Blazing New Trails - Connexions

162 CRITICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
and success in advanced level classes that were attained by a secondary school-communityuniversity
Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP)
partnership with explicit goals of increasing the number of students accessing and succeeding
in dual credit, Pre Advanced Placement (AP), AP, dual credit and other advanced level
classes.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Systemic reform is achieved through a multi-faceted approach that considers
structures for collaboration, implementation of best practices, and ongoing evaluation
(Schlechty, 2001). In order to achieve sustained change to a culture of high expectations in
schools with curriculum and instruction that supports the increased academic achievement of
secondary students, systemic, comprehensive reform is needed. Too often, students express
interest in pursuing postsecondary education, but they do not take the steps to meet this goal
(Adelman, 1999, Gladieux & Swail, 1998). For example, nationally, 66.2% of low
socioeconomic (SES) U.S. tenth-grade students expect to attain a bachelor's degree or higher,
78.7% of middle SES U.S. tenth-grade students, and 92.8% of high SES U.S. tenth-grade
students (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). However, for every 100 ninth graders, the
number who graduate high school on time is 68, the number who immediately enroll in
college is 40, the number who are still enrolled in their sophomore year is 27, and the number
who graduate college on time is 18 (Ewell, Jones, & Kelly, 2003). Students who are not
prepared for college and careers enter a job market where 90% of the new jobs in the U.S.
will require a high school diploma (22%), some postsecondary education (36%), or a
bachelor's degree (31%) (U.S. Department of Education, 2004). In addition, a report by ACT
(2008) titled The Forgotten Middle: Ensuring that All Students are on Target for College and
Career Readiness before High School stated:
Today, college readiness also means career readiness. While not every high school
graduate plans to attend college, the majority of the fastest-growing jobs that require a
high school diploma, pay a salary above the poverty line for a family of four, and
provide opportunities for career advancement require knowledge and skills
comparable to those expected of the first-year college student. (p. 1)
To meet both college and career readiness standards for students, leaders from the district,
campus, and university levels can implement systemic change processes to strengthen a
college-going culture and students' success for both college and careers (Toch, Jerald, &
Dillon, 2007). One of these systemic changes is analysis of achievement data by teams.
The Role of Data Analysis in Reform of High Schools
Moving from pockets of excellence in individual classrooms to a school-wide culture
of high expectations presents a challenge to school leaders who are seeking to achieve
academic excellence and bridge the achievement gap (Elmore, 2004). To achieve this type of
reform, the principal leads the way in helping all school personnel to recognize and assess
national, state, and local needs through the analysis of relevant data. Chubb and Loveless
(2002) emphasized the urgency of overcoming the achievement gap as follows: