Launch Years Initiative Resource Kit

Information, Tools, and Resources to Implement the Launch Years Recommendations

Implementation Resources for Launch Years Recommendations

In Launch Years: A New Vision for the Transition from High School to Postsecondary Mathematics, seven recommendations offer concrete strategies to establish policies, practices, and structures that enable students to transition seamlessly from high school to postsecondary and toward fulfilling careers and active participation in our data-driven society. The report also explains the ways in which these recommendations will lead to more equitable outcomes. An abbreviated version of the recommendations is also available.

The Launch Years Resource Kit highlights specific resources to help implement the Launch Years recommendations. Each recommendation, along with major strategies, is briefly summarized below, followed by a list of resources. Each resource description includes:

  • Primary audiences
  • Brief description with links
  • Resource type: Informational resource, Tool to guide implementation, Example of program
  • Source

This is intended to be a starting point for people looking for resources, not a complete list.

Click the links below to jump to a specific recommendation:

  • Recommendation 1: Secondary and postsecondary institutions offer multiple effective and aligned mathematics pathways.
  • Recommendation 2: Postsecondary institutions and other providers prepare preservice and in-service teachers to teach multiple mathematics pathways.
  • Recommendation 3: Education institutions offer robust supports to help students navigate mathematics pathways, maximize learning, and access broader postsecondary options.
  • Recommendation 4: Business and industry partners actively inform the design of education opportunities that support students’ goals.
  • Recommendation 5: State agencies and education systems develop policies that enable smooth student transitions from secondary to postsecondary mathematics.
  • Recommendation 6: State agencies and education systems, institutions, and schools build a strong shared understanding of—and commitment to—goals among their constituents.
  • Recommendation 7: State agencies, systems, and institutions use data and research to measure impact and to inform continuous improvement of mathematics pathways.

Recommendation 1: Secondary and postsecondary institutions offer multiple effective and aligned mathematics pathways.

Strategy 1a: State agencies, postsecondary education systems, and institutions modernize mathematics pathways.

Strategy 1b: Secondary education systems collaborate with postsecondary partners to offer aligned mathematics pathways.

Strategy 1c: Secondary and postsecondary education systems adopt or develop mathematics course design frameworks that define expectations for quality.

Recommendation 1 Resources

  • OnRamps

    OnRamps

    Primary audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, higher education mathematics

    OnRamps, launched in 2011, offers education opportunities for high school mathematics students and teachers through dual enrollment courses. Students are enrolled concurrently in an in-person high school course and a distance college course. College courses offered include algebra, precalculus, and statistics.

    In August 2020, OnRamps announced a partnership with the state of Texas’s education department, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), to provide free access to a limited number of modules to Texas middle school and high school educators. A first-time professional development for teachers is 10 full days in summer.

    • Resource type: Example
    • Source: Office of Strategy and Policy, The University of Texas at Austin
  • T-STEM: Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics initiative

    T-STEM: Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics initiative

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, K–12 policy

    The Texas Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (T-STEM) initiative is an open-enrollment program that engages students in a rigorous STEM curriculum, preparing them for future careers. Addressing this rising demand, the T-STEM initiative seeks to increase the number of Texas students who study and enter STEM fields. The website provides planning and implementation tools that can be used in a number of settings.

    T-STEM is a project of the Texas Education Agency’s Division of College, Career, and Military Preparation (CCMP), which works to ensure that all Texas high school students can access pathways to career and college.

  • Texas STEM Education Toolkit

    Texas STEM Education Toolkit

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, K–12 policy

    The Texas STEM Education Toolkit is a set of resources developed by the Texas Education Agency to support Texas school districts seeking to develop a local K–12 STEM education program.

    The Texas STEM Education Toolkit is a project of the Texas Education Agency’s Division of College, Career, and Military Preparation (CCMP), which works to ensure that all Texas high school students can access pathways to career and college.

  • Catalyzing Change

    Catalyzing Change

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 policy

    The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM)’s Catalyzing Change series provides evidence-based guidance on policies and practices that support mathematics learning. The series includes volumes on teaching mathematics at the early childhood and elementary, middle school, and high school levels that provide recommendations for creating structures and implementing instruction, identifying essential concepts in high school mathematics, organizing mathematics pathways, and planning next steps.

    NCTM provides webinars and other learning opportunities around the Catalyzing Change series, and it is often used in professional learning communities (PLCs).

  • P-TECH Tools and Resources

    P-TECH Tools and Resources

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, higher education mathematics, business/workforce

    The P-TECH 9–14 School Model, originally known as Pathways in Technology Early College High School, is an education initiative that aims to enable students to earn a high school diploma and an industry-recognized associate degree, while acquiring work experience in the field. P-TECH is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) focused, and the program operates in more than 20 countries worldwide.

    P-TECH students participate in high school and college coursework simultaneously and gain experience in industry through guided workforce development. Students earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. Although the P-TECH curriculum is specific to computer technology, data science, and design, the P-TECH model can be a useful example for other content areas. 

    The P-TECH website provides tools for aligning high school, college, and workplace knowledge and case studies that demonstrate how to mentor and support students throughout the experience.

  • Open P-Tech

    Open P-Tech

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, higher education mathematics, business/workforce

    P-TECH and the open education resource (OER) version, Open P-TECH, is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) focused, and the program operates in more than 20 countries worldwide.

    P-TECH students participate in high school and college coursework simultaneously and gain experience in industry through guided workforce development. Students earn a high school diploma and an associate’s degree. Although the P-TECH curriculum is specific to computer technology, data science, and design, the P-TECH model can be a useful example for other content areas.

    The P-TECH website provides tools for aligning high school, college, and workplace knowledge and case studies that demonstrate how to mentor and support students throughout the experience.

    • Resource type: Tool
    • Source: Open P-TECH is an education reform initiative created by IBM
  • High School Math Beta by Mathematics Vision Project

    High School Math Beta by Mathematics Vision Project

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration

    The Open Up Resources collaborative offers open-access education resources in mathematics and ELA: English Language Arts.

    The Mathematics Vision Project has authored a three-year high school mathematics curriculum available in both a traditional pathway format and an integrated pathway format. Each pathway is structured with lesson design that gives students ownership of their learning and connects student mathematics learning to real-world contexts.

  • Illustrative Mathematics K–12 Math

    Illustrative Mathematics K–12 Math

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling

    Illustrative Mathematics, launched in 2011 at the University of Arizona, and operating as an independent nonprofit since 2013, offers grades K–12 curriculum, resources, and professional learning for educators as well as the online IM Community Hub with additional IM-developed resources and discussion forums. 

    The Illustrative Mathematics blog features substantive posts by mathematics educators on mathematics content and pedagogy.

  • Math Pathways: The Way Forward

    Math Pathways: The Way Forward [Report]

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling

    Math Pathways: The Way Forward (2019) is a 36-page report on mathematics pathways that lead to postsecondary programs of study. Available in-browser or as a downloadable pdf, the report includes case studies with detailed information on how schools have taken action to address inequities in access to an excellent education.

    The report includes an extensive appendix with descriptions of researched programs and endnotes citing more than 100 references.

  • NTN: New Tech Network

    NTN: New Tech Network

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, business/workforce

    The New Tech Network is a national nonprofit design partner for comprehensive school change using project-based and problem-based strategies to teach students in interdisciplinary school settings. The New Tech Network works in more than 30 states.

  • Math Placement Policy and Guidelines (SB359)

    Math Placement Policy and Guidelines (SB359), Escondido Union High School District, Escondido, California

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling, K–12 policy

    The Escondido Union High School District implemented a nontraditional set of mathematics pathways designed to eliminate tracking.

    Under the placement policy and protocols adopted, all freshman students take Math 1, and all sophomore students take Math 2. In these courses, they learn algebra and geometry. Students then select a data science, statistics, or calculus-leaning pathway for higher-level courses.

    The website provides the placement policy and placement protocol as well as links to information about the courses. This is an example of innovation in content and policy and of effective communication with the community.

  • Agile Mind 6–12 Mathematics Curriculum

    Agile Mind 6–12 Mathematics Curriculum

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration

    Since 2001, Agile Mind has collaborated with the Dana Center to develop the highest-quality teaching and learning resources in middle and high school mathematics. They encompass core math programs, supplemental supports, and related professional learning for educators from grade 6 through AP Calculus and Statistics.

Recommendation 2: Postsecondary institutions and other providers prepare preservice and in-service teachers to teach multiple mathematics pathways. 

Strategy 2a: Preservice programs incorporate emerging effective practices in mathematics pathways.

Strategy 2b: In-service teachers and faculty receive ongoing support to implement, improve and sustain mathematics pathways.

Strategy 2c: Secondary, postsecondary, and business and industry sectors collaborate to create innovative solutions to teacher shortages.

Recommendation 2 Resources

  • UTeach professional development blended learning courses

    UTeach professional development blended learning courses

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, higher education mathematics, higher education administration

    UTeach professional development offers courses for educators on effective remote learning, with resources and strategies to deliver effective blended learning, defined as virtual (online) learning activities delivered through teacher-led instruction. The techniques presented in the courses can be applied to improve any mathematics pathway course or sequence of courses.

    Participants in the Foundations of Blended Learning Course explore what blended learning classrooms look like, review tools and techniques, create a blended classroom management plan, and observe blended classrooms in action.

    Participants in the Advanced Blended Learning Course focus on applying the Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) rubric, and using the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Educators.

  • UTeach professional development inquiry-based learning series

    UTeach professional development inquiry-based learning series

    Primary Audience: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, higher education mathematics, higher education administration

    UTeach professional development offers a course series on inquiry-based learning, designed to help preservice and in-service teachers develop or deepen their understanding of inquiry-based teaching and learning strategies that help math and science students construct new knowledge. Series topics include Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners, Tools for Managing Classrooms in the Digital Age, Engaging Students with Mobile Technology, Mentoring Math and Science Teachers, Teaching Algebra Through Inquiry, and Makerspace in the Classroom.

  • Texas Instruments Building Concepts in Mathematics

    Texas Instruments Building Concepts in Mathematics

    Primary Audience: K–12 mathematics

    Texas Instruments Building Concepts in Mathematics resources and webinars are available on demand for preservice and in-service teachers to help build understanding and connections between mathematics concepts. The resources, presented by the education technology division of Texas Instruments, focus on the scope and sequence of learning for the middle grades and are integrated with TI-Nspire graphing calculator technology.

  • Mathematics Assessment Project: TRU: Teaching for Robust Understanding

    Mathematics Assessment Project: TRU: Teaching for Robust Understanding

    Primary Audience: K–12 mathematics

    The TRU Framework consists of research-grounded resources, rubrics, and professional development modules for characterizing and enacting five dimensions of classroom activity that contribute to robust mathematics learning environments for students. The “five dimensions of powerful classrooms” defined in the TRU Framework include content; cognitive demand; access to content; student agency, authority, and identity; and formative assessment.

    The TRU Framework resources have been used by professional learning communities to improve classroom teaching and learning.

    • Resource type: Tool
    • Source: The TRU Framework was developed through a MAP: Mathematics Assessment Project collaboration between the University of California, Berkeley’s Algebra Teaching Study, Michigan State University, and the MARS (Mathematics Assessment Resource Service) of the Shell Center for Mathematical Education at the University of Nottingham.
  • National Math and Science Initiative’s Laying the Foundation

    National Math and Science Initiative’s Laying the Foundation

    Primary Audience: K–12 mathematics

    Laying the Foundation provides professional development to in-service teachers in grades 3-12 on rigorous course content, instructional strategies for diverse classrooms, and vertical alignment with College Board Advanced Placement (AP) science and mathematics courses. 

    The intent of the Laying the Foundation program is to is “lay the foundation” of strong core content by helping teachers enhance subject-matter expertise and improve skills required to lead diverse classrooms. A key program aim is ensuring students have more opportunities to take AP courses and experience better outcomes in mathematics, science, English, and computer science courses. 

    In 2020 NMSI also published a playlist of free video lessons to support the swift transition to online teaching.

    • Resource type: Tool
    • Source: The National Math and Science Initiative, is a nonprofit organization with a mission of “advancing STEM education to ensure all students, especially those furthest from opportunity, thrive and reach their highest potential as problem solvers and lifelong learners.”

     

  • NCTM 2020 Standards for Mathematics Teacher Preparation

    NCTM 2020 Standards for Mathematics Teacher Preparation

    Primary Audience: Higher education policy

    These National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards for the preparation of mathematics teachers (secondary level and middle level) have been updated given current research in mathematics education, conversations around the purpose of secondary mathematics (see also the NCTM Catalyzing Change series), and the need for better alignment to college and career readiness standards and pathways.

  • UTeach Accelerate

    UTeach Accelerate

    Primary Audience: Higher education mathematics, higher education administration, higher education advisor

    UTeach Accelerate is one of four university program alternative teacher certification programs under the United States Department of Education Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) program. These programs offer scholarships and uniquely designed coursework that provides teacher candidates with field experiences and core learning experiences. Candidates can become teachers within short periods of times while receiving long-term support.

  • Knowles Teacher Initiative

    Knowles Teacher Initiative

    Primary Audience: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration

    The Knowles Teacher Initiative offers a national network of support to teachers through fellowships and professional development opportunities. Teaching fellows receive financial support, mentoring from Senior Fellows, and access to a community of more than 400 teachers. The Knowles Teacher Initiative was founded in 1999, and the first mathematics teachers were awarded Teaching Fellowships in 2005. 

    Courses currently offered include Physics for the Next Generation: The Patterns Approach; Engaging Math and Science Students in Engineering Design; Designing Instructional Tasks to Increase Student Engagement and Learning in Math (and a comparable course for science); and Using Effective Group Work to Maximize Learning for All Students.

  • The California Mathematics Project

    The California Mathematics Project

    Primary Audience: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 policy

    The California Mathematics Project is a K–16 network of regional collaborations between institutions of higher education and K–12 districts. CMP serves mathematics teachers working with diverse student populations, by providing supports and resources such as professional development on literacy skills for English language learners in mathematics as well as ways to identify, develop, and sustain mathematics teacher leaders. CMP programs include the California Action Network for Mathematics Excellence and Equity (CANMEE), California Mathematics Project Supporting Teachers to Increase Retention (CMP STIR), and the Career Technical Education Connection Initiative (C3).

  • Raising Texas Teachers

    Raising Texas Teachers, a project of Raise Your Hand Texas

    Primary Audience: Higher Education administration, higher education advisor, business/workforce

    The Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation launched Raising Texas Teachers, which includes the Charles Butt Scholarship for Aspiring Teachers, partnerships with Texas universities to improve teacher preparation, and a statewide campaign to elevate the status of the teaching profession.

Recommendation 3: Education institutions offer robust supports to help students navigate mathematics pathways, maximize learning, and access broader postsecondary options.

Strategy 3a: Students receive high-quality support to promote learning and academic success in mathematics.

Strategy 3b: Students receive comprehensive advising to help guide them to the appropriate mathematics pathway that aligns with their postsecondary interests.

Strategy 3c: Institutions provide supports to help students explore career options, set goals, and understand how to access postsecondary options.

Recommendation 3 Resources

  • Inside Mathematics

    Inside Mathematics

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics

    Inside Mathematics includes tools for educators, video lessons showing best teaching practices, nonroutine “Problems of the Month,” tasks aligned with education standards, practitioner guides for building welcoming classroom climates, and grade-level formative performance assessment tasks. The website’s content is updated regularly.

  • What Is Rigor in Mathematics Really?

    What Is Rigor in Mathematics Really? [Report]

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, higher education mathematics

    This report provides stakeholders with information regarding what rigor looks like in the mathematics classroom and provides recommendations for moving forward.

  • The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development

    The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counselor, K–12 policy

    This brief explains “how emotions and relationships drive learning and are a fundamental part of how our brains develop.”

    The authors summarize extensive research into brain development across childhood and adolescence, define optimal environments that support the whole child, and suggest basic but profound principles to guide policy and practice.

  • Academic SEL and Mathematics Curriculum Materials

    Academic Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Mathematics Curriculum Materials

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counselor

    This tool can be used to determine if your mathematics instructional materials support students’ understanding and application of widely accepted social and emotional learning (SEL) competencies.

    The guiding questions addressed are:

    • Do the instructional materials promote student engagement in the SEL competencies and the application of the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) in ways that connect to the academic SEL competencies?
    • Do the educator supports explicitly describe ways to engage students in the SEL competencies and the SMP in ways that connect to the SEL competencies?
    • Resource type: Tool (2018)
    • Source: Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Effective Student Support Services at Oklahoma State University to Improve Student Success in Lower-Level Mathematics Courses

    Effective Student Support Services at Oklahoma State University to Improve Student Success in Lower-Level Mathematics Courses [Brief]

    Primary Audiences: higher education mathematics, higher education student supports

    This brief is an example of a strong peer-to-peer student support center that researches its own practices to make continuous data-driven improvements.

  • Advising and Mathematics Pathways

    Advising and Mathematics Pathways

    Primary Audiences: higher education student supports

    This essay, a chapter in the 2019 monograph Emerging Issues in Mathematics Pathways, discusses the importance of advising students and the effects of advising on student learning, persistence, retention, and degree completion.

    The chapter explores how mathematics pathways are changing the landscape of advising and what that change means for training and participation of advisors to effectively support students in choosing the most suitable mathematics pathways. It  concludes with recommendations for advisors, faculty, departments, institutions, and policy leaders in advising students from matriculation to degree completion.

    Resource type: Informational (2019)

    Source: Dana Center Mathematics Pathways, part of the Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin

  • Integrated Student Support Services in Action

    Integrated Student Support Services in Action

    Primary Audiences: higher education administration, higher education student supports

    Achieving the Dream’s 2018 Integrated Student Support Services in Action: A Guide to Implementing the Working Students Success Network Approach includes lessons learned from the Working Students Success Network (WSSN) around supporting colleges in designing, organizing, and implementing an integrated student support services approach to better serve students.

    The WSSN approach is implemented through education and career services, income and work supports, and financial services and asset-building.

    The guidebook is organized around six key practices that colleges applied to develop and/or refine their student support services approach. It also includes case-making resources, key takeaways, and lessons learned from challenges faced in their efforts. 

    Resources, tools, and templates are embedded within the guidebook to serve as a comprehensive resource towards planning and implementation efforts.

  • Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Implementation Guide

    Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Implementation Guide

    Primary Audiences: higher education mathematics, higher education administration, higher education student supports

    This Dana Center Mathematics Pathways implementation guide is designed for higher education faculty and staff at two-year and four-year institutions of higher education that are implementing and scaling mathematics pathways based on the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways principles.

    The step-by-step guide offers a blueprint for implementation that spans four stages. The stages frame the work so that different stakeholder groups understand how to plan and prepare to implement mathematics pathways at their individual institutions and how to monitor implementation efforts for continuous improvement.

  • What We Know About Guided Pathways

    What We Know About Guided Pathways

    Primary Audiences: higher education administration

    The What We Know About Guided Pathways report, part of a series that make up a CCRC “practitioner packet,” offers a research review of the guided pathways model of course offerings in higher education, and how it compares to a traditional “cafeteria” model of disconnected courses and supports.

    Specific procedural and educational structures compared include academic programming, new student intake, instruction, and progress monitoring and support.

    Note that a CCRC practitioner packet on guided pathways reforms, What We Are Learning About Guided Pathways, was published in April 2018.

  • Engaging Students with a Mobile App

    Engaging Students with a Mobile App

    Primary Audiences: higher education administration, higher education student supports

    This 2015 case study published by the education technology professional association EDUCAUSE details how Texas A&M University at Galveston researched and adopted a mobile app as a two-way pipeline of information to support and connect incoming and current students to the day-to-day details of academic life and the broader community. 

    Extensive features of the “personal assistant” app directly connect students to each other. Analytics collection integrated into the platform provides insights into how and when students are engaging with the app, and the app’s machine-learning capabilities provide feedback related to “campus sentiment”—aggregated trend data suggesting the “mood” on campus at a given time.

     

  • Advise TN

    Advise TN

    Primary Audiences: K–12 counselor, K–12 policy, higher education supports, higher education policy

    Advise TN, a state-funded initiative, partnered with high schools with students whose achievement scores were seen as below the state average typically required for continuing to college.
    The Advise TN website notes that the initiative is “driven by the belief that every student has the potential to attend and thrive in postsecondary education.”

    Advise TN partnered with high schools selected through a competitive application process and hired and trained college counselors to work with high school counselors, educators, and parents to provide additional support for juniors and seniors making choices about their postsecondary options and navigating the college admissions and financial aid process.

    The 2016 initiative was an additional support for the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s campaign to increase the number of Tennesseans able to access and succeed in postsecondary education.

     

  • College Advising Corps

    College Advising Corps

    Primary Audiences: K–12 administration, K–12 counselor, K–12 policy

    The College Advising Corps focuses on college enrollment and completion among high school students by delivering personalized, knowledgeable guidance on college admission, financial aid, and enrollment.

    The CAC seeks to create a college-going culture by pairing recent college graduates from partner universities with high schools and students via in-person and virtual options.

  • National College Attainment Network

    National College Attainment Network

    Primary Audiences: K–12 administration, K–12 counselor, K–12 policy

    The National College Attainment Network's mission is to build, strengthen, and empower communities and stakeholders to close gaps in postsecondary attainment for all students.

    The NCAN website provides tools and resources for administrators, counselors, advisors, policy agencies, and other professionals supporting college and career readiness.

  • Agile Mind Academic Youth Development

    Agile Mind Academic Youth Development

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counseling

    Agile Mind has collaborated with the Dana Center and leading psychologists to develop a suite of programs that translate the latest research on student mindset, motivation, learning, and persistence into practical classroom strategies and tools that can be enacted every day, in every classroom, to produce a lasting impact on every student.

    Academic Youth Development connects students’ learning with foundational mathematics content. Students apply new skills to real-world problem-solving in areas of mathematics that are essential to their grade-level achievement. They learn and refine proven strategies for mathematics success, and collaborate with peers to analyze and understand problem situations, develop conjectures, and describe their thinking.

Recommendation 4: Business and industry partners actively inform the design of education opportunities that support students’ goals.

Strategy 4a: Secondary and postsecondary education systems leverage cross-sector partnerships to inform mathematics pathways with data from labor markets.

Strategy 4b: Business, industry, and education sectors increase work-based learning opportunities—and provide supporting materials—for educators and students.

Strategy 4c: Researchers and leaders regularly collect and use data to refine measures of “relevant mathematics.”

Recommendation 4 Resources

  • State Strategies to Scale Work-Based Learning

    State Strategies to Scale Work-Based Learning

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce

    States started the National Governors Association policy academy with the goal of expanding work-based learning in alignment with the broader statewide goals and strategies for education and credential attainment outlined by their governors. 

    The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) gathered best practices learned over four years of the policy academy into this report. The report provides details on how governors can lead and work with state partners on key elements of state systems change to scale high-quality work-based learning and embed it across education and workforce programs. These elements include

    • Setting, communicating, and implementing a statewide vision;
    • Collecting and using data to measure and scale high-quality work-based learning opportunities;
    • Cultivating long-term resource development and policy change to support and scale work-based learning.
    • Resource type: Example
    • Source: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center)
  • Educate for Opportunity

    Educate for Opportunity

    Primary Audiences: Business/workforce

    The National Governors Association (NGA) Educate for Opportunity Project, launched in 2019, is a partnership with Strada Education Network, to help support training initiatives for adult learners in Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.

    These states received an initial grant of $100,000 as well as technical assistance from the National Governors Association to refine their data-driven approaches to anticipating and meeting future workforce needs.

    Each grantee receives access to state-specific proprietary data from the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey, a data set consisting of interviews from more than 330,000 individuals of various backgrounds and education levels, broken down by cities and regions in each state. The dataset provides information for educators, employers, and state policymakers about what types of education and workforce opportunities will produce the best results for their residents and improve the workforce and economic development in their states.

    Grantees are pursuing a variety of policy changes including financial aid reform, improved cross-agency collaboration, and other interventions to better serve their identified target population.

  • Success in Real-Time: Using Real-Time Labor Market Information to Build Better Middle-Skill STEM Pathways

    Success in Real-Time: Using Real-Time Labor Market Information to Build Better Middle-Skill STEM Pathways

    Primary Audiences: Higher education policy, business/workforce

    This 2015 research brief highlights some of the specific challenges states face in providing leadership to close the skills gap and offers recommendations for harnessing real-time labor market information (LMI) to develop middle-skill science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) pathways to success at community colleges.

    The report website landing page includes links to additional related publications on a Middle-Skill STEM State Policy Framework and on STEM Regional Collaboratives.

  • The Role of Data and Accountability in Growing Youth Apprenticeship Programs

    The Role of Data and Accountability in Growing Youth Apprenticeship Programs

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce

    This report features information on how states are collecting and validating data on youth apprenticeship and other work-based learning initiatives. It also outlines some steps that can be taken to expand quantitative and qualitative data collection that would support program development and expansion. States mentioned include Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, Oregon, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Wisconsin.

    Resource type: Other (2019)

    Source: Advance Career Technical Education

  • CareerWise Colorado: Modern Youth Apprenticeship

    CareerWise Colorado: Modern Youth Apprenticeship

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 counselor, business/workforce

    CareerWise Colorado: Modern Youth Apprenticeship is an online resource that high school juniors and seniors who are at least 16 years old can use to find youth apprenticeships tied to high-demand fields in Colorado.

    Program access is limited to students in participating school districts.

    Career pathways with established business partnerships include advanced manufacturing, healthcare, information technology, financial services, hospitality, education and training, and business operations.

  • Partnerships to Align Education and Careers

    Partnerships to Align Education and Careers

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education math, higher education administration, higher education policy, business/workforce

    This 2020 report from the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is the work of state legislators, education leaders, and industry representatives from SREB states (Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia) who served on the SREB Commission on Strategic Partnerships for Work-Ready Students.

    The report calls for increased partnerships between schools and employers to give students more opportunities for work-based learning in high school and college. The report highlights successful state work-readiness programs and makes recommendations regarding industry partnerships, statewide policies, funding, educator and counselor support, and expanded internships and apprenticeships.

Recommendation 5: State agencies and education systems develop policies that enable smooth student transitions from secondary to postsecondary mathematics.

Strategy 5a: States promote advanced mathematics course-taking.

Strategy 5b: State agencies and education systems create policies that support cross-sector alignment of mathematics pathways.

Strategy 5c: State agencies and education systems implement policies that support a coherent system for demonstrating postsecondary readiness.

Strategy 5d: Postsecondary leaders ensure their admissions policies place equal value on all mathematics pathways.

Recommendation 5 Resources

  • Rethinking Postsecondary Mathematics

    Rethinking Postsecondary Mathematics

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education mathematics, higher education administration, higher education policy

    This 2014 report, produced by the Ohio Mathematics Steering Committee, part of the Ohio Mathematics Initiative of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, lays out a plan for ensuring that mathematics education pathways are aligned from high school through postsecondary education and with the state’s workforce and economic development needs.

    The recommendations of the report include developing multiple high-quality mathematics pathways for students that align with areas of interest, improving transparency related to transfer policies, and engaging faculty in a collaborative effort to create rigorous courses with appropriate supports.

  • Strategies for K–12 and Postsecondary Alignment

    Strategies for K–12 and Postsecondary Alignment

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy

    This 2010 report from Achieve provides examples from states that have worked to better align high school graduation requirements with college and career readiness expectations. 

    The brief recommends states collaborate in four key areas to improve alignment:

    • Align higher education admissions and college‐ and career‐ready graduation requirements;
    • Provide opportunities for students to earn college credits while in high school;
    • Build anchor assessments that have credibility and utility with higher education; and
    • Create a robust communications campaign to articulate what it means to be prepared for higher education.
    • Resource Type: Example (2010)
    • Source: Achieve, a nonprofit education organization founded in 1996 and shuttered in 2020.
  • Tennessee Department of Education Graduation Requirements

    Tennessee Department of Education Graduation Requirements

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education administration

    The Tennessee Department of Education graduation requirements are an example of a statewide high school graduation policy that requires four years of mathematics for all students. While Algebra I and II and Geometry are required, the fourth course is not specified in the standards. Students are also required to be enrolled in math each year.

  • Improving Students’ College Math Readiness

    Improving Students’ College Math Readiness

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education math

    This 2013 article summarizes a literature review on the effectiveness of strategies and interventions postsecondary institutions use to support underprepared students. A full report is available at CAPSEE: Center for Analysis of Postsecondary Education and Employment.

    The Education Northwest article examines three student support strategies in particular:

    • “Intervening prematriculation”: Requiring summer boot camps or other refresher courses before students begin load-bearing courses.
    • “Reforming developmental math”: Changing the structure and content of developmental supports.
    • “Improving Math Instruction”: Changing the ways developmental and college mathematics courses are taught.
    • Resource Type: Informational (2013)
    • Source: Education Northwest
  • Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support (SAILS)

    Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support (SAILS)

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy

    Tennessee’s Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning Support (SAILS) program supports students who have been identified by their ACT and/or Accuplacer scores as unprepared for college-level mathematics by enrolling them in developmental courses at their high school during their senior year.

    Students participating in SAILS can earn their high school credit and avoid taking developmental mathematics in college, as SAILS is widely accepted at Tennessee community colleges and universities in place of developmental courses.

  • Indiana’s Math Pathways Recommendations

    Indiana’s Math Pathways Recommendations

    Primary Audiences: Higher education mathematics higher education administration, higher education advisor, higher education policy

    This 2015 report summarizes recommendations from the Indiana Math Council and was published by the Indiana Commission on Higher Education. The report makes the case for adding quantitative literacy as the preferred gateway mathematics courses for meta-majors that do not require calculus. It presents the core elements of a quantitative reasoning course and argues why a calculus pathway should no longer be the default mathematics pathway for new entering college students.

Recommendation 6: State agencies and education systems, institutions, and schools build a strong shared understanding of—and commitment to—goals among their constituents.

Strategy 6a: Leaders establish a common language for communicating about efforts to improve the transition from secondary to postsecondary mathematics.

Strategy 6b: Leaders use communications and engagement strategies to inspire and mobilize diverse constituents.

Strategy 6c: Leaders ensure that communications equitably inform and engage diverse populations.

Recommendation 6 Resources

  • The Power of Perception

    The Power of Perception

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education mathematics, higher education administration, higher education policy

    This essay on asset-framing, “defining people by their aspirations and contributions before acknowledging their challenges and investing in them for their continued benefit to society,” explores the benefits of adopting asset-framing over deficit-framing, with reference to the work of behavioral economist and cognitive psychologist Daniel Kahneman. 

    Essay author Trabian Shorters founded the BMe community to apply asset-framing to improve lives, particularly for communities of color.

  • Creating a Communications Plan

    Creating a Communications Plan

    Primary Audiences: K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education administration, higher education policy

    The Wallace Foundation’s Creating a Communications Plan (Workbook A, part of a larger resource kit) is a nuts-and-bolts guide designed for a Wallace Foundation project but generally applicable to other types of efforts. It is hosted in the Wallace Foundation’s extensive Knowledge Center of free reports, videos, tools, infographics, and other resources relevant to education.

    This detailed communications guide offers guiding questions and real-world advice on assembling media kits, writing articles, creating public service announcements, and developing promotional graphics and videos.

  • Communications to Promote Interest and Participation

    Communications to Promote Interest and Participation

    Primary Audiences: K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education administration, higher education policy

    This resource offers detailed guidance for creating a comprehensive communications plan to build awareness around an issue or project. It includes information on principles of persuasion and handling crisis communications. It also gives practical advice on preparing press releases, working with the media, and creating posters, brochures, campaigns, and websites.

    • Resource Type: Tool
    • Source: The Community Tool Box, Center for Community Health and Development, University of Kansas
  • Skills Pages Website: Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Resources

    Skills Pages Website: Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Resources

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education administration, higher education policy

    This quick explainer was developed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to support implementation of the Massachusetts Work-Based Learning Plan and the Massachusetts Career Readiness (MA-CR) Database. 

    The explainer offers brief descriptions and examples of asset-based versus deficit-based language. It notes that because framing language can affect program outcomes, “The language used in youth programming should focus on positive outcomes and personal strengths, rather than problems and barriers.”

  • Ohio Mathematics Initiative

    Ohio Mathematics Initiative

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy

    This communication platform for the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Ohio Mathematics Initiative provides a summary and resources related to the mission of a statewide working group.

    The site provides an overview, mission statement, and strategies and includes links to detailed information about the working group and its subcommittees; meeting information including agendas and minutes; year-end reports; and a knowledge base of training guides, “fast fact” sheets, and contact information to request more information.

  • Oregon Math Project

    Oregon Math Project

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy

    The Oregon Department of Education communication platform for its Oregon Math Project provides an overview statement of the content and links to descriptions of ongoing work and additional mathematics educator resources. 

    It also includes practice briefs that focus on classroom discourse, mathematical modeling, and tracking. Each brief includes a definition of the issue, a statement of why the issue matters, guiding questions, and suggested action steps to initiate reforms.

  • Social Transformation Project: 5 Pathways to Effective Decisions Tool

    Social Transformation Project: 5 Pathways to Effective Decisions Tool

    Primary Audiences: K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education administration, higher education policy

    The Social Transformation Project’s 2013 5 Pathways to Effective Decisions Tool is part of STC’s Tools for Transformation suite of resources. This tool outlines five different pathways or modes for decision-making: Tell, Sell, Test, Consult, and Co-create. It provides definitions and guiding questions for each mode, to help determine which might be most optimal depending on the situation.

  • Dana Center Mathematics Pathways: Plan for communication and engagement over time

    Dana Center Mathematics Pathways: Plan for communication and engagement over time

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 policy, higher education mathematics, higher education administration, higher education policy

    The Dana Center Mathematics Pathways Implementation Guide is designed for higher education faculty and staff at two-year and four-year institutions of higher education that are implementing and scaling mathematics pathways based on the Dana Center Mathematics Pathways principles.

    The step-by-step guide offers a blueprint for implementation that spans four stages. Stage 1 of the guide is Getting Started, and Action 3 is “Plan for communication and engagement over time.” The section is broken down into 4 steps, each with guidance and resources.

Recommendation 7: State agencies, systems, and institutions use data and research to measure impact and to inform continuous improvement of mathematics pathways. 

Strategy 7a: State agencies and systems establish and use shared success metrics. 

Strategy 7b: State agencies and education systems implement intentionally equity-focused evaluation processes. 

Strategy 7c: States use their data systems to track student progress across sectors.

Recommendation 7 Resources

  • Explore the Value and Importance of P20 Education Councils!

    Explore the Value and Importance of P20 Education Councils!

    Primary Audiences: Research/Impact Evaluation

    This 2020 Psychology Today article provides a general description of P–20 (preschool through college) initiatives and their role in shaping education policy and accountability across state agencies.

    The article places special emphasis on the role community colleges— because of their ubiquity and the accessible education opportunities they offer—can play in coordinating communication between high schools and colleges.

    • Resource Type: Informational
    • Source: Luskin, Bernard J. (2020 January 10). Luskin Learning Psychology Series, No. 48, published in Psychology Today
  • Creating a P–20 Continuum of Actionable Academic Indicators of Student Readiness

    Creating a P–20 Continuum of Actionable Academic Indicators of Student Readiness

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, research/impact evaluation

    This 2013 policy brief from the now-shuttered American Diploma Project Network of Achieve is a guide for state education policy leaders to use in selecting and prioritizing college-and-career-ready student academic performance indicators beginning in preschool and continuing through college—a grade and course span often called the P–20 continuum. 

    These indicators can be built into a state’s accountability system through public reporting, statewide performance goals, school-level incentives, and accountability formulas used to differentiate and classify schools and districts.

    • Resource Type: Informational (2013)
    • Source: American Diploma Project Network of Achieve, a nonprofit education organization founded in 1996 and shuttered in 2020.
  • Examples of P20 initiatives with shared metrics

    Examples of P20 initiatives with shared metrics

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    These state agency websites show some of the various ways that states with prekindergarten through college (P–20) initiatives share publicly available metrics across the P–20 spectrum. Most of these examples include metrics for each of the stages of the P–20 progression (i.e., metrics for early learning, K–12, postsecondary, and workforce).

  • Leveraging the Every Student Succeeds Act to Support State Visions for College and Career Readiness

    Leveraging the Every Student Succeeds Act to Support State Visions for College and Career Readiness

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    This 2016 policy brief from the American Institutes for Research’s College and Career Readiness and Success Center provides suggestions for states to move college-and-career-readiness strategies forward cohesively, incorporating academic and nonacademic student outcomes as outlined in the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA).

    ESSA outcomes include academic knowledge, critical thinking and problem-solving skills, social and emotional traits, intrapersonal skills, citizenship and community involvement practices, and other skills that support employability.

  • Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning in the Context of New Accountability

    Encouraging Social and Emotional Learning in the Context of New Accountability

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, research/impact evaluation

    This 2017 report from the Learning Policy Institute provides a framework for considering how measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) and school climate may be incorporated in a multitiered system for accountability and continuous improvement that provides useful information about school status and progress at the state, district, and school levels.

  • Are You Ready to Assess Social and Emotional Learning and Development? (Second Edition)

    Are You Ready to Assess Social and Emotional Learning and Development? (Second Edition)

    Primary Audiences: Research/impact evaluation

    This 2019 American Institutes for Research informational toolkit (an expansion of the original 2015 resource) includes a brief, a decision tree, and a tools index.

    • The brief details updates to the evolving social and emotional learning (SEL) assessment landscape, including an increased focus on student engagement, school climate, and safety in response to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). The brief also includes critical thinking exercises to determine implementation readiness.
    • The decision tree is designed to help organizations decide on assessments and encourages the consideration of key concepts including the purpose, rigor, practicalities, burden, and ethics of using various assessments.
    • The tools index offers an extensive list of assessment tools.
    • Resource Type: Informational (2019)
    • Source: American Institutes for Research
  • Innovative Approaches and Measurement Considerations for the Selection of the School Quality and Student Success Indicator under ESSA

    Innovative Approaches and Measurement Considerations for the Selection of the School Quality and Student Success Indicator under ESSA

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, research/impact evaluation

    This 2017 report from the Council of Chief State School Officers provides information for agencies and state-level policymakers studying ways to assess and report on the “5th indicator” requirement to report holistic school quality indicators as required under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015. The report offers guiding questions for policymakers focused on three indicators: College and Career Readiness, School Climate, and Student Social-Emotional Mindsets and Skills. 

    The report includes case studies from Connecticut, Tennessee, and West Virginia that examine approaches to using multiple measures taking into consideration cost and scalability. A final section examines measurement considerations, including identifying where to focus measurements, aligning validation efforts to a theory of action, and combining multiple indicators into a single accountability score.

  • Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports at the American Institutes for Research

    Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports at the American Institutes for Research

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, research/impact evaluation

    The website of this American Institutes for Research project, the Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports, has a large collection of guides, tools, publications, reports, and training materials related to the essential components of implementing a multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) framework. 

    There are reports on best practices by individual states and guides for planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating MTSS.

  • Elevating Student Voice in Education

    Elevating Student Voice in Education

    Primary Audiences: K–12 mathematics, K–12 administration, K–12 counselor, K–12 policy, higher education policy, research/impact evaluation

    This 2019 report from the Center for American Progress looks at various strategies—such as student journalism, personalized learning, and student-led conferences—used to incorporate student input and agency, also known as student voice, in learning. 

    The authors use case studies and provide pros and cons for the strategies and offer policy recommendations suitable for state-, district- and school-level implementation.

  • How Delaware Aims to Improve College Readiness

    How Delaware Aims to Improve College Readiness

    Primary Audiences: Research/Impact Evaluation

    This 2019 report from the Center for American Progress outlines the steps the state of Delaware took to create meaningful connections between previously disconnected data points related to students’ high school course enrollment and completion and college remediation rates. 

    Those connections and the involvement of multiple stakeholders led to a College Success Report (CSR) with clear, actionable advice for addressing the challenges faced by high school graduates underprepared by their schools for success in postsecondary education. The report includes recommendations for other states on several topics, including implementing multiple mathematics pathways relevant to students’ future college or career interests.

  • The Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program

    The Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    The National Center for Education Statistics Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program was created by the Institute of Education Sciences. The SLDS Grant Program website, administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, is a clearinghouse for information about the program, which began awarding grants in 2005. 

    In addition to information about the grant application process, the site includes publications, a webinar archive, and resources from the SLDS State Support Team, which offers U.S. states and territories technical assistance in developing and implementing SLDSs.

  • 50-State Comparison: Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS)

    50-State Comparison: Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS)

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    This regularly updated online resource from the Education Commission of the States provides a comprehensive deep dive into Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) policies in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

  • Washington State Education Research & Data Center Data Dashboards

    Washington State Education Research & Data Center Data Dashboards

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    This State of Washington website provides users with data dashboards, that show longitudinal information and research about transitions between the education and workforce sectors. The dashboards include graphs and brief summaries of the data presented. 

     

     

  • EdExplainer: Education Data Systems in North Carolina

    EdExplainer: Education Data Systems in North Carolina

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    This lengthy 2019 article from EducationNC gives a detailed overview of how education and workforce data is collected and distributed throughout the state. The author details data collection across the education continuum from K–12 to colleges and universities, and she describes the history of the state’s first Statewide Longitudinal Data System (SLDS) and its current role in connecting and disseminating data.

  • Roadmap for K–12 and Workforce Data Linkages

    Roadmap for K–12 and Workforce Data Linkages

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    With a particular focus on workforce readiness, this report explores the reliability of data linkages between data systems for K–12 and for the workforce. The report provides examples of good practices and critical questions for stakeholders to consider.

  • Common Education Data Standards (CEDS)

    Common Education Data Standards (CEDS)

    Primary Audiences: K–12 policy, higher education policy, business/workforce, research/impact evaluation

    In an effort to enhance and facilitate meaningful education data exchange, comparison, and analysis, the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) Initiative was established by the U.S. Department of Education. CEDS is a nationwide collaborative effort and this website contains the continuing work to standardize definitions, model data, and integrate data tools. There are also resources for data governance and assessment interoperability frameworks.

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