Ed Partners Perspectives
Statewide Focus Around A-G Access
A flurry of media attention has raised awareness of a challenge that has been a focus of Ed Partners’ work since 2018: the fact that in California, high school diplomas don’t guarantee college access. Nearly half of California students who receive a high school diploma were disqualified from California 4-year colleges and universities before they ever got to 10th grade. This Ed Source article exemplifies the experience of many students. Join our next On Track cohort for the 24-25 school year to be part of the solution!
Central Unified’s On Track Teams Support Students
Central Unified has two middle school/high school pairs participating in their second year of an On Track collaborative. They began with efforts in intervention and grading practices, and have expanded their work to strengthen coherence around standards and student knowledge of A-G requirements.
The teams have continued to refine grading practices that support student learning and motivate students, using exit slips, short, iterative assessments, and rich feedback with reassessment opportunities. The Semester 1 D&F rate for the participating schools has decreased by 4% to 16% from the same time last year. In contrast, the D&F rate for non-participating schools in the district is slightly higher (+0.4%) for the same time frame (22.9%).
The district has also expanded their work to strengthen the transition between middle school and high school – teachers have come together to develop “handoff” lessons that bridge standards between 8th and 9th grade. These lessons and activities support student sin recognizing the coherence of content across grade levels and allow teachers to build on the strengths of their students more effectively. Counseling teams have strengthened messaging to all middle schoolers regarding what they need to be college ready (coursework to complete A-G) and align their long term goals with those requirements.
