Achievement in Rural Schools

A recent story on the Eduction Week Rural Education Blog discussed changes in rural educaiton. While rural Americans have improved their educational status, the gap between rural and urban areas continues to grow. For example, in rural areas more residents now obtain some sort of post-secondary education (7.8% in 1970; 27.4% in 2010) and fewer residents report having less than a high school education (59.4% in 1970; 18.9% in 2010). Rural areas now have more residents with a college degree (15.4%) but have fallen further behind the national average of 27.9% than any time in the past 40 years. These numbers parallel recent data that show only 27% of rural students enrolling in college compared to 34% nationally.

College Preparation Timeline

Principals play a key role in helping students prepare for admission and success in college. The best schools start early to prepare kids for a post-secondary experience and they make sure teachers and other staff, students and their families, and community members all have the information and tools they need to support students take the right courses, gain admission, find financial support and head off to college with the confidence and skills they need to succeed.

At the recent GEAR UP Success Conference at Seventh Mountain Resort in Bend, Howard Johnston and Ron Williamson shared a comprehensive timeline they developed for principals. The timeline is linked to the five core concepts of the Oregon GEAR UP model---relationships, reality of affordability, rigor, relevance, and right classes. The timeline includes links to incredible resources and identifies activities that should take place from 6th grade through high school. College Prep: A Timeline for Leaders is a valuable resource. We'd enjoy hearing from you about the timeline and about how you support your students' preparation for college.

Both Eligible and Ready for College

The December 2010 issue of Principal Leadership had a thoughtful article by Dr. David Conley from the University of Oregon Center for Educational Policy Research on helping students become both eligible for college admission and prepared for success in entry-level college courses.

Dr. Conley's work emphasizes readiness in four critical areas: "development of key cognitive strategies, mastery of key content knowledge, proficiency with a set of academic behaviors, and sufficient college knowledge about what post-secondary education requires."

For example, he suggests that students must know how to think about and apply content knowledge, how to identify a problem, how to collect information and evaluate the resources they used, how to interpret, analyze and evaluate the information and then communicate their work by organizing it and constructing a logical means of presenting the work

He suggests that most high schools do a good job of encouraging college attendance, and helping students navigate both the admission and financial aid process. In addition, many schools provide students with a set of courses that deal with content knowledge. What most schools lack is a recognition that college success also requires a set of intellectual dispositions and skills for success in college courses.

After studying 38 high schools, seven key principles were identified. They include:

1. Create and maintain a college going culture in your school - Signal to students that the school prepares them for postsecondary success.
2. Create a core academic program aligned with and leading to college readiness by the end of the 12th grade - Define a core academic program that, for all students, that leads to college readiness.
3. Teach self-management skills and expect students to use them in high school - Help students learn to manage their own learning, to set and manage completion of goals, and to manage taking notes and completing long-term, complex assignments.
4. Make college real by preparing students for the complexity of applying to college and making the transition -Work with students and families as early as middle school and no later than the 9th grade to understand the importance of planning, taking the appropriate courses, and timelines for both admission and financial aid.
5. Create assignments and grading policies that align more closely with college expectations - Because the college experience requires students to work more independently and to manage assignments and homework without receiving a daily or weekly grade, schools should provide this experience during high school. Develop assignments that use college type experiences and expectations.
6. Make the senior year meaningful and challenging - Assure that the senior year is both academically enriching and challenging. Every student should experience a college like experience such as senior seminar, senior project or AP course.
7. Build partnerships with postsecondary institutions and programs - Work to build a relationship with postsecondary programs and institutions. Find ways for faculty to work together and to align their expectations and instruction.

Assuring that every student is prepared for postsecondary education is a critical activity in K-12 schools. I'd like to know how you respond to Dr. Conley's seven recommendations and what you and your teachers are doing to assure that each of your students is prepared for post-secondary education.

Additional information about Dr. Conley's work is available at www.collegecareerready.org. Principal Leadership is a publication of the National Association of Secondary School Principals and is available online to members (www.principals.org).

College Readiness Strategies

During the past year the Principal's Leadership Program has developed several resources that can help you and your staff help to prepare students for college. The research shows that four factors are critical to student success.

1. They take the right classes in middle school and high school so that they can take rigorous classes in high school and college. The course selection should be guided by the rigor of the class, not the course title.
2. They develop the cognitive and meta cognitive skills for success beyond high school. This includes critical-thinking, problem analysis, synthesis, inquisitiveness, and intellectual openness.
3. They have a supportive structure in high school that embraces their college aspirations and provides them with the knowledge and skills to navigate in a very different social structure.
4. Students and their families are provided accurate, up-to-date information about admission requirements, timelines and availability of financial assistance.

A paper prepared by EPI for Oregon GEAR UP Principals titled Pathways to College is available at www.educationpartnerships.org/pdfs/Pathways%20to%20College.pdf. It is accompanied by a Research Brief on the Transition from Middle School to High School, and one on the Transition from High School to College. Both are available at the EPI website.