberland 80%

Essex 91.4%

Gloucester 73.2%

Hudson 67.9%

Mercer 83%

Middlesex 78.5%

Morris 76%

Ocean 67.7%

Passaic 96.3%

Raritan Valley 78%

Salem 92.5%

Sussex 75%

Union 67%

Warren 75%

Total 77.8%

First-time, full-time students who graduated from high school in Spring 2004 and enrolled at a community college in Fall 2004.

Most U.S. college students who take remedial courses fail to earn degrees

76%

63%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Remedial reading Remedial math

Per

cent

age

of c

olle

ge s

tude

nts

Percentage not earning degree by type of remedial coursework

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, The Condition of Education, 2004.

New Jersey college graduation rates

• The six-year graduation rate for New Jersey’s state colleges and universities is 63.2%.

• The three-year graduation rate for New Jersey’s community colleges is 13.2%.

New Jersey state college and university retention/graduation rates

Institution 3-Semester Retention(Returning Sophomores)

6-Year Graduation

Kean 76.3% 45.1%

Montclair 82.2% 58.3%

New Jersey City University 74.4% 38.1%

NJIT 81.1% 55.2%

Ramapo 89.1% 57.1%

Rowan 87.1% 62.2%

Rutgers 87.5% 69%

Stockton 83.7% 61.8%

The College of New Jersey 99.1% 82.7%

William Paterson 76.4% 48.1%

Total 84.9% 63.2%

Among full-time, first-time degree seeking students

Community college retention/graduation ratesInstitution 3-Semester Retention

(Returning Sophomores)3-Year Graduation

Atlantic 57.3% 17.7%

Bergen 64.7% 10.6%

Brookdale 66.4% 18.8%

Burlington 64.7% 11.7%

Camden 62% 10.8%

Cumberland 62.7% 19.6%

Essex 53% 5.7%

Gloucester 61.9% 14.4%

Hudson 58.3% 5.4%

Mercer 60.5% 16.1%

Middlesex 62.7% 11%

Morris 65.2% 21.3%

Ocean 47.6% 19.6%

Passaic 56.6% 14.6%

Raritan Valley 63.3% 12.2%

Salem 50.6% 14.9%

Sussex 64.7% 19.7%

Union 53% 5.6%

Warren 56.1% 9.8%

Total 60.3% 13.2%

Among full-time, first-time degree seeking students

Employers confirm high school graduates lack preparation


• According to a recent Achieve, Inc. survey of employers, 45% of high school graduates are not prepared to advance beyond entry-level jobs.

Are New Jersey students ready for the workforce?

• In a recent survey by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, 99% of New Jersey companies indicated that graduates do not have the skills to meet their needs.

Are New Jersey students ready for the workforce?

• A New Jersey employer had to interview 1,300 candidates for 130 security jobs.

• Criteria for being considered for this job were successful completion of a high school diploma and passing an application test.

• 100% of the applicants had high school diplomas, but 90% couldn’t pass the test which measured eighth grade math skills.

How should we prepare students?

What other states are doing• Improving high schools is a national

movement. • The 25 states, including New Jersey, in

the ADP Network comprise more than 50% of public school students in the nation.

• Several states are making great strides in improving high school education.

New Jersey’s ADP goals

1. Align New Jersey’s high school standards in language arts literacy and math to the knowledge and skills required for success in postsecondary education and work.


2. Require all students to take a college-and work-ready curriculum to earn a high school diploma.


3. Administer to high school students a college- and work-ready assessment, aligned to state standards, that provides clear and timely information to address critical skills deficiencies while still in high school.


4. Assist middle and high schools to:• Restructure programs and schools to deliver

a rigorous, standards-based curriculum to ALL students.

• Provide a personalized, engaging learning environment.


5. Design and offer sustained, intensive, job-embedded professional development to enable educators to meet these goals.

Current graduation requirements for language arts literacy, math,

and science

Content Areas Years

Language Arts Literacy 4

Mathematics 3

Science 3

Recommended graduation requirements—language arts literacy

Content Area Courses

English I

English II

English III

English IV

Language Arts Literacy

Recommended graduation requirements—mathematics

Content Area CoursesAlgebra IGeometryAlgebra II(or complete integrated math equivalent to these three courses)

Mathematics

Recommended graduation requirements—science Content Area Courses

Biology

Chemistry

Physics

Science

Are our students up for the challenge?

Knowing what they know today, high school graduates would have worked harder

Would have applied myself more

65%

77%

Graduates whowent to college

Graduates who didnot go to college


If high school had demanded more, graduates would have worked harder

64%

18%

15%

63%

17%

18%

" Would have worked harder

" Strongly feel wouldhave worked harder

" Wouldn’t have worked harder

High school graduates who went to college

High school graduates who did not go to college


A majority of recent New Jersey high school dropouts regret their decision

Wish I stayed in high school

Satisfied with decision

Not sure how I feel

52%

28%

20%

Source: New Jersey United for Higher School Standards, 2006.

Advice from New Jersey high school dropouts

• In a recent survey by New Jersey United, recent high school dropouts were asked what they would say to students still in high school:

“Stay in school and work as hard as you can to succeed. Life is too hard without an education.”

“You need your education. I know it may be difficult at this time, but stick it out and finish.”

“School is worth it because it will help you get to that next step in life.”

Are our schools up for the challenge?

The challenges

• High schools were designed a century ago to address the needs of an industrial economy.

What is needed

• A sustained, systemic initiative for P-12 is needed to make sure all students enter 9th grade prepared for rigorous high school courses.

• Schools need to be rigorous without being overly rigid to accommodate the full scope of student needs.

• Parents and the community need to be involved in and supportive of the high school redesign process.

Effective high schools

• Characteristics of effective high schools:– Create active, collaborative learning

communities– Provide challenging, content-rich instruction– Engage all students– Foster strong problem-solving skills

Next steps

• Create a white paper from the discussion at this and other convenings along with feedback collected from participants.

• Present recommendations for Core Curriculum Content Standards, graduation requirements, and assessment system to policy and decisionmakers in early 2007.

What do you think?

We want to know what you think about high school reform.

Please share your thoughts via the enclosed online at:

www.njhighschoolsummit.org