Preparing Students for College and Careers addresses measurement and research issues related to college and career readiness. Educational reform efforts across the United States have increasingly taken aim at measuring and improving postsecondary readiness. These initiatives include developing new content standards, redesigning assessments and performance levels, legislating new developmental education policy for colleges and universities, and highlighting gaps between graduates’ skills and employers’ needs. In this comprehensive book, scholarship from leading experts on each of these topics is collected for assessment professionals and for education researchers interested in this new area of focus. Cross-disciplinary chapters cover the current state of research, best practices, leading interventions, and a variety of measurement concepts, including construct definitions, assessments, performance levels, score interpretations, and test uses.

How do school communities create environments that fully prepare both English learners and dual-language learners for colleges and careers? This valuable book profiles six high-performing high schools that had a singular focus on improving the educational outcomes of English learners. The authors use these case studies to identify a comprehensive set of design elements and shared values that were key factors in yielding extraordinary results. These include a school-wide language development framework that integrates content, analytical practices, and language learning; a broad and dynamic view of assessment practices; intensive social-emotional support for students and their families; and mission-driven staff and leadership that maximize learning opportunities across classrooms. The practices employed in these schools are not only essential for English learners’ success but, as the performance data shows, they also benefit all students. “This is my kind of change book: clear and deep; causes one to think; and inspires the reader to what may be possible on a wide scale.” —From the foreword by Michael Fullan, professor emeritus, University of Toronto “The schools featured in this set of beautifully drawn case studies reveal how they managed to beat the odds for their students—and there is much to learn by looking closely at what made them so effective.” —Lilly Wong Fillmore, professor, University of California, Berkeley “This book is a rich resource for all educators driven to ensure that all multilingual learners are ready for college and career.” —Angélica Infante-Green, deputy commissioner, New York State Education Department

Create programs that prepare students for college, careers, and the new and challenging assessments of the Common Core State Standards Written for all educators but with an emphasis on those at the secondary level, this important resource shows how to develop programs that truly prepare students for both the Common Core assessments and for college and career readiness. Based on multiple research studies conducted by Conley as well as experience he has gained from working with dozens of high schools that succeed with a wide range of students, the book provides specific strategies for teaching the CCSS in ways that improve readiness for college and careers for the full range of students. Draws from research-based models for creating programs for high school students that will ensure readiness for tests and for college and beyond Includes strategies and practices for teachers to help students develop postsecondary preparedness Is the third in a series of books on readiness written by David Conley, including College Knowledge and College and Career Ready Teachers can use this valuable resource to understand the "big picture" behind the Common Core State Standards, how to teach to them in ways that prepare students for new, challenging assessments being implemented over the next few years and, more importantly, how to help all students be ready for learning beyond high school.

Written by researchers in education and urban policy, this volume offers useful insights into how to provide urban workers with the educational qualifications they need for real world jobs.

This book explains the unique design and functioning of the career academy - a vigorous school-within-a-school that focuses on career preparation - and shows how it goes beyond traditional vocational programs to integrate academic and vocational curriculum, raise student ambitions, increase career options, and provide a meaningful learning context for both potential dropouts and college-bound youth. The authors provide education policy makers, administrators, and teachers with step-by-step guidance for setting up career academies. Drawing on their extensive experience in researching, administering, and evaluating career academies over the past decade, the authors offer advice on handling staffing, budgeting, student selection, and parental involvement. They explain how to build effective school-business partnerships by recruiting employers to serve as curriculum advisers, speakers, field trip hosts, and student job supervisors. And they use examples of thriving academy programs to illustrate how career academies are leading the way in bringing rigor and relevance back to the classroom.

Most Americans no longer question whether and which students should be prepared for college. Rather, it is now widely accepted that ALL students should be prepared for postsecondary education in some form (e.g., certificate, 2- or 4-year degree), as these credentials are not only required for many jobs but are also the surest path to upward mobility (Carnevale, Rose, Cheah, 2011). There is also greater recognition that in addition to a more traditional approach to preparation for postsecondary education (e.g., taking college preparatory classes), students should also graduate high school with technical knowledge and employability skills to secure, retain, and advance their employment when they leave school, at whatever level that may be. Simply put, today's high school graduates need a broad-based education that combines an array of knowledge, skills, and experiences to prepare them for life after high school. And indeed, state's definitions of college and career readiness have broadened in recent years to include a variety of skills and dispositions, such as critical thinking skills, social emotional skills such as collaboration, and interpersonal skills such as resilience and perseverance (English, Rasmussen, Cushing, & Therriault, 2016). The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, the key federal K-12 legislation, explicitly supports the notion of a "well-rounded" student, emphasizing readiness in areas beyond its predecessor's (the No Child Left Behind Act, or NCLB) focus on core academic content. ESSA mandates that states ensure that students are provided an enriched, accelerated curriculum beyond courses and content areas in which state assessments are given (e.g., mathematics, reading) and that is aligned with the postsecondary experiences students are likely to encounter. ESSA also supports an expansion of readiness goals through provisions for the improvement of conditions for student learning that support social-emotional learning, intrapersonal skills, and other employability skills. And ESSA includes provisions in states' accountability systems that support emphasis on broader definitions of readiness. Additionally, ESSA's accountability framework includes important principles for supporting a broader definition of what students need to know and be able to do once they graduate high school. Accountability systems under ESSA may include multiple measures of college and career readiness. Indeed, several states had already added a career-focused indicator prior to ESSA passing (such as pathway completion or technical assessment achievement) to their accountability systems, and the number of states publicly reporting such indicators continues to increase (Achieve & AdvanceCTE, 2016). As definitions and measures of college and career readiness continue to evolve, we know one thing for sure: we need to better prepare ALL students for success after high school. This book explores the ways in which some education researchers are approaching this task.

Giving students the tools they need to succeed in college and work College and Career Ready offers educators a blueprint for improving high school so that more students are able to excel in freshman-level college courses or entry-level jobs-laying a solid foundation for lifelong growth and success. The book is filled with detailed, practical guidelines and case descriptions of what the best high schools are doing. Includes clear guidelines for high school faculty to adapt their programs of instruction in the direction of enhanced college/career readiness Provides practical strategies for improving students' content knowledge and academic behaviors Offers examples of best practices and research-based recommendations for change The book considers the impact of behavioral issues-such as time management and study habits-as well as academic skills on college readiness.