This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affect... more This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affecting the transition of students from high school to college. A particular focus is the role of a formal, high-profile statewide K-16 structure, the Maryland K-16 Partnership for Teaching and Learning, in promoting policies and practices that help improve the transition for all students. The Maryland case study is one of six studies being conducted as part of "The Bridge Project: Strengthening K-16 Transition Policies." An underlying assumption was that a lack of consistency in curricular content and academic expectations between the K-12 system and higher education, coupled with a lack of communication between these two sectors, causes many problems in the transition to college. This discussion highlights phase 1 of the Bridge Project, which focuses on freshman admissions and initial course placement. The second part of the discussion presents initial findings from phase 2 for Maryland. Forty-one key people associated with the University of Maryland at College Park and Towson University were interviewed for phase 1. Findings of the phase 1 study suggest that Maryland students generally have reasonable access to its 4-year public institutions, although placement and remediation continue to be a concern. The study also revealed strengths and weaknesses of the K-16 Partnership. The phase 2 study used survey responses from 232 9th and 11th Overview Purpose and Scope of the Study This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affecting the transition of students from high school to college. A particular focus of this study is the role of a formal, high profile statewide K-16 structure, the Maryland K-16 Partnership for Teaching and Learning, in promoting policies and practices that help improve this transition for all students.
This is a report on the Stanford Bridge Project being conducted through the Maryland Community Co... more This is a report on the Stanford Bridge Project being conducted through the Maryland Community College Extension to examine policies impacting the high school to community college transition for students. The project analyzes admissions, placement and remediation, transfer, and other policies at two Maryland community colleges. The report shows that: (1) more than 55% of Maryland college students attend community colleges; however, graduation and transfer rates have declined continuously over the last decade; (2) Maryland community colleges still maintain open admissions and have financial aid awards designed specifically for community college students; however, the receipt of financial aid requires satisfactory academic performance, and aid cannot be given to students testing at low basic skill levels; (3) all community colleges in the state use the same math, reading, and English placement tests; (4) the Maryland public higher education system maintains a computerized information system on transfer articulation between state institutions; (5) most students do not enroll in community college directly after high school graduation; and (6) the high school exit criteria for math and English are not totally consistent with college entrance expectations. The report offers recommendations for improving student transition to college-for example, early intervention in high schools; increased funding for math, reading, and English programs; and more communication between the different educational levels on expectations. The Stanford Bridge Project is also being conducted in California and Oregon. (Contains 13 references.) (MKF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Accountability systems target effective school management among other key aspects of the school-i... more Accountability systems target effective school management among other key aspects of the school-improvement process that impact teacher performance. In treating this aspect of accountability, it asks, "What do school improvement plans reveal about schools' responses to accountability and probation?" The school-improvement plan (SIP)-usually required to codify a school's envisioned improvement design-is a common feature among accountability systems in Maryland, Kentucky, and the city of San Francisco. This comparative analysis links specific patterns of schools' plans to specific design features of the accountability system. All three systems bring performance accountability to schools via external imposition but differ in the way they use different performance indicators, selection criteria for probation, and capacity building measures. The report also
This article reports on a study of school improvement under conditions of high-stakes accountabil... more This article reports on a study of school improvement under conditions of high-stakes accountability. Planning is a key mandate for persistently low-performing schools on probation in many accountability systems. We investigated what kinds of school improvement plans schools wrote under these conditions and what role the plans played in the school improvement process. The study consisted of 2 parts: a content analysis of 46 school improvement plans selected from 1 state accountability system, Maryland, and case study data from 3 elementary and 4 middle schools. This article draws primarily from interviews conducted at the 7 schools. The study showed that schools responded to performance demands of the accountability system with a pattern of external obligation and internal managerialism. School improvement plans were less useful as tools for a broadly based internal development process. High-stakes school accountability systems are proliferating in the United States. Many state governments have designed policies that combine standards, school performance assessments, productivity targets, rewards, and sanctions to deal with poorly performing schools. In most accountability systems, schools as whole organizations are held accountable, and the work performance of teachers and administrators is measured indirectly through the behavior of students (Quality Counts, 2001). Often, accountability agencies put schools identified as persistently low performing on probation (Ascher, Ikeda, & Fruchter, 1997; Guskey, 1994; Mintrop, 2000; Wong, Anagnostopoulos, & Rutledge, 1998). Probation is a period during which schools are challenged to reverse decline. Many schools on probation are mandated
This article explores school improvement planning under conditions of high-stakes accountability ... more This article explores school improvement planning under conditions of high-stakes accountability by means of a content analysis of school improvement plans. The schools examined here were identified by their accountability agencies as low performing and were put on probation to reverse their decline. Schools in three accountability systems are compared. Content analyses indicated that school improvement plans across the three jurisdictions were very similar, suggesting institutional isomorphism. However, certain policy design features prompted variation in the levels of internalization of external demands by school sites.
This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affect... more This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affecting the transition of students from high school to college. A particular focus is the role of a formal, high-profile statewide K-16 structure, the Maryland K-16 Partnership for Teaching and Learning, in promoting policies and practices that help improve the transition for all students. The Maryland case study is one of six studies being conducted as part of "The Bridge Project: Strengthening K-16 Transition Policies." An underlying assumption was that a lack of consistency in curricular content and academic expectations between the K-12 system and higher education, coupled with a lack of communication between these two sectors, causes many problems in the transition to college. This discussion highlights phase 1 of the Bridge Project, which focuses on freshman admissions and initial course placement. The second part of the discussion presents initial findings from phase 2 for Maryland. Forty-one key people associated with the University of Maryland at College Park and Towson University were interviewed for phase 1. Findings of the phase 1 study suggest that Maryland students generally have reasonable access to its 4-year public institutions, although placement and remediation continue to be a concern. The study also revealed strengths and weaknesses of the K-16 Partnership. The phase 2 study used survey responses from 232 9th and 11th Overview Purpose and Scope of the Study This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affecting the transition of students from high school to college. A particular focus of this study is the role of a formal, high profile statewide K-16 structure, the Maryland K-16 Partnership for Teaching and Learning, in promoting policies and practices that help improve this transition for all students.
This is a report on the Stanford Bridge Project being conducted through the Maryland Community Co... more This is a report on the Stanford Bridge Project being conducted through the Maryland Community College Extension to examine policies impacting the high school to community college transition for students. The project analyzes admissions, placement and remediation, transfer, and other policies at two Maryland community colleges. The report shows that: (1) more than 55% of Maryland college students attend community colleges; however, graduation and transfer rates have declined continuously over the last decade; (2) Maryland community colleges still maintain open admissions and have financial aid awards designed specifically for community college students; however, the receipt of financial aid requires satisfactory academic performance, and aid cannot be given to students testing at low basic skill levels; (3) all community colleges in the state use the same math, reading, and English placement tests; (4) the Maryland public higher education system maintains a computerized information system on transfer articulation between state institutions; (5) most students do not enroll in community college directly after high school graduation; and (6) the high school exit criteria for math and English are not totally consistent with college entrance expectations. The report offers recommendations for improving student transition to college-for example, early intervention in high schools; increased funding for math, reading, and English programs; and more communication between the different educational levels on expectations. The Stanford Bridge Project is also being conducted in California and Oregon. (Contains 13 references.) (MKF) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Accountability systems target effective school management among other key aspects of the school-i... more Accountability systems target effective school management among other key aspects of the school-improvement process that impact teacher performance. In treating this aspect of accountability, it asks, "What do school improvement plans reveal about schools' responses to accountability and probation?" The school-improvement plan (SIP)-usually required to codify a school's envisioned improvement design-is a common feature among accountability systems in Maryland, Kentucky, and the city of San Francisco. This comparative analysis links specific patterns of schools' plans to specific design features of the accountability system. All three systems bring performance accountability to schools via external imposition but differ in the way they use different performance indicators, selection criteria for probation, and capacity building measures. The report also
This article reports on a study of school improvement under conditions of high-stakes accountabil... more This article reports on a study of school improvement under conditions of high-stakes accountability. Planning is a key mandate for persistently low-performing schools on probation in many accountability systems. We investigated what kinds of school improvement plans schools wrote under these conditions and what role the plans played in the school improvement process. The study consisted of 2 parts: a content analysis of 46 school improvement plans selected from 1 state accountability system, Maryland, and case study data from 3 elementary and 4 middle schools. This article draws primarily from interviews conducted at the 7 schools. The study showed that schools responded to performance demands of the accountability system with a pattern of external obligation and internal managerialism. School improvement plans were less useful as tools for a broadly based internal development process. High-stakes school accountability systems are proliferating in the United States. Many state governments have designed policies that combine standards, school performance assessments, productivity targets, rewards, and sanctions to deal with poorly performing schools. In most accountability systems, schools as whole organizations are held accountable, and the work performance of teachers and administrators is measured indirectly through the behavior of students (Quality Counts, 2001). Often, accountability agencies put schools identified as persistently low performing on probation (Ascher, Ikeda, & Fruchter, 1997; Guskey, 1994; Mintrop, 2000; Wong, Anagnostopoulos, & Rutledge, 1998). Probation is a period during which schools are challenged to reverse decline. Many schools on probation are mandated
This article explores school improvement planning under conditions of high-stakes accountability ... more This article explores school improvement planning under conditions of high-stakes accountability by means of a content analysis of school improvement plans. The schools examined here were identified by their accountability agencies as low performing and were put on probation to reverse their decline. Schools in three accountability systems are compared. Content analyses indicated that school improvement plans across the three jurisdictions were very similar, suggesting institutional isomorphism. However, certain policy design features prompted variation in the levels of internalization of external demands by school sites.
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