College and Career Ready for All

READY FOR COLLEGE + READY FOR CAREER = READY FOR LIFE

Across the state of California, districts and communities are realizing that in today’s high-level economy, preparing young people for careers and preparing young people for demands exactly the same skills, exactly the same courses, taught with exactly the same rigor.

And while many say that our staggering drop-out rates and low performance on standardized assessments are proof positive that all students – especially low-performing ones – cannot succeed in a rigorous curriculum: The research is clear.

Regardless of their skill levels at entry into high school, student’s skills grow more when they are placed in more rigorous courses. Even students who start out farthest behind the pack are at least as likely to pass the more difficult college preparatory classes as they are the mind-numbing courses into which they are typically placed. Students don’t drop out because they are challenged – they drop out because adults set expectations for them and then they lower themselves to meet those expectations.

There are some courageous districts that are blazing a trail for students and taking bold steps to ensure they educate all students to the highest levels and they should be recognized for their work.

Districts currently committed to placing all students in the A-G curriculum are:

Los Angeles Unified School District

Oakland Unified School District

San Francisco Unified School District

Napa Unified School District

San Diego Unified School District

Carlsbad Unified School District

San Marcos Unified School District

Ready for Work Really Does Mean Ready for College

“Not everyone is going to go to college.” Teacher

“We need people to take blue collar jobs.” Business Leader

“If they go to college, who is going to fix my car?” CA State legislator

These are just a few of the comments we have heard over the years in our work to prepare all students for post-secondary success. But the truth is that more and more in the 21^st Century economy, being prepared for college and being prepared for work really do mean the same thing.

When we say prepared for college and career – we mean the base minimum of the A-G college preparatory curriculum. The A-G courses are the 15 classes students are required to pass with a C or better to even apply to a UC or CSU in California.

UC/CSU “A-G” Required Courses
A. History/Social Science – 2 years required Two years of history/social science, including one year of world history, cultures and geography; and one year of U.S. history or one-half year of U.S. history and one-half year of civics or American government.
B. English – 4 years required Four years of college-preparatory English that include frequent and regular writing, and reading of classic and modern literature. No more than one year of ESL-type courses can be used to meet this requirement.
C. Mathematics – 3 years required, 4 years recommended Three years of college-preparatory mathematics that include the topics covered in elementary and advanced algebra and two- and three-dimensional geometry. Approved integrated math courses may be used to fulfill part or all of this requirement, as may math courses taken in the seventh and eighth grades that your high school accepts as equivalent to its own math courses.
D. Laboratory Science – 2 years required, 3 years recommended Two years of laboratory science providing fundamental knowledge in at least two of these three foundational subjects: biology, chemistry and physics. Advanced laboratory science classes that have biology, chemistry or physics as prerequisites and offer substantial additional material may be used to fulfill this requirement, as may the final two years of an approved three-year integrated science program that provides rigorous coverage of at least two of the three foundational subjects.
E. Language Other than English – 2 years required, 3 years recommended Two years of the same language other than English. Courses should emphasize speaking and understanding, and include instruction in grammar, vocabulary, reading, composition and culture. Courses in languages other than English taken in the seventh and eighth grades may be used to fulfill part of this requirement if your high school accepts them as equivalent to its own courses. F. Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) – 1 year required A single yearlong approved arts course from a single VPA discipline: dance, drama/theater, music or visual art.

G. College-Preparatory Electives – 1 year required One year (two semesters), in addition to those required in "a-f" above, chosen from the following areas: visual and performing arts (non-introductory level courses), history, social science, English, advanced mathematics, laboratory science and language other than English (a third year in the language used for the "e" requirement or two years of another language).

GIVING LIE TO THE MYTH: THE TRUTH ABOUT PREPARING ALL STUDENTS FOR SUCCESS

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Myth: There are plenty of upcoming job openings that won’t need a college education; therefore the “college-for-all” movement is misguided and is setting our students up for failure.

Facts:

By 2025, 41% of all jobs will require at least a bachelor’s degree—but only 35% of California adults will have college diplomas.
50% of the fastest-growing occupations in the next 10 years require a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

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Myth: Young people can become employed and earn a decent living without going to college.

Facts:

Adults with a high school diploma or less will outnumber the jobs available to people with that level of education
28 of the 30 occupations projected to have the largest employment declines, are jobs that do not require college degrees and only require on-the-job training and work experience.
High school graduates are more than twice as likely as college graduates to be unemployed
The difference in wages between a college graduate and a high school graduate is almost 2x higher per hour as high school graduates.

Table 1. The 30 Occupations with the Largest Projected Employment Growth (2006-2016), with Corresponding Educational Training and Median Salary.

Occupation	Employment Change (2006-2016)		Post-Secondary Education Training	Median Salary
Occupation	#	%	Post-Secondary Education Training	Median Salary
Network systems and data communications	140	53.4	Bachelor’s Degree	$64,600
Personal and home care aides	389	50.6	Short-term On-the-job Training	$19,180*
Home health care aides	384	48.7	Short-term On-the-job Training	$20,480*
Computer software engineers, applications	226	44.6	Bachelor’s Degree	$85,430
Veterinary technologists and technicians	29	41.0	Associate Degree	$28,900*
Personal financial advisors	72	41.0	Bachelor’s Degree	$66,120
Makeup artists, theatrical and performance	1	39.8	Post-secondary Vocational Award	$26,270*
Medical assistants	148	35.4	Moderate-term On-the-job training	$26,290
Veterinarians	22	35.0	Professional Degree	$71,990
Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors	29	34.3	Bachelor’s Degree	$47,530
Skin care specialists	13	34.3	Post-secondary vocational award	$28,730*
Financial analysts	75	33.8	Bachelor’s Degree	$66,590
Social and human service assistants	114	33.6	Moderate-term on-the-job training	$25,580
Gaming surveillance officers and investigators	3	33.6	Moderate-term on-the-job training	$27,130
Physical therapist assistants	20	32.4	Associate Degree	$41,360
Pharmacy technicians	91	32.0	Moderate-term on-the-job training	$27,710
Forensic science technicians	4	30.7	Bachelor’s Degree	$49,860
Dental hygienists	50	30.1	Associate Degree	$66,570
Mental health counselors	30	30.0	Master’s Degree	$34,380
Mental health and substance abuse social workers	37	29.9	Master’s Degree	$35,410
Marriage and family therapists	7	29.8	Master’s Degree	$43,210
Dental assistants	82	29.2	Moderate-term On-the-job training	$32,380
Computer systems analysts	146	29.0	Bachelor’s Degree	$69,760
Database administrators	34	28.6	Bachelor’s Degree	$64,670
Computer software engineers, systems software	99	28.2	Bachelor’s Degree	$92,430
Gaming and sports book writers and runners	5	28.0	Short-term on-the-job training	$18,800
Environmental science and protection technicians	10	28.0	Associate Degree	$40,230
Manicurists and pedicurists	22	27.6	Post-secondary vocational award	$19,670
Physical therapists	47	27.1	Master’s Degree	$66,200
Physician assistants	18	27.0	Master’s Degree	$74,980

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), Occupational Outlook Handbook (2008-2009); Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2006-2016 (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.toc.htm); *Where wages are reported in hourly figures, annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours.

Sources: (1) Public Policy Institute of California (2009), “Educating California: Choices For the Future,” http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/report/R_609HJR.pdf, (2) Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2006-2016 (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.toc.htm)

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Myth: Not all students want to go to college so they shouldn’t have to take rigorous courses in high school.

Facts:

According to several government and private sector organizations including the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF), and the Plumbing, Heating, Cooling Contracting Association (PHCCA), employers and colleges are looking for students with the same academic preparation. Without sufficient preparation in high schools, students will not be ready for college or career. Here are some examples:

Table 2. High School and Post-Secondary Education Desired/Required for Trade Employment.

Occupation	Desired High School Coursework	Post-Secondary Training
Automotive Technicians	Physics Chemistry English Computers Mathematics Automotive Repair/ Electronics Vocational training program or certified high school program (NIASE) for entry-level Additional post-secondary education (1-2 years) with certification 2-5 years of on-the-job experience to become a fully qualified service technician
Plumbing, HVAC	Algebra Geometry Trigonometry Statistics Economics Physics Chemistry Biology English (4 years) Community college and/or 4-5 years of on-the-job training and apprenticeship programs
Sheet Metal Workers	Algebra English Geometry Physics Mechanical Drawing General Shop 4-5 years of on-the-job training or formal apprenticeship program
Construction Workers	English Mathematics (Geometry) Physics Mechanical Drawing General Shop 2-4 years of on-the-job training and/or formal apprenticeship program
Carpenters	English Algebra Geometry Physics Mechanical Drawing General Shop On-the-job training/community college/3-4 year formal apprenticeship program

Sources: (1) National Automotive Technicians Education Foundation (NATEF) http://www.natef.org (2) Shapiro, D., and Nichols, J. Constructing Your Future: Consider a Career in Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) (PHCCA) http://www.phccweb.org/files/Depts/Foundation/PHCCConstructingYourFuture.pdf, (3) Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook (2008-09) http://www.bls.gov/oco/oco/ .

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College and Career Ready for All

Ready for Work Really Does Mean Ready for College