By Thomas O’Brien, Vice President of Success and Engagement, Winward Academy, and T.J. Vari, Senior Director of Product Strategy, MaiaLearning
Reading time: Seven minutes
In the first part of this two-part series, we examined two approaches districts and schools should take to encourage and facilitate
students’ advanced course-taking in anticipation of making a successful postsecondary transition. Those two approaches were “Starting Course Planning With the End in Mind” and “Reevaluating Potential Gatekeepers to Advanced Coursework.”
In this second part of the series, we dive into two more indicators and include real-world examples and strategies for each!
Link K-12 with Higher Education for Access to College Credits
Partnerships between K-12 schools and institutions of higher education (IHE) give students an advantage as they build a transcript during high school. Schools and districts with articulated agreements with IHEs help students to earn college credit while
in high school. With the proper balance and the right agreements, every student can graduate with college credits. The benefits are enormous, including increasing confidence with college coursework, earning credits that offset the price of college,
and building an attractive transcript for application season. It can also be reassuring to students and families to have a clear long-term plan outlined.
School officials who codify relationships with IHEs can help students to access rigorous options for learning. When these courses appear on the transcript, they provide a distinct advantage for college and career readiness because they equip students
with the skills and abilities to be successful in college as well as the workforce.
Real-World Example: A state level example of a higher education partnership is Utah’s Concurrent Enrollment (CE) Program, which allows high school students to take college courses that count for
both high school and college credit. These courses are offered in partnership with Utah’s public colleges and universities, and they are widely transferable within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE). Any high school student who takes and passes
a CE course automatically earns college credit, and they are free or very low cost ($15-20).
Strategy: School, district, and state leaders can reach out to local two- and four-year colleges and universities to develop partnerships that result in transferable credits after high school. Typically, there are requirements for high school teachers
in terms of their academic and industry credentials. Crosswalks between high school courses and college course syllabi can identify fits for concurrent or articulated agreements. Colleges, especially community colleges and open enrollment universities,
are a great place to start because they’re usually flexible and eager to recruit students, which is a good thing because they’re also often a more affordable option. Participating in CE spurs students who might not have gone to college to develop
a college transcript. These experiences can sometimes lead to direct admission into a local program that they might not have otherwise known about and that won’t saddle them with tons of debt.
Strategically Follow the Data on Students' Success
School leaders who regularly review data in the aforementioned aspects of student success are engaging in a strategic approach to postsecondary planning and achievement. Too often, the goal for schools and districts is the graduation rate and not necessarily
postsecondary plans and persistence in college. Quality school systems have access to training and tools to put their students on the highest level and then track their success after graduation.
Strategic leaders enhance the student experience using multiple strategies, including SAT/ACT test preparation platforms, college and career exploration and planning software, and even executive functioning skills training. They engage in a cycle of improvement
that continues to lead to greater outcomes for their students. They know things like the number of students who completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the percentage of students who go to a particular four-year institution
who persist from freshman to sophomore year, and other indicators of upward mobility for the population of students they serve.
Real-World Example: The principal of an urban public high school in North Carolina was tasked with turning around the performance and culture of his newly assigned campus. The school had a long history of success, but in recent years, performance
had flagged. Rather than doing what might have felt good or easy in the moment and building culture around something that was already popular, the leader set about reestablishing the tradition of academic excellence by naming the problem, setting
goals, and outlining a clear plan for school improvement that required everyone to contribute - students, staff and families.
The leader pulled many levers to drive this change, but at the heart of it was using an online tool that all stakeholders could access and track progress throughout the year so that they could raise the bar for students. There was dedicated time for students
to work on the platform in classes, but what moved the needle was the whole school used it during daily advisory time, and each grade level had a plan. It was easy for teachers to implement and with everyone working towards the same goal at the same
time, it quickly became part of the daily routine for everyone. The results were striking with improvements in campus attendance data, teacher retention rates, and academic results (ACT).
Key Resource:Here is an example of a school-wide grade and cohort specific scope and sequence designed to ensure vertical alignment
and enable school leaders to set goals and monitor effectively.
Strategy: School leaders who want to drive change know they need to be able to monitor progress as closely as possible. Tools like online test-prep platforms offer robust aligned testing items, quick feedback, and shareable results that can help
a leader not only monitor progress but also report out to stakeholders along the way. Allowing for teachers to see data in real-time to inform instruction themselves and adjust quickly unlocks a new level of responsiveness in a school. When an entire
faculty feels like they know the state of performance and how they can respond in their own role, culture shifts to one of empowered educators and supported students. The easier reports are to leverage and share, the more up-to-speed students and
teachers feel; everyone appreciates transparency and seeing the rewards from a job well done.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that taking rigorous coursework in high school is a strategic decision that can have a lasting impact on a student's trajectory after high school. By challenging themselves with advanced coursework, students can develop a strong foundation
for success, build resilience and time management skills, and demonstrate their commitment to academic excellence in ways that go beyond the simple GPA that appears on a transcript. Colleges look for this information and they work hard to identify
students who are academically motivated. Great school systems make it easy for colleges and universities to identify their students as being the best fit, not just because of a piece of paper but because they are actually prepared based on the courses
they took in high school. Ultimately, embracing rigorous coursework while balancing academic performance can be the key factor in unlocking a student's full potential and setting them up for long-term success in life.
About the Authors
Thomas O’Brien is the Vice President of Success and Engagement at Winward Academy where he supports hundreds of schools, districts, and after school programs across the country in reaching their college
and career readiness goals. Winward Academy® is one of the world’s leading innovators in the online education space, providing web-based academic support that enhances students’ knowledge, confidence, and competitiveness in middle and high school
academics and in college applications. Winward Academy provides personalized, comprehensive ACT and SAT test preparation and extensive math curriculum support with its learning platform that honors
over 40 years of education and cognitive psychology research, incorporating proven techniques that promote effective learning.
Dr. T.J. Vari is the Senior Director of Product Strategy at MaiaLearning, with a focus on postsecondary planning for students worldwide. Dr. Vari is a former deputy superintendent, middle school assistant
principal and principal, and high school English teacher. MaiaLearning® helps students worldwide to plan their futures: taking assessments and exploring recommended careers; building academic, college, and career plans; creating portfolios that tell
their stories; managing essays, preparing for SAT and ACT tests; and tracking commitments. Counselors use MaiaLearning to handle assignments, manage college applications, submit documents through Common
App and Parchment, coordinate college visits, communicate with students and families, and track results.
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