Reading List
A reading list to give you more background on the problems, opportunities and solutions for our educational systems.
A Tale of Two States—And One Million Jobs!!
This study on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board site was done by famed Economist Ray Perryman and finds that “Even under conservative assumptions, the enhanced productivity, greater ongoing capacity, reduced social costs, research stimulus, and economic development potential translate into almost $200 billion per year in incremental gross product by 2030 (about $1.9 trillion cumulative) and more than 1,000,000 jobs.”
What It Takes to Make A Student
Written in 2006, this piece explores the promise of “No Child Left Behind,” and gives some good understanding of the education puzzle. It asks the question “So as the No Child Left Behind law comes up for reauthorization next year( 2007), Americans are facing an increasingly stark choice: is the nation really committed to guaranteeing that all of the country’s students will succeed to the same high level? And if so, how hard are we willing to work, and what resources are we willing to commit, to achieve that goal?”
HITTING HOME: Quality, Cost, and Access Challenges Confronting Higher Education Today
This 2007 report for Making Opportunity Affordable says that the “degree” gap between our competitors and the U.S. is endanger of widening with the U.S. falling way behind. It notes our country must increase its college degree production by 37% by 2025 to stay even with competing nations.
“… closing the gap will require the nation’s colleges and universities to ensure that minority groups, non-traditional-age college students, and students from low-income backgrounds achieve the same levels of attainment that we see today among white and Asian Americans, traditional-age college students, and wealthier students.”
“Tough Choices or Tough Times provides a bold and specific road map for transforming all levels of education—preschool through postsecondary education—to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing global economy. It calls for massive fundamental change in education structure, curriculum, teacher compensation, and assessment, as well as in the roles of virtually all our Educational institutions” —Mike Kirst, Professor of Education Emeritus, Stanford University
“… Fifth graders spend 91 percent of their time listening to the teacher or working alone, usually on low-level worksheets. Three out of four classrooms are “dull, bleak” places, the researchers report, devoid of any emphasis on critical reasoning or problem-solving skills….”
“…These kids fit the definition perfectly: if they came across a few math problems they couldn’t solve, for example, they no longer could do problems they had solved before—and some didn’t recover that ability for days…”
Planning Timeline for Students (Region 9 Education Service Center)
For students – timelines for 7th and 8th grades, 9th and 10th grades, 11th grade and for 12th grade -- what a student needs to be doing to prepare for and enroll in college
College and Career Planning Websites (Region 9 Education Service Center)
Visit these websites for information on college and career planning
Planning for College Guide (Region 9 Education Service Center)
A simple and short Power Point guide on preparing for college
P-16 Education / P-16 Studies and Reports
A comprehensive list of reports from the P-16 Education wiki page.
The “expectations gap” is the disconnect between what the K‐12 and postsecondary education sectors each expect from high school graduates. This disconnect hinders many students’ smooth transitions from high school into credit‐bearing college work, and decreases their chances of being adequately prepared for the rigor of higher education and attaining a postsecondary degree.
Texas College Pipeline Data Profile
How Prepared are Texas Students for Postsecondary Success? From the PostSecondary Connection.
T.I.E.R. - Texas Institute for Education Reform
There is mounting evidence that the pace of reform in Texas public schools is insufficient to meet the demands of a globally competitive workforce.
Texas Business & Education Coalition
TBEC was formed by Texas business leaders to engage with educators in a long-term effort to improve public education in Texas.
Fact Sheet: the Facts on College Preparation, Remediation, peristance and graduation
“Only one ‐third of students graduate from high school “college‐ready.”
More Student Success – A Systematic Solution (State Higher Education Executive Officers)
“A P-16 system offering pre-college outreach for all students would be more focused on prevention and success than the current system. Success in this context means ensuring that all students who graduate from high school have the information and preparation
they need to succeed in some form of postsecondary education”
