Talking Points for Promotion of Increased Academic Excellence and Rigor in the Geneseo Schools
Prepared by
Joni Swanson
Assistant Superintendent
Geneseo CUSD #228

January 2005

Rigorous Curriculum Content:
• The most powerful predictor of college graduation is the academic intensity of a student’s high school curriculum (4,5 & 1) Academic intensity includes: 3.75 or more years of math (with no remedial level courses) and the highest level of math is at Trigonometry or higher; 3.75 or more years of English (with no remedial level courses); 2 or more years of core laboratory classes – Chemistry/Physics and 2.5 or more years of science; 2 or more years of foreign language; 2 or more units of history; 1 or more AP classes with the exams (1)
• Students who complete rigorous coursework in high school have more and better options after high school graduation (3)
• The evidence suggests that higher level mathematics (Pre-Calculus, Calculus or Trigonometry as a separate class above Algebra II) has the strongest impact on future success in the workplace and in college (3)
• Rigorous course taking in high school can overcome a variety of socio-economic disadvantages, including poverty and low levels of parental education (3)
• The most effective vocational programs are the ones that include high-level math, science and English skills (3)
• The largest difference between the number of students who completed Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II and students who went on to complete Pre-Calculus and Calculus or Trigonometry as a separate course from Algebra II was the percentage of students completing college degrees – not just attending college. 44% of students completing Algebra II completed college degrees compared with 76% of students completing Pre-Calculus and 82% of students completing Calculus in high school. (1)
• We cannot control the SES (socioeconomic status) of our student body, nor the test scores that students achieve, but we can control the “opportunity to learn” factor of our high school curriculum offerings. (1)
• Students completion of an academically intense high school curriculum overpowered any disadvantage of their SES (1)
• Students from the lowest SES levels, but who have the highest academic preparation earn bachelor’s degrees at a higher rate than students from high SES levels with lower levels of academic preparation.(1)
• Courses with “honors” titles are not the answer to academic intensity unless the courses actually include and require rigorous content provided by staff and learning expectations carried out by students. (1)
• Inadequate academic preparation by students is the major reason why only about half of those who enroll in a four year degree program finish within six years and even smaller percentages finish two year programs at community colleges.(4)
• Making it through a “watered down” high school curriculum will not produce the same result in post-secondary education or career life as a student who succeeds in a more rigorous curriculum. (4)

Advanced Placement
• It is now common for upper middle-class parents to evaluate and choose high schools for their children based on the number of AP courses offered at those schools (5)
• Student performance on AP examinations is strongly related to college performance (2 & 5)
• For students who do not complete AP examinations or do not prepare to score well enough on the exams to achieve the level of earning college credit, merely enrolling in AP or honors levels courses in high school is not an indicator of the likelihood that students will perform well in college. (2 & 5)
• There are an enormous number of average students who want to go to college, need the rigorous high school preparation, and are denied the chance because they have not had the opportunity to take the AP courses (2 & 5)
• Advanced Placement course taking is more strongly related to degree completion than it is to qualifying students for post-secondary education (1)

The Students’ Role and Responsibilities
• Students who go into post-secondary education directly after leaving high school have higher completion rates (BA,AA) than those students who delay entry (1)
• When students begin their post-secondary school at a community college, their BA completion rates improve if they earn more than 10 credits at that level and then transfer to a 4 year institution (1)
• Of the students who were assigned to remedial reading courses through college placement examinations, only 40% earned bachelors degrees, compared with 70% of students who required no remedial coursework in college (1)
• Teachers control what is taught and how, but it is up to the students to decide if they will respond and engage themselves in learning the content (3)
• Students’ academic resources (what they learned before entering post-secondary education) were the most important factor in determining whether or not a student completes a post-secondary program of studies (1)
• Non-academic skills including academic self-confidence, academic goals, academic related skills (time management, study skills and study habits), social support, and commitment to an institution all had a positive relationship to keeping students in school at the post-secondary level. Academic related skills had the highest correlation with retention in the college setting. (6)
• The bar of expectations for student learning and academic engagement must be raised not just for the schools, but for the students themselves (4)
• Students need to realize once and for all that the responsibility for learning is not on the shoulder of the teachers, the responsibility for learning is on the shoulder of the student themselves (4)
• Student aspirations for further learning, unfortunately, are seldom matched by an accurate awareness of the effort required to get there. Although nearly 90% of 9th grade students expect to complete a post-secondary education, few know what it means to graduate from high school prepared to succeed at the college level. (4)

Future Implications for the School System
• We need to improve students’ understanding of the intellectual demands postsecondary schooling and modern work will make on them. Exploration of educational and career options needs to begin in middle school. (4)
• Beginning in 6th grade, teachers, administrators, counselors, students and parents should begin work on a formal learning plan for every student. (4)
• In order to prepare students for post-secondary education, entrance placement exams should be administered in high school (as early as 10th grade) so that students are more aware of their readiness to enroll in credit bearing courses upon entering college (4)
• Middle College and Dual Enrollment programs with local community colleges and universities should be encouraged (4)
• Dual enrollment programs provide equitable opportunity to learn for all students (1)
• Unless students in the “top X percent” by class rank and GPA ALSO have the curriculum experiences that reflect their achievement we may not be doing right by the students (1)
• Integration of academic support with teaching and learning (including tutoring and study skills instruction incorporated into the classroom instruction) is highly recommended (6)
• The differences between the number of students completing a college prep curriculum and those entering college shows that at least 25% of students are not prepared for the rigors of post-secondary school learning situations. (4)
• Today and for the foreseeable future, nearly all Americans will require two years of more of postsecondary education and training (4)
• Schools must improvement alignment (K-12) of their curriculum, provide the opportunities and encouragement for students to raise their own achievement, and provide more rigorous course opportunities for all students. (4)

Footnotes:

1) Clifford Adelman, Senior Analyst at the U.S. Department of Education, “Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor’s Degree Attainment”, 1999. Posted on WEB 2/28/05
2) Saul Geiser and Veronica Santelices at the Center for Higher Education at University of California Berkeley. “The Role of Advanced Placement and Honors Courses in College Admissions”. 2004
3) Robert Shireman, at the Center for Higher Education at University of California Berkeley. “Rigorous Courses” and Student Achievement in High School: An Options Paper for the Governor of California”. 2004
4) Paul Patton, Chairperson. National Commission on the High School Senior Year. “Raising Our Sights – No High School Senior Left Behind” and “The Lost Opportunity for Senior Year: Finding a Better Way” and “Youth at the Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond”. 2001
5) Jay Mathews, Staff Writer for the Washington Post, “Are Bonus Grade Points for Hard Courses Unfair?”, “Advanced Courses in High School May Not Mean Success at College”, and “A Chart Exposes High School Malpractice”, 2004
6) Veronica Lotkowski, Steven Robbins, and Richard Noeth, ACT (American College Testing), Inc., Iowa City, IA, “The Role of Academic and Non- Academic Factors in Improving College Retention”, 2004