The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which aim to assure competency in English/language arts and mathematics through the K-12 curriculum, define necessary but not sufficient preparedness for success in college. The Degree Qualifications Profile (DQP), which describes what a college degree should signify, regardless of major, offers useful but…

This is the fourth report in a series of five reports resulting from the Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative (TCCRI) established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) under contract with the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). The purpose of the TCCRI is the Facilitation of the Development and Implementation…

The Common Core State Standards, released in June 2010, offer an opportunity to shift education away from shallow, test-prep instruction and toward a focus on key cognitive skills, writes Conley. Two consortia of states are now developing common assessments to measure these standards--assessments that will be designed to capture deeper, more…

The Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) conducted a crosswalk between the Deeper Learning Skills (DLS) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The purpose of the crosswalk was to understand the ways in which strategies for deeper learning relate to the CCSS. This comparison was not solely or simply an alignment study, although some…

This paper presents findings from five separate investigations undertaken as part of the Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative, a legislatively mandated program to increase the number of students attending and succeeding in college. It highlights activities designed to improve alignment between high school and college. These activities…

This report is the third in a series of five reports resulting from the Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative (TCCRI) established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) under contract with the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). The purpose of the TCCRI is the facilitation of the development and implementation…

In June 2010, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Offices (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards. The stated aim of the Common Core standards is to define the knowledge and skills students should achieve in order to graduate from high school ready to succeed in a…

Although the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is offered by many high schools in the United States and considered to be challenging and rich in content, the curriculum has not been analyzed to determine its alignment with college readiness standards or state educational standards in the U.S. The research methodology employed by…

Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) researchers visited 38 public high schools around the United States in 2007 and 2008 with the goal of validating and operationalizing a definition of college readiness. Schools in the sample were selected because they were demonstrating success at enabling more students from underrepresented groups to…

This is the fourth report in a series of five reports resulting from the Texas College and Career Readiness Initiative (TCCRI) established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) under contract with the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). The purpose of the TCCRI is the Facilitation of the Development and Implementation…

In April 2008, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) contracted with the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) to facilitate a series of regional workshops and provide technical assistance to strengthen efforts to improve college readiness for all students. This final report summarizes these activities…

The Oregon Pre-engineering Learning Outcomes Project was conducted by the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) with grant funding from the Engineering and Technology Industry Council (ETIC). The study sought to improve student preparation and success in pre-engineering programs through the development of the Oregon Pre-engineering Learning…