A FRAMEWORK FOR STATE POLICYMAKERS:

ENSURE ALL STUDENTS ARE COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READY

The Center for Innovation & Transformation in Education

FOREWORD

We are what we learn,

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan has noted. Its

a simple message, but consider for a moment what
those five words mean in the context of the education
many, perhaps most, students receive. If its true that
we are what we learn, what does it say that many of
our children are learning essentially the same content
in substantially the same way as their parents and
grandparents? They are 21st century students who
are still receiving a 20th century education.
Walk into a typical classroom in most schools today and youre likely to see instruction and learning
taking place. The question is, what kind of learning is
it? Traditionally, the focus of education has been on
the acquisition of knowledge. While knowledge is and
always will be a critical foundation to higher-level
thinking, it is not an end in itself. As our society and
economy have turned the page and begun a new
chapterone marked by staggering and constant
innovations in technology and the need for more
students with postsecondary credentials, one in which
the U.S. faces heightened competition for business
from developing countries in a worldwide marketplaceit is clear we need our students to be more
than warehouses of knowledge and information. We
must bring our educational system up-to-date so
students also can apply knowledge and solve complex
problems. They must be able to work not only independently, but also with each other; they also need
to be able to communicate ideas effectively. In short,
to be successful in todays world, every student must
graduate from high school college- and career-ready.
For some, college- and career-readiness is an
expectation that every student will finish high school,
able to complete a two- or four-year college degree
or certificate, prepare for a specialized trade or
join the workforce. Every state has developed its
own definition of what it means to be college- and
career-ready. Many of them stress that students
will have the knowledge and skills to enroll and
succeed in credit-bearing courses at postsecondary
institutions without the need for remedial coursework. These definitions, however, require answers
to a more basic and direct question: What are the
specific skills students must possess to be college- and
career-ready? We refer to them as deeper learning
outcomes. We believe when students have mastered
deeper learning they will, in fact, have the skills and
knowledge to succeed in a world that is changing at
an unprecedented pace.

What is Deeper Learning?

Think about the skills students must have to

succeed in postsecondary education or to earn a
decent living. They should be good problem solvers,
be able to share their knowledge with others and

listen to others ideas, and be able to take a problem

assigned by a professor or work supervisor, analyze it,
and develop a solution or propose a range of options
for solving the problem. Without question, those are
the skills we want to see in our workforce and in our
higher education institutions.
Unfortunately, those skills often are overlooked
as our schools try to cram information into students
heads that they will later be asked to regurgitate on
standardized multiple choice tests. Barbara Chow,
in The Quest for Deeper Learning, has noted, The
real world rarely offers us multiple-choice questions.
Employers clamor for staff members who can solve
problems by designing their own solutions and then
telling co-workers how they did it. To thrive in an increasingly complex and dynamic world where routine
manual and cognitive tasks are being assumed by
machines, those emerging from school must be able
to think analytically, find reliable information, and
communicate with others.
Deeper learning is directly linked to college- and
career-readiness. It achieves this by shifting the focus
of education to one in which students:
Master core academic content;
Develop the ability to think critically and solve
complex problems;
Work collaboratively;
Communicate effectively; and
Learn how to learn, such as through self-directed
learning.
We will have created a system of education for the
21st century when we have schools that are student-centered, that are given the flexibility to innovate and the
resources to do so; when students are taught how to
apply knowledge and solve complex problems, not just
be repositories of information; and when students learn
real-life skills they can use later in life. This framework
provides critical policy options to help create an
educational system in which all students receive a rich
education and complete high school with the skills they
need to succeed in college and the workforce.
Deeper learning provides a dramatic shift in the
way we teach our young people. It focuses on helping
them learn how to learn, not just helping them acquire
or access information. Deeper learning involves a
personalized approach to education, one that discards
the stale one-size-fits-all model. It provides a robust
and engaging, student-centered learning environment,
tailored to meet the needs and learning style of each
pupil. Personalized education not only helps motivate
students when they feel empowered over their work, it
also turns them into active rather than passive learners.
This is the kind of education that better prepares our
students to be college- and career-ready when they
graduate from high school, and possess the skills that
will lead them to meet the demands for the jobs of the
21st century.

A Policy Imperative

concept considered extraordinary in todays educational environment. Consequently, this framework is

offered as a list of options policymakers can consider
and pursue, where appropriate, in educational areas
where they believe the reforms are needed most,
based on their own unique needs and in consultation
with education leaders in their states.

A Line of Sight

The type of learning the focus group recommends

in this framework is already happening. The seeds
to deeper learning have been sown in many schools
throughout the nation and have begun to take root.
Individual schools and entire school networks, both
charter and non-charter alike, are introducing many
of the visionary policies and practices recommended
in this framework. Running through these schools are
some common threads: critical thinking, communication, collaboration and directing ones own learning.
Many of these issues involve a basic, yet critical,
understanding of the roles of every policymaker or
stakeholder. For example, as state legislators, what
must you do to enact policies that will drive deeper
learning outcomes in your states? What about
executive branch education policymakers, including
K-12 and postsecondary education leadership, as
well as local school district administrators, principals,
teachers, students and their parents? What is the role
of the business community?
Answering these questions requires a vision, a
line of sight. Within this context, the term refers to
determining a fixed outcome, an objectivein this
case, it involves ensuring all students graduate from
high school with the knowledge and skills needed to
be successful in college and the workforce. Policymakers and stakeholders must create a vision of what
they want their students to accomplish before they
can devise the best course of action to get there.
One point is clear: The way Americas schools have
approached education in the past is not adequate
for teaching children skills they need in the 21st
century. As state legislators, your constituents rely
on your leadership, enacting policies that will result
in the kind of educational system that will produce
students who graduate college- and career-ready. The
inescapable conclusion is that we face high levels
of dissatisfaction with educational outcomes in this
country. Parents want and expect better schools for
their children; the business community insists on a
better-prepared workforce. Higher education leaders
complain students are not adequately prepared for
the rigors of postsecondary education. The status quo
is no longer acceptable. This framework provides you
with critical policy options to create an educational
system in which all students receive a rich education
and complete high school with the skills they need to
succeed in college and their careers.

3
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

In March 2012, The Council of State Governments Center for Innovation and Transformation in
Education, or CITE, with support from the William
and Flora Hewlett Foundation, appointed a Deeper
Learning Focus Group comprised of state legislators,
leaders of state boards and departments of education,
educators and other experts in the field of education
policy. Their charge was simple: Advise which policies
and practices need to be in place to support the kind
of deeper learning outcomes just described. During
multiple meetings, the members provided a policy
and practice framework that provides legislators
and other state policymakers a menu of options to
create schools where deeper learning takes place. The
attached framework is the product of their work.
They unanimously agreed that deeper learning
skills are vital to increase college- and career-readiness. Consider this: By 2018, approximately
two-thirds of all jobs in the U.S. will require some
postsecondary education. That doesnt mean they
will necessarily require a four-year degree. The new
norm, however, requires some education beyond high
school. Many students leave high school, diploma in
hand, but are unprepared for postsecondary education. Roughly 40 percent of all college studentsand
60 percent of students at community collegesare
required to take at least one remedial course because
they lack the skills for credit-bearing coursework.
There is an imperative to change course, to develop
statewide educational systems that provide students
an education that does more than fill their minds
with information. We need schools that truly make
students deeper learners. This framework provides
policy options to accomplish this goal in five broad
categories:
1. Curriculum and Instruction
2. Teacher and Leader Effectiveness
3. Assessment Systems
4. Accountability
5. Use of Time
No state can adopt all of the measures contained
in this framework overnight. This document does
not reflect an all-or-nothing approach to educational
policymaking related to deeper learning. Each state
is unique. Not all states have the same need for
dramatic reforms in the same areas. Not all states
have the capacity to adopt all the recommendations
contained in this document immediately. Whether
policymakers pursue a comprehensive and aggressive agenda that involves adopting many of the
recommendations contained in this framework, or
opt to address college- and career-readiness through
a different timeline, they should carefully review
each recommendation and consider its impact on
creating an educational system in which deeper
learning outcomes become the norm rather than a

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS }

The staff at The Council of State Governments Center on Innovation and Transformation in Education
wishes to thank the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation for its generous support that made this framework
possible. We also thank the following individuals who have served on our Deeper Learning Focus Group and
whose recommendations, advice and guidance have served as the foundation for this document:

Emilie Amundson

Tamara Maxwell

Linda Archambault

Rep. Lisa Meier

Assistant Director, Content and Learning Team

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Principal, R.O. Gibson Middle School

National Middle School Principal of the Year
Las Vegas

Sen. Vivian Davis Figures

Alabama Senate

Rep. Sara Gelser

Scott Palmer

Managing Partner
EducationCounsel LLC

Rachel Peckham

Learning Strategist, R.O. Gibson Middle School

Las Vegas

Valerie Greenhill

Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts

Bill Harrison

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

North Dakota House of Representatives

Oregon House of Representatives

Chief Learning Officer

EdLeader 21

English Language Arts Instruction Consultant

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

Chairman
North Carolina Board of Education

Scott Hartl

President and CEO

Expeditionary Learning

Martez Hill

Executive Director
North Carolina Board of Education

Terry Holliday

Commissioner
Kentucky Department of Education

Denise Link

Chairperson
Cleveland Municipal School District

Susan Lusi

Superintendent
Providence, R.I., Public School District

Monica Martinez

Wisconsin House of Representatives

Steve Pound

Chairman
Maine Board of Education

Rep. Karen Rohr

North Dakota House of Representatives

Angela Romans

Senior Adviser on Education, Office of the Mayor

Providence, R.I.

Scheherazade Salimi

Senior Adviser, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, Washington, D.C.

Marty Smith

Assistant Superintendent
Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools

Anne Sommers

Director of Legislative Affairs and Outreach

National Council on Disability

Rep. Jeff Thompson

Idaho House of Representatives

Education Strategist
Martinez Education Consulting

Janet Waugh

Abbe Mattson

Erin Wheeler

Executive Director, Explore Knowledge Academy

Las Vegas

Kansas Board of Education

Principal, Clairemont Elementary School

Decatur, Ga.

A FRAMEWORK FOR STATE POLICYMAKERS:

ENSURE ALL STUDENTS ARE COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READY
CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION }
successful in their personal lives, in future studies and
in careers. This type of instruction requires teachers
to enter the world of the students, rather than expect
students to enter the teachers world. Educators must
see the material to be learned from the students
viewpoint what the student wants to do, know and
experience. This will be different for every student. It
requires an individualized approach to teaching. So
while all students are expected to become proficient
in the same core academic standards, there are an
infinite number of ways to help students master those
expectations.
The policies contained in this section are designed
to create an individualized learning environment
where students will learn to solve problems, analyze,
apply information, work collaboratively and communicate effectivelyall skills that will make them
more productive members of society and improve
their academic performance in postsecondary
education.
The recommendations begin with implementing
rigorous, college- and career-readiness academic
standards that clearly state what students should
know and be able to do at each grade level. They call
for a student-centered approach to learning through
new opportunities in and outside the classroom. In
essence, this framework subscribes to the belief that
students can learn anywhere, anytimethat internships and authentic research can be the best ways for
students to learn the skills they need to be collegeand career-ready.

5
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

In his book, How We Think, noted philosopher and

education reformer John Dewey wrote that learning
is learning to think. Dewey advocated for an
educational structure that strikes a balance between
delivering knowledge while also taking into account
the interests and experiences of the student. That was
in 1902.
Still, more than a century later, the foundation of
our K-12 education system is, in many places, rooted
in the acquisition of knowledge. Teachers still stand
in front of the class and lecture, dictating to their
students what they should write down, memorize
and be able to regurgitate on tests. Research often
involves students writing a paper based on the
research conducted by others, rather than conducting
their own primary research to solve a problem. The
U.S. education system has not reached the point
when authentic learning, which engages students in
the multidisciplinary problem solving and critical
thinking that researchers and experts use every day,
is the norm in classrooms. That must change.
Although content knowledge is an important
foundation for higher-level skills such as analysis
and application, it is not an end in itself. In order
to prepare todays students for college and careers,
policymakers must change the very fabric of teaching
and learning. Although many educators may find it
difficult to adjust to new delivery methods, effective
teaching must be adapted to address a personalized
approach to education. The focus of education must
be on training young minds to think, to solve complex
problems. These are skills students must master to be

Recommendation }

State policymakers and local school districts should adopt and implement high academic standards
and instructional practices that engage and prepare all high school graduates for college and
careers so they leave with deeper learning outcomes.

STANDARDS

States should adopt college- and career-read-

iness standards such as the Common Core

State Standards, require schools to align their
curriculum and provide resources and support
to districts to implement with fidelity to deeper learning outcomes.

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

States should require schools to incorporate

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

deeper learning principles into instructional

strategies that develop critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration,
and self-directed learning, in the natural progression from kindergarten to twelfth grade.
Schools shall provide all students multiple opportunities to build and apply knowledge and
participate in authentic research, group and
individual projects, internships, community
service, and other engaging learning experiences both inside and outside the classroom.
States should require schools to create a
process to develop and monitor individual
learning plans that are aligned with collegeand career-standards. Such plans will be
created by the students in consultation with
their parents and advisors after comprehensive
planning and goal setting.
States should mandate early diagnosis and
intervention and provide proper interventions
and supports as appropriate throughout the
K-12 experience in order to reduce remediation.

FLEXIBILITY

States should allow flexibility to districts

and schools to adopt instructional resources

aligned to the Common Core State Standards
that accelerate and deepen students learning
through attention to their individual needs.

States should allow the State Board of Educa-

tion to waive state regulatory requirements

except those relative to the health, safety
or rights of students - for schools that are
implementing innovative practices. The state
department of education should be responsible to monitor schools and ensure they
are accountable for meeting a defined set of
identified benchmarks and outcomes. Schools
will be allowed to submit an application for
flexibility if they can show a commitment from
parents, community, staff and leadership.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

States should fund and provide resources for

teachers and leaders to receive embedded,

collective and high-quality continuous and ongoing professional development opportunities
that include personalized learning, differentiated instruction, inclusive strategies, the use of
technology, project-based learning, authentic
research, and other strategies to prepare students for college and careers.

USE OF DATA

States should develop a comprehensive and

integrated statewide longitudinal student data

system, including subpopulations, to provide
valid and reliable information to assist educators, policymakers and the public to track
and assess college- and career -readiness to
continuously improve curriculum, instructional
practices, teacher preparation and development.

TECHNOLOGY

States should ensure that schools have ade-

quate infrastructure, including broadband,

accessible hardware, software, adaptive
technology and power, for personalized and
deeper learning.

KENTUCKY GIVES LOCAL DISTRICTS

POWER TO INNOVATE

7
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

39 states plus the District of Columbia, charter

schools are changing the tapestry of public education
with innovations. These charter schools are exempt
from many laws and regulations that apply to
traditional public schools, while being accountable
for improved student achievement. Kentucky is one
of 11 states without charter schools. Because of a law
enacted by the General Assembly in 2012, however,
the states public school districts have the same
power to petition the state Department of Education
for flexibility, or waivers, from laws that in many cases
prevent them from being innovative as a charter
school in other states.
Since the legislature enacted House Bill 37, three
school districts, including Jefferson County, the states
largest school district, have been granted flexibility
from state laws and regulations. We wanted to provide a vehicle for any school or district in Kentucky
to stretch the boundaries, break the box; to think
outside, way outside the box, Kentucky Education
Commissioner Terry Holliday said. Were very much
results-oriented. If a district can figure out a way that
more kids can graduate college- and career-ready
and have the skills they need to succeed in a new
global competition, why shouldnt we encourage
innovation?
Kentucky state law does not permit charter
schools. House Bill 37 in many ways resembles
legislation authorizing charter schools. Its the kind
of legislation you tell people in five or 10 years you
hope you dont need. It becomes the rule instead of
the exception so we dont need districts of innovation, David Cook, the director of innovation at the
Kentucky Department of Education said. Cook said
he typically is asked to break down policy barriers
that stand in the way of allowing local schools to
innovate. I cant create innovation for districts;
nobody at the Department of Education can do that.
But we certainly can say, Whats getting in your way

of helping you to get to the point where your kids are

successful?
Kentuckys flexibility statute allows districts, with
state approval, to modify their calendars. They can
change how funding is used. In the case of the small
Eminence Independent School District, with slightly
more than 700 students in grades K-12, it has allowed
a redesign of the way it teaches students. Eminence
responded with a student-centered approach to
learning it calls, School on Fire.
Superintendent Buddy Berry said he wants
Eminence to be the most innovative school district
in America. He said state policies stood in the way
of that, but House Bill 37 removed those barriers,
giving him the authority to try new ways to achieve
mastery for all students. All classes at the high school
meet on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Tuesdays
and Thursdays are used for interventions, connections and enrichments. Simply put, those days allow
teachers to differentiate between students. Those who
have mastered academic content can move forward.
Teachers work with students needing additional help.
The School on Fire model was the framework
of innovation for reinventing education, Berry
said. We didnt want a Band-Aid fix. We wanted to
redesign, recreate students, teachers, administrators,
parents, to work together to create a model of what
next-generation learning looks like.
Other features of Eminences School on Fire
initiative include:
Providing all high school students with laptop
computers to promote anytime, anywhere learning;
Making a school bus Wi-Fi accessible so that
students who attend Bellarmine University in
Louisville can complete assignments during the
90-minute round-trip bus ride;
Personalizing learning with student choice in
electives, personalized student goals and a personalized learning environment in all classes;
Creating an adviser/advisee mentor program;
Developing student performance-based assessments that include standards-based grading and
project-based learning.

TEACHER AND LEADER EFFECTIVENESS

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

Studies show the most important factor in a students

academic achievement is the quality of his or her
teacher. Even if policymakers enact and implement
the actions recommended in this framework to make
instruction more individualized and authentic; even
if they redesign assessments to measure a childs
knowledge and abilities using multiple formats and
improve accountability systems; even if policymakers
change how time in the school day and school year
is usednone of it ultimately will have much of an
impact without highly skilled, qualified and effective
teachers in every classroom and school leaders who
ensure these policies and practices are implemented
with fidelity.
Highly effective teachers are a determining factor
in a students future success, according to a research
study released in 2012 by economists at Harvard and
Columbia universities. That study concludes having
a good fourth-grade teacher makes a student more
likely to go to college and less likely to get pregnant
as a teenager. The report also says students of highly
skilled teachers will earn more money over their
lifetimes than those with average or poor teachers.
This study is merely a snapshot of the important role
teachers play in their students achievement.
Being an effective teacher involves much more than
being masters of their subject areas. Theres more to
being a high-quality teacher than being dedicated,
well-organized and willing to put in long hoursalthough each of these qualities is an important characteristic of a highly qualified teacher. Effective teachers
need the skills to deliver a lesson in a variety of ways,
tailoring instruction to the needs and learning styles of
each child. Effective teachers must be innovative, able
to craft lessons that challenge students to think in new
ways and to solve complex problems.

These skills often dont come naturally. Ensuring

teachers and school leaders are highly qualified and
effective will require improving teacher preparation
in education programs at the colleges and universities
that train future educators. It will involve new state
licensure requirements to ensure only teachers and
school leaders who are well-qualified will be placed
in critical positions. It will require ongoing professional development to safeguard that all educators
understand how to teach using methods with which
they may otherwise be unfamiliar.
Finally, state leaders must take a hard look at
their policies regarding evaluations and use these
evaluations in decisions regarding awarding tenure
and recall of teachers who have been laid off. Many
existing evaluation systems do not provide school
leaders and local school district officials the kind of
information that enables them to make informed
decisions about whether a teacher is performing at a
proficient level or better. Without this information,
principals or district leaders often cannot intervene
with an improvement plan or dismiss teachers or
school leaders who are not competent.
A 2009 report published by The New Teacher Project, titled The Widget Effect, surveyed the teacher
evaluation systems in 14 large American school districts and found 98 percent of teachers were evaluated as satisfactory. Based on such findings, many have
characterized classroom observation as a hopelessly
flawed approach to assessing teacher effectiveness.
Ensuring teachers and school leaders are effective
will require a new approach to evaluation, holding
those who do not meet minimum standards for the
profession accountable. Only when our schools are
replete with highly qualified and competent teachers
and administrators can other meaningful measures to
improve student achievement take place.

Recommendation }
State policymakers should articulate a comprehensive set of professional standards to ensure teachers
and school leaders are adequately prepared to help students achieve deeper learning outcomes. Teacher training, licensure, evaluation and professional development should align to state standards.

PRE-SERVICE PROGRAMS

States should develop more rigorous teacher

pre-service programs connected with high

academic standards so teachers enter the
classroom prepared to guide all students to
deeper learning outcomes.
States should require that prospective educators are prepared to teach using new teaching
methods and assessments to ensure students
achieve the deeper learning outcomes they
need to be college- and career-ready. Pre-service teachers must participate in intense fieldwork, a long term practicum, such as clinical
models or residencies, or a supervised internship as a prerequisite to licensure. Pre-service
teachers also must receive training to support
the diverse range of learners they will encounter including students with disabilities and
English Language Learners.

leadership development system, including

master teachers and mentoring, induction programs, and collegial networks, in addition to
leadership skill training and ensure that they
have a fundamental understanding of deeper
learning principles.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

States should require that teachers and leaders

receive ongoing, high-quality, relevant and

effective professional development including
research on how students learn, personalized learning, new technologies for teaching
and learning; innovative teaching methods;
inclusive practices and the latest specialized
knowledge in the subject area taught.

EVALUATION

States should require schools and districts to

adopt teacher and school leader evaluation

models which are valid and research-based,
that incorporate measures of student achievement (including more than a single standardized test), and include demonstrations of
teacher and leader performance that reflects

LEADERSHIP AUTHORITY

States should give school leaders the ability to

build local capacity through decision making

in hiring and personnel management.

LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION

States should allow for alternative licensure

and certification to expand highly-qualified

teachers in the classroom.
States should more carefully monitor certification providers to ensure that prospective
teachers enter the classroom with the skills
needed to support all students to graduate
from high school and ensure those graduates
are college- and career-ready.
States should revise teacher certification assessments to ensure highly-qualified educators master content and utilize deeper learning
principles in the classroom.

ACCOUNTABILITY AND MONITORING

States should improve accountability mea-

sures for Institutes of Higher Education and

utilize an outcomes-based funding model
through monitoring of graduates from colleges of education.
States should incentivize Institutes of Higher
Education to hold university-based pre-service
providers accountable for success of teachers
in the classroom.

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

States should create a high-quality educational

deeper learning aligned with college- and

career-readiness goals.
States and districts should require the use of
performance-based contracts as a means of
retaining highly effective teachers.
States should require educators to demonstrate their mastery of teaching the Common Core State Standards to all learners and
innovative pedagogies that develop deeper
learning through completion of a professional
portfolio in order to renew their professional
licenses.
States should create career pathways to
reward educators who deepen and reflect on
their own learning and show high proficiency
in helping all students achieve deeper learning
outcomes.

NORTH CAROLINA SUPPORTS FOR

BEGINNING TEACHERS

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

10

Assigning experienced teachers to provide guidance and support to novice teachers gives valuable
professional development for both new and veteran
teachers. If developed and implemented effectively,
mentoring programs help novice teachers face their
new challenges. Furthermore, research shows well-designed mentoring programs also lower the attrition
rates of new teachers. A study of new teachers in
New Jersey, for instance, found that the first-year
attrition rate of teachers trained in traditional college
programs without mentoring was 18 percent, whereas
the attrition rate of first-year teachers whose induction program included mentoring was only 5 percent.
Many states have created induction programs for
beginning teachers. North Carolina has had a teacher
induction program since the mid-1980s. Beginning in
1998, all new teachers were required to complete a
three-year induction that includes a formal orientation, mentor support, observations and evaluation
prior to the recommendation for continuing standard
professional licensure. Teachers with three or more
years of appropriate experience are exempt. The
North Carolina Board of Education developed specific
standards for the Beginning Teacher Support Program
in 2010.
Theres sometimes a disconnect between what
happens in the teacher ed programs and what they find
when they get to the real world, said Cindi Rigsbee, a
regional facilitator for the program. So, our induction
program is a transition for these beginning teachers.
Rigsbee said the Beginning Teacher Support
Program helps develop teacher leadership even
among new teachers. Beginning teachers are held

to the same standards as veteran teachers when it

comes to teacher leadership. So our mentors are out
there not only supporting them, but also encouraging
and enabling them to use their own areas of expertise
to be leaders in the school.
Each beginning teacher in North Carolina is
required to develop a professional development
plan in collaboration with his or her principal and
mentor teacher. The plan is to be based on the states
Professional Teaching Standards and must include
goals, strategies and assessment of the beginning
teachers progress in improving professional skills.
The state strongly recommends the following for all
new teachers:
Assignment in the area of licensure;
Mentor assigned early, in the same licensure area
and in close proximity;
Orientation that includes state, district and school
expectations;
Limited class preparations;
Limited non-instructional duties;
Limited number of exceptional or difficult students; and
No extracurricular assignments unless requested
by the beginning teacher.
New teachers are observed four times in each of
the first three years by the principal and/or mentor.
State policy requires formative assessment conferences to be held regularly to reflect on the progress
of the beginning teacher in meeting the established
goals.
The law also requires mentors to receive training
and ongoing professional development. Local school
districts may use programs developed by the state
Department of Public Instruction, use other programs or develop programs of their own.

ASSESSMENT SYSTEMS
erate a product, performance or some form of
process-oriented communication. This type of
assessment measures the application of knowledge
and understandingdoing. Performance tasks can
represent complex demonstrations of understanding
that show what students know and can do in meaningful contexts. Such assessments require students
to generate, rather than choose or reproduce, a
response. Performance tasks are structured activities
requiring multiple responses to challenging questions
or problems.
Relate this to learning in the real world. Seldom
does an employer evaluate an employee with a
pen-and-paper test. Businesses expect workers to be
able to perform their duties at high levels. Workplace
evaluations tend to assess employees on the quality
of the work performed, not on how much or how
little they can recite about a subject. Todays educational system must prepare students for college and
careers by creating the same expectations.
These assessments should have an authentic
purpose and audience. An authentic assessment
evaluates students abilities in real-world contexts.
They require students to apply and demonstrate
skills and knowledge to tasks or projects likely to
be encountered in adult life. Learners must be able
to use more complex, higher-order thinking skills.
They must reason, problem-solve or collaborate with
others to produce individual responses.
Accomplishing this will require educators to
construct new assessments that measure these higher
level skills. Teachers will need quality professional
development and appropriate resources to help them
construct these multidimensional assessments and
use them to provide feedback and guide instruction.

11
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

Many schools evaluate student performance using

the same outdated assessments given to their parents.
Pen-and-paper tests with true/false, multiple choice,
matching and essay questions have been used so
long they have become the fabric of educational
testing in the U.S. But they are antiquated and fail
to give teachers, students and parents an accurate
measurement of college- and career-readiness skills.
They often result in students chasing a grade but fail
to measure whether the student can apply what he or
she has learned. In short, traditional assessments do
not measure mastery and do little more than provide
a snapshot of a students knowledge on a subject.
Todays learning environment requires a balanced
and multidimensional system of assessments. Consider for a moment the purpose of assessments. They
provide feedback to support, guide and improve
the teaching and learning processes and results.
They also provide evidence to determine whether
intended learning targets have been achieved at
predetermined levels. Student assessments should
not be given primarily to generate and assign a grade.
And yet, traditionally, that is precisely how they have
been used.
In order to provide students, teachers and parents
a more complete image of an individuals performance, schools must adopt a balanced and multidimensional approach. This does not mean eliminating
pen-and-paper tests, but it does require schools to
supplement them with other measures of student
learning. One model that is becoming more common
is performance-based assessments, which evaluate
what students are able to do, not simply how much
they know.
Performance assessments require students to
thoughtfully use knowledge and skills to gen-

Recommendation }
State policymakers should offer flexibility for districts to develop multiple measures of student learning
as evidence for course credit, promotion and graduation.

ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT PROGRESS

States should require districts to develop for-

mative and summative assessments of deeper

learning knowledge, skills and dispositions in
all classes. In collaboration with colleagues,
teachers must utilize assessments of student
progress that include student goal-setting,
reflection, evaluation and record-keeping.
States should require a variety of assessments
to include standards-based performance
assessments with authentic purpose and
audience and align assessments to individual
student needs that support to deeper learning
outcomes.
States should adopt, fully fund and implement
standardized summative assessments aligned
with deeper learning outcomes for all students.
12

SHOWING MASTERY

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

States should replace traditional point-based

grades with standards-based grading that

measures students proficiency on well-defined
course objectives. Students must receive
systematic and extensive feedback on assignments to ensure success.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

States should require that educators receive

professional development on the design, use

and analysis of performance-based formative
and summative assessments for improving
instruction and the provision of feedback to all
students.

GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

States should adopt progress and graduation

requirements, including a culminating demonstration experience involving a substantial

project, internship or portfolio focused on core
subjects with a presentation to panel.

TECHNOLOGY

States should ensure schools have adequate

and appropriate technological infrastructure,

including broadband, accessible hardware,
software, adaptive technology and power,
related to the assessment of personalized and
deeper learning.

ALIGNMENT WITH POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

States should require alignment between the

preK-12 system and postsecondary education

to determine a common measure for placement into credit-bearing coursework for the
collegiate freshmen year based on standardized assessments.
States should require postsecondary institutions to include alternative competency-based
transcripts and credentials in their admissions
criteria for placement into credit-bearing
coursework for the freshmen year.

SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLIMATE

States should provide resources to schools to

assess and improve school culture and climate

which presumes competence of all students to
learn and excel.

CULMINATING PROJECT REQUIRED FOR

GRADUATION IN WASHINGTON

13
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

Graduating from high school in Washington requires

more than earning a certain number of academic
credits in core subjects and electives. Public Law
WAC180-51-061 requires all high school students to
complete a culminating senior project. This project
is intended to make students think analytically and
integrate their knowledge and experiencesthose
in school as well as outside itin order to solve
problems. As part of the culminating project,
students are required to demonstrate essential skills
through reading, writing, speaking, production and/or
performance.
To complete the project, students may write a research paper, work with a mentor in school or in the
community, present to a community or peer panel,
develop a portfolio of work or create a multimedia
presentation. The actual process, outcomes and
criteria are set by school districts, so what students
are required to do to meet this requirement varies
from one district to another. The state requires each
district to have a culminating project management
system to support students and staff, as well as
policies to handle special circumstances, such as
students who transfer into the district and parental
challenges to the projects. Districts also may include
the community in project planning, support or
feedback. The state also requires a Fifth Year Plan as
a graduation requirement. This requires students to
create an educational plan that includes what they
expect to do the year following graduation.
As an example of a district policy for culminating
projects, the Wenatchee Public School District in
central Washington assigns a teacher/adviser when
students enroll in high school. Throughout high
school, they build an ongoing collection of their
best efforts in school, work, family and community
experiences. Each graduating senior is required
to assemble a portfolio that includes an academic

transcript, standardized test scores, a writing sample,

resum and Fifth Year Plan.
Before students graduate, they must reflect on
the collection of experiences, both in school and
outside it, and organize the information in a portfolio. Students then lead an oral presentation of the
information to a panel of adults. This panel includes
each of the following:
1. Significant adult - Someone with a vested interest
in the students well-being, such as a parent or
guardian;
2. Community member - Typically a mentor, an
employer, religious leader or someone who has
some knowledge in the students interests or career
pathway; and
3. Teacher/adviser - The students teacher/adviser or a
designee.
4. Peer (optional) - The student may invite a peer to
serve on the presentation panel as a fourth member.
During the oral presentation, each student must
provide evidence that the culminating project:
Has built on high school experiences;
Has included a Fifth Year or future plan; and
Reflects an understanding of self, the students
needs, interests and skills.
The Wenatchee School District requires students
to answer all three questions or they will be asked to
make adjustments and try again before being allowed
to graduate. A significant focus of the culminating
project is self-reflection, one in which students
analyze their experiences throughout high school to
begin planning for the future.
Although not adopted, Senate Bill 5501, filed during
the 2013 legislature, would have exempted several
groups of students from completing a culminating
project for graduation. Those who would be exempt
under the bills provisions included students who earn
at least one year of college coursework through dual
enrollment, those who participated in an international
baccalaureate program, students with at least four AP
courses, and students earning a skill certificate in a
career and technical education program.

ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEMS

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

14

The much-maligned No Child Left Behind Act,

known as NCLB when Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2001, was
intended to hold schools accountable for achieving
and maintaining student progress, particularly among
groups of students who have been ignored in the past.
Although the emphasis on closing the achievement gap
is commendable, critics contend the NCLB bar for student achievement was set unrealistically high, requiring
100 percent of students must reach the proficient level
or above in math and reading by 2014.
While there is universal agreement that some
form of accountability is necessary, the tide of public
opinion supports the concept that states, not the
federal government, should be responsible for ensuring schools meet accountability mandates. A waiver
process to exempt states from the accountability
provisions under NCLB has enabled states to design
their own accountability policies. These policies
depart substantially from those in NCLB. While they
address many criticisms of NCLB, they tend to be
more complex and multifaceted, less transparent and
less uniform across states than the policies they are
replacing, according to a policy brief prepared by The
Center on Education Policy.
Nearly all the waiver states have replaced the
NCLB goal of 100 percent student proficiency on
state tests by 2014 with other learning goals. Many
waiver states also have established a wider range of

interim performance targetsannual measurable objectivesthat go beyond reading and math achievement. Finally, most waiver states have replaced the
either-or approach of labeling schools as making or
not making adequate yearly progress with complex
performance indexes that will be used to determine
schools progress and identify struggling schools for
interventions.
In the future, accountability systems must be
updated to ensure schools are preparing students for
college and careers. Determining whether a school
is accomplishing this goal involves much more than
end-of-year test scores. That is why new accountability models must be created that are based on
multiple measures of student success. These should
include performance-based assessments, and student
internships and/or portfolios that provide policymakers with a more acutely detailed and comprehensive
method to determine student achievement.
Improved longitudinal data systems will be a key
element of any accountability system. Every state in
the nation is rethinking how education data can be
collected, housed, analyzed, accessed and used more
effectively. As state and federal accountability and reporting requirements grow in scope and as decisions
about how, when and where to allocate new education resources are increasingly being determined on
the basis of the best available data, states must create
and maintain high-quality data systems.

Recommendation }
State policymakers should amend accountability systems to use multiple measures to assess the
success of individual schools and school districts, with a focus on achieving desired deeper learning
outcomes.

COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMS

States should develop an accountability sys-

tem that evaluates schools and districts on college- and career- readiness measures, including but not limited to mastery in core subjects,
annual student growth, closing achievement
gaps among all student groups, attendance
and improved graduation rates.
States should include measures of student performance to include demonstrations of mastery of deeper learning, including a culminating project involving a substantial project(s),
internship or portfolio with a presentation to
a panel.

USE OF DATA

States should create a statewide comprehen-

sive and effective student information system

to provide schools, districts and stakeholders
(including students, parents, businesses and
communities) with accurate, transparent data,
disaggregated by subpopulation and regardless of school setting, regarding student performance on multiple assessment measures as
well as school and district performance levels.

OREGON ADOPTS NEXT GENERATION

ACCOUNTABILITY SYSTEM

Metric
Achievement
Growth
Subgroup Growth

Elementary

Middle

High

25%
50%
25%

25%
50%
25%

20%
20%
10%

Graduation

35%

Subgroup
Graduation

15%

The Council of Chief State School Officers is

promoting Next Generation Accountability for
schools. It lists the following eight elements in a
model accountability system:
1. Performance goals for all schools and districts
aligned to college- and career-ready standards;
2. Measures of student outcomes on a variety of
indicators, including those of both status and
growth;
3. Initial annual determinations of schools and
districts focused on student outcomes, including
disaggregation of data by student subgroup;
4. Timely, actionable, accessible data reported to all
stakeholders, including outcome and richer data
to drive continuous improvement;
5. Deeper diagnostic reviews, used as appropriate,
to better link accountability determinations to
meaningful supports and interventions;
6. Classification systems that meaningfully differentiate between schools and districts and direct the
provision of supports and interventions;
7. Supports and interventions that build district and
school capacity for sustained improvement and
target the lowest performing schools for significant interventions; and
8. Innovation, evaluation and continuous improvement in the accountability systems over time.

15
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

A state accountability system provides evidence that

public schools are providing a quality education that
prepares students to succeed beyond high school
graduation. The problem rests with the best method
to determine a school or school districts effectiveness fairly and accurately. Since the implementation
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act,
better known as No Child Left Behind and commonly referred to as NCLB, critics have united behind
what they consider an unfair system for determining
adequate yearly progress. Among other objections,
critics have assailed NCLB for putting schools on a
must-improve list for inadequate results with just one
group of students, typically special education students
or those learning English as a second language. Many
educators also have complained about the importance placed on test scores in determining whether
a school is succeeding or failing. Many educators
believe an improved accountability system needs to
be more comprehensive, including multiple measures
of student success, not just one based on test scores.
Two actions occurred in 2011 that served as catalysts for Oregon to overhaul its accountability system.
Oregons legislature in 2011 enacted House Bill 2289,
which called for appointing a task force to develop
improved accountability measures for Oregon
public schools. Also, in August 2011, U.S. Education
Secretary Arne Duncan approved a plan to allow
states to apply for waivers from NCLB, essentially
granting them flexibility from federal accountability
rules that states considered too strict. In July 2012,
the U.S. Department of Education granted Oregons
waiver request, which served as a springboard to implementation of the states more comprehensive Next
Generation Accountability system. As part of the
federal waiver application, Oregon developed a new
accountability system that uses multiple measures to
rate schools.
Oregon has established what it terms a 40-40-20
goal. By 2025, 40 percent of adults in Oregon will
have earned a bachelors degree or higher; 40 percent
will have earned an associate degree; and 20 percent
will have earned at least a high school diploma. The
new Oregon Report Card, mandated by lawmakers in
1999, has been redesigned for fall 2013 to incorporate

measures of college- and career-readiness.

Schools receive ratings based on five metrics:
achievement, growth, subgroup growth, graduation
rate and subgroup graduation rate. Under the new
model, achievement scores account for only 20
percent of a high schools rating and 25 percent in
elementary and middle schools. A breakdown can be
seen below:

USE OF TIME

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

16

The Carnegie unit was adopted in the early 1900s

to standardize and ensure the quality of high school
education. Through that system, students accumulate academic credits after spending a minimum
number of hours in a particular class. For more than
a century, it has remained the measuring stick that
demonstrates students have invested an amount of
time warranting the credit associated with learning.
The Carnegie unit also allows consistency when
a student transfers from one school to another. A
uniform system, such as the Carnegie unit, provides
some assurance that someone who transfers from one
school has met the same learning time benchmarks as
students at the new school.
The Carnegie unit, however, is widely viewed
by critics as an impediment to flexibility. Not all
students learn at the same pace. Some require more
time to master a subject; others require less time.
Yet under traditional seat time requirements, every
student is required to meet a fixed number of hours
in class, regardless of whether he or she has mastered
the content. High achieving students who have
demonstrated competency are typically required
to remain in the same class until they have met a
predetermined number of hours. New systems are
being developed, however, that will enable students
who master content to receive an academic credit
and move on to the next level without being required
to sit in a class while the teacher covers material they
have already learned. Even the Carnegie Foundation,
which created the credit hour, has announced it is
re-examining the concept in light of new thinking on
competency-based learning.
Competency-based learning is widely viewed
as an incentive for students to work outside class,

independently, and to learn at a faster pace. This encourages them to become more engaged and to take
ownership of their studies. When students realize
there is no reward for doing more than the minimum
required to earn an academic credit, many often will
only do what it takes to earn a credit.
When students earn academic credits under
existing seat time requirements without mastering
the content, they often graduate from high school
without the skills needed to be college- and career-ready. This is one reason more than one-third of
all students at public four-year universities and more
than 40 percent of all community college students
must take at least one remedial education class. They
earned enough credits to graduate from high school
and believed they would be college- and career-ready
as a result. Consequently, many are surprised to
learn their high school diploma is not a gateway to a
college education, but a dropping-off point to additional coursework to master skills they should have
mastered in high school. Competency-based learning
would require students to demonstrate mastery to
earn a credit, not merely meet arbitrary seat time
requirements.
According to the National Governors Association,
36 states have policies that provide school districts
and schools with some flexibility for awarding credit
to students based on mastery of content and skills
as opposed to seat time. Nevertheless, some barriers
need to be addressed to implement a meaningful
system of competency-based credits. NGA points
out, for instance, that many states have policies that
prohibit or restrict alternative methods of awarding
credit. An NGA report points out that in nearly all
states, rigid funding formulas work against school
districts and schools that want to implement flexible
policies for awarding credit.

Recommendation }
State policy makers should develop strategies to maximize school time for student learning, teacher
development, creating a culture of high expectations, analysis of student data, and expanding experiences that prepare students for success in college and careers.

AWARDING CREDIT

States should award educational credit for

learning inside and outside the classroom

based on demonstrated mastery rather than
seat time. Students will receive credit for
shared courses online, virtual opportunities,
shadowing in the community or participating
in an internship or work-based learning.

INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES

States should expand opportunities for

students to earn college credit while in high

school, such as Advanced Placement courses,
early college, middle college and dual credit
partnerships with postsecondary institutions
and trade organizations.
States should provide seamless routes to college to students who achieve early competency on college- and career-readiness standards.

FLEXIBILITY

utilize schedules that enable team teaching,

project-based learning, work-based learning and
interaction with the community and the world.
Schools should create schedules that provide

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

States should encourage schools to include

time in the school day and year for teachers

professional development, including observing other classes, meeting with instructional
coaches and collaborating in professional
learning communities.
States should set aside a percentage of the
school year which should be devoted to
school-based, teacher-directed professional
development or collaborative planning after
creation of an effective professional development plan based on teacher needs.

17
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

States should provide flexibility to schools to

time for teachers to work together to create

common assessments, analyze student data, and
improve and differentiate instruction.
States should allow for extended school days, a
longer school year, an annual alternative calendar, as well as other extended learning opportunities, within minimum state requirements.
Flexibility should be given to allow for differentiated instruction and multi-age classrooms,
as developmentally appropriate, for individual
continuous progress and academic support as
developmentally appropriate.

NEW HAMPSHIRE PIONEERS NEW

MEASURE FOR STUDENT LEARNING

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

18

The Carnegie Unit has been the standard measurement for student achievement for more than a
century. Under that system, students are awarded
credit based on the amount of time spent successfully
taking a course. This yardstick often is referred to as
seat time. Typically under the Carnegie Unit, students
receive one credit when they complete 120 hours in a
subject. That would be the equivalent of a course that
meets four or five times per week for 45-60 minutes
for 36-40 weeks. Now, even the Carnegie Foundation,
the units creator and its namesake, has announced it
is rethinking whether there might be better ways to
measure student learning.
Instead of measuring learning by the amount of
time spent in a class, there is a growing movement to
use an updated system based on measuring student
mastery, or competency, of academic content. In
other words, students receive academic credit when
they are able to demonstrate they have mastered
content regardless of the amount of time they spend
in class. Some students could receive credit in less
time than under the Carnegie Unit; other students
might require more time. Supporters say competency-based learning results in greater flexibility,
allowing students to progress as they demonstrate
they have mastered academic content, regardless
of time or place. Competency-based education can
create multiple pathways to graduation, make better
use of technology, support new staffing patterns that
take advantage of teacher skills and interests and use
learning opportunities outside school.
Competency-based strategies provide flexibility in
the way credit can be earned or awarded, and provide
students with personalized learning opportunities.
In New Hampshire, as in most states, a gap exists
between the need for workers with college degrees
and certificates and the number of available workers
who have them. According to a report by the New
Hampshire Department of Education, more than

half of the projected new jobs in that state require

college-educated workers. That report, however, also
indicates the state relies on immigration of skilled
workers to fill most of those jobs.
In 2005, New Hampshire became the first state to
eliminate the Carnegie Unit, replacing it with competency-based learning. The state Board of Education
required local school districts to assess students
based on their mastery of course content. It also
authorized districts to use expanded learning opportunities, or ELOs, such as independent study, summer
and after-school programs, to enable students to be
able to learn in a way that best meets their learning
styles and enables them to receive credits when they
can demonstrate competency.
The Minimum Standards for School Approval
state that local districts must have a competency
assessment process and defined course level competencies in place for all public high schools. They also
state that credit toward graduation is to be awarded
based on student demonstration of mastery of these
course level competencies. The department requires
local districts to develop and implement a plan and
method of assessing course level competencies.
Furthermore, districts are expected to review and
evaluate those plans regularly for effectiveness.
In emphasizing the need for flexibility and autonomy for local school districts to implement competency assessments, the state has granted authority to
local districts to:
Identify or develop high school course competencies;
Decide on appropriate competency assessment
methods; and
Define sufficiencyidentifying necessary and
sufficient evidence for students to demonstrate
mastery.
While the Minimum Standards for School Approval require defined course level competencies and a
competency assessment process, they do not mandate
either the content of the course level competencies
or the grading method used with the process, which
are left to local school districts.

DEFINITIONS }
} ANNUAL STUDENT GROWTH: The change in

student achievement for an individual student

between one school year to the next. A State may
also include other measures that are rigorous and
comparable across classrooms.

} ANYTIME, ANYPLACE LEARNING: The act of

awarding students academic credit for their learning, even if it occurs outside the school building
or outside the school day. Examples can involve
taking digital courses outside the school day and
school building. It can also include internships, field
opportunities and mentoring.

} AUTHENTIC PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE: Tasks that

are useful and engaging activities; an episode of

learning for the student. Teaching to such tasks
have student concentrate on worthwhile skills and
strategies as they learn and practice how to apply
important knowledge and skills for authentic purposes. These projects most closely mirror those of
everyday life and might focus on an actual problem
students encounter in which they are assigned to
devise a solution.

} AUTHENTIC RESEARCH: Research that closely

} CAREER PATHWAY: Career pathways are intended

to increase student academic achievement by

attracting and retaining talented teachers. Teachers
are recognized and compensated for their excellence and are motivated to perform at increasingly
higher skill levels. Pathways promote and support
the professional development of teachers and
require a different way of evaluating and compensating teachers. Rather than advancing on a salary
schedule as a result of seniority and educational
credits, teachers are paid according to their level
of skill attainment and demonstrated student academic progress. Programs support and encourage
collaboration and teamwork, and provide opportunities for leadership and professional growth, with
teachers participating in higher-level instructional
responsibilities within their districts.

} CERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT: An examination de-

signed to measure the knowledge and competency

of a prospective teacher as licensure requirement.
Several certification assessments are available, the
most widely accepted being PRAXIS and National
Evaluation Series. Other assessments are available
based on subject-area specialties.

Every state has developed its own definition of what it means to be college- and
career-ready. Many emphasize students
should leave high school with knowledge and skills to enroll and succeed in
credit-bearing postsecondary education
without the need for remedial coursework.
Some state definitions go further: Arkansas,
for instance, states, All students in every
Arkansas classroom will be engaged daily
in rigorous learning experiences that build
on students talents, challenge their skills and
understandings, and develop their ability
to reason, problem solve, collaborate and
communicate. Students will monitor their own
learning and direct their thinking to become
productive and contributing team members.
Students will grapple with complex texts
and problems, construct viable arguments,
and persist until solutions are identified
and substantiated. Through these learning
experiences, students will be confident in their
preparation for success in their post-school
lives, including college and career.

} COMPETENCY-BASED TRANSCRIPT: An alternate

form of a school transcript, documenting the

scholastic achievement of a student participating
in a non-conventional, project-based learning
environment. Because students proficiency-levels are often assessed using mastery other than
traditional letter grades, postsecondary institutions must have a way to determine whether
the students high school performance meets its
entrance requirements.

} CORE SUBJECTS:

Under No Child Left Behind,

the term core academic subjects means
English, reading or language arts, mathematics,
science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography.

19
A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

resembles the way students will be expected to use

their knowledge in the real world.

} COLLEGE- AND CAREER-READINESS

} CULMINATING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT: An

assessment, sometimes used as a graduation

requirement, that typically involves an independently designed project or compilation of a
portfolio representing the students work. Culminating Demonstration Projects are sometimes
referred to as capstone projects, portfolios or
senior design.

} DEEPER LEARNING

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

20

Used as an umbrella term for the skills and

knowledge that students must possess to
succeed in 21st century jobs and civic life.
At its heart is a set of competencies students
must master in order to develop a keen understanding of academic content and apply
their knowledge to problems in the classroom and in the workforce. They include: 1)
Mastering core academic content; 2) Acquiring, applying and expanding knowledge; 3)
Thinking critically and expanding complex
problems; 4) Communicating effectively;
5) Working collaboratively; and 6) Learning
how to learn.

} DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION:

Tailoring
instruction to meet individual student needs.
Whether teachers differentiate content, process,
products, or the learning environment, the use of
ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes
this a successful approach to instruction. At its
most basic level, differentiation consists of the
efforts of teachers to respond to variance among
learners in the classroom.

} FLEXIBILITY
The act of enabling individual schools and
local school districts to apply for waivers from
state statutes and regulations that serve as
barriers to the implementation of innovative
and transformative practices.

} FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS:

Formative assessments are a range of formal and

informal assessments that are part of the instructional process to improve student achievement
and attainment. They are designed to provide
teachers and students with information about

what students know and do not know so that

adjustments can be made in a timely fashion.
Summative assessments are designed to measure
student mastery following a sustained period
of instruction. Summative tests include state
standardized assessments, end-of-unit or chapter
tests, and end-of-term or final exams.

} INDIVIDUALIZED LEARNING PLAN:

ILPs are tools

created by schools with support from school
counselors and parents to define students
personal interests and goals related to their
career and postsecondary education and to
plan what courses to take and what activities
to participate in during high school to further
their interests and achieve their goals. Many
states have adopted policies that require all
high school students to develop and maintain an
individualized learning plan in order to make
schools more personalized and improve student
outcomes. Individualized Learning Plans should
not be confused with Individualized Educational Program (IEP) which is mandated by the
Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act (IDEA).

} INNOVATION ZONE/INNOVATION SCHOOL/INNOVATION DISTRICT: Policies enabling a school,

a collection of schools, or a school district to

obtain waivers from state statutes or regulations
to implement new approaches designed to
bring about improved results. Waivers would
be granted through a process to be determined
through legislative action and would provide
flexibility to schools and/or districts from a set of
statutes or regulations that can include, but not
be limited to, instruction, assessments, staffing
and use of time.

} INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES: Any materials

provided by educators to students, either in print

or digital format, as a means of instructional
delivery.

} INTERNSHIP: A learning experience associated

with a school program in which a student participates in a form of supervised training, typically
associated with career training or preparation.

} LONGITUDINAL STUDENT DATA SYSTEM: A

system capable of tracking data related to student,

educator and school performance over a period
of years. These systems provide a data source to
track students progress from grade to grade, to
determine the effectiveness of certain educational
programs, to identify consistently high-achieving
and low-performing schools and to evaluate teacher preparation programs among other features.

} MASTERY LEARNING
Strategy characterized by the definition of
learning objectives and expected achievement level; a design that permits as many
students as possible to achieve objectives to
specified level, and the assignment of grades
based on achievement of objectives at specified level. Once students have demonstrated
mastery of specified learning goals, they are
able to proceed to the next chapter, unit, or
grade. It is marked by achieving outcomes
rather than meeting seat time requirements.
This concept is also sometimes referred to a
competency learning or proficiency learning.

} OUTCOMES-BASED FUNDING: A model by which

postsecondary institutions are funded in full or

part based upon meeting a defined set of standards,
typically including meeting completion goals. One
possible use of outcomes-based funding could be
to base funding to colleges of education based on
the performance of their graduates.

} PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACT: An alternative

} PERSONALIZED LEARNING
Personalized Learning, also referred to as
student-centered learning or individualized
learning, recognizes that each student has
his or her own learning style, unique gifts,
interests, aspirations, and challenges to
learning, and supports each student to learn
in his or her own unique way. Personalized
Learning is a blended approach to learning
that combines the delivery of education both
within and beyond the traditional classroom
environment. This model fosters a collaborative partnership between the teacher, parent,
student and school that designs a tailored
learning program for each student according
to the needs and interests of each individual
student. Personalized learning is considered
a critical component in achieving deeper
learning outcomes.

Embedded professional development includes

teacher learning that is grounded in day-to-day
teaching practice and is designed to enhance
teachers content-specific instructional practices
with the intent of improving student learning. It
is primarily school or classroom-based and is integrated into the workday, consisting of teachers
assessing and finding solutions for authentic and
immediate problems of practice as part of a cycle
of continuous improvement. Embedded PD is
a shared, ongoing process that is locally rooted
and makes a direct connection between learning
and application in daily practice, thereby requiring active teacher involvement in cooperative,
inquiry-based work. High-quality PD also is
aligned with state standards for student academic achievement and any related local educational
agency and school improvement goals.

} PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT - HIGH QUALITY:

The No Child Left Behind Act provides a

detailed set of 21 standards for high-quality
professional development. Some of the characteristics of these standards include:
Teacher understanding of effective instructional strategies that are strategies for
improving student academic achievement or
substantially increasing the knowledge and
teaching skills of teachers;
Training for teachers and principals in the use
of technology so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the
classroom to improve teaching and learning
in the curricula and core academic subjects in
which the teachers teach;
Activities that involve the forming of partnerships with institutions of higher education
to establish school-based teacher training
programs that provide prospective teachers
and beginning teachers with an opportunity
to work under the guidance of experience
teachers and college faculty;
Instruction in the use of data and assessment
to inform and instruct classroom practice;
Giving teachers, principals and administrators
the knowledge and skills to provide students
with the opportunity to meet challenging State
academic content standards and student academic achievement standards;
Are developed with extensive participation of
teachers, principals, parents, and administrators;
Providing follow-up training to teachers
who have participated in activities that are
designed to ensure that the knowledge and
skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom; and

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A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

to the standard method of teacher compensation

which is based entirely on degree attainment and
experience. Under performance-based contracts,
sometimes referred to as merit-pay, a portion
of teachers compensation is determined by
other factors, including student achievement or
accepting hard-to-staff positions.

} PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, EMBEDDED:

 As a whole, are regularly evaluated for their

impact on increased teacher effectiveness and
improved student academic achievement, with
the findings of the evaluations used to improve
the quality of professional development

} PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES: A

professional learning community is an ongoing

process used to establish a school-wide culture
that develops teacher leadership explicitly
focused on building and sustaining school
improvement efforts. Generally, PLCs are
composed of teachers, although administrators
and support staff routinely participate. In some
schools, PLCs are extended to community
members and students, as appropriate. Through
participation in PLCs, teachers enhance their
leadership capacity while they work as members
of ongoing, high-performing, collaborative teams
that focus on improving student learning.

} PROFESSIONAL PORTFOLIO: A cumulative body

A Framework for State Policymakers: Ensure All Students are College- and Career-Ready

22

of work that might include any or all of the

following components: A reflective statement, a
statement of previous teaching responsibilities,
supporting documents and a statement of future
teaching goals. The portfolio helps school administrators identify prospective teachers possessing
skills aligning with the needs of the position for
which they are being considered.

} PROJECT-BASED LEARNING:
Project Based Learning is an instructional
approach built upon authentic learning
activities that engage student interest
and motivation. These activities are
designed to answer a question or solve a
problem and generally reflect the types of
learning and work people do in the everyday world outside the classroom. Project
Based Learning produces deeper learning
outcomes as well as mastery of content.
These skills include communication and
presentation skills, organization and time
management skills, research and inquiry
skills, self-assessment and reflection skills,
and group participation and leadership
skills.

} STANDARDS-BASED GRADING: A measurement

of students proficiency on well-defined course

objectives. A criterion is established for standards
of what every student or child is expected to know,
and a score is set compared to these benchmarks
rather than a ranking compared to a norm.

} STANDARDS-BASED PERFORMANCE
ASSESSMENTS: is a form of testing that requires

students to perform a task rather than select

an answer from a ready-made list. For example,
a student may be asked to explain historical
events, generate scientific hypotheses, solve math
problems, converse in a foreign language, or
conduct research on an assigned topic.

} STUDENT CHOICE: In a student-centered learning

environment, the student is given flexibility in

determining not only what to study but how
and why that topic might be interesting based
on high academic expectations. Choice leads to
deeper learning and understanding, increased
responsibility and accountability for the student,
and interdependence between the teacher
and learner. This shift requires the teacher
to become a facilitator of learning and serves
as a resource and demands involvement and
participation from the student.

} TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE: The integrated

framework upon which a school or school systems digital networks operate. This infrastructure includes data centers, computers, computer
networks, Database Management devices, power,
broadband and a regulatory system.

} VIRTUAL OPPORTUNITIES: The use of technology

makes knowledge accessible and learning

portable at any point in the day. The Internet
and abundance of devices offering web-based
services from laptops to eReaders to Smart
phones allows students to learn at their own
pace, in any location and at any time. With
digital learning and virtual opportunities, school
doesnt conform to a traditional school day or
in a traditional school setting. Technology can
extend learning through the day and throughout
the year. It can give students the ability to spend
more or less time on a subject . Digital learning
can ensure struggling students get the extra time
needed to master material as well as accelerate
learning for high achieving students.

} WORK-BASED LEARNING: Provides students with

opportunities to discover things they cant learn

in a classroom. Work-based learning includes
internships, mentoring, and apprenticeships in
the community and credit is provided for these
experiences..