Education to Workforce Learning Pathways Landscape Analysis
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EDUCATION TO WORKFORCE LEARNING PATHWAYS LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS SEPTEMBER 2020 Table of Contents Key Takeaways and Data Limitations ..................................................................... 1 College and Career Readiness Indicator (A-F Points) ...................................... 2 College Acceleration Statewide Participation and Achievement ................ 4 Career and Technical Education (CTE) .................................................................... 6 Industry-Recognized Credentials ............................................................................. 12 Special thanks to DCM Consulting and ExcelinEd for developing this comprehensive look at the education landscape in Arizona. Key Takeaways Data Limitations The Greater Phoenix Chamber Foundation launched Arizona’s data related to education to workforce ElevateEdAZ to prepare individuals for college and pathways are incomplete and housed in multiple career through stronger alignment between education, systems and agencies at the state and local levels. business, and the community. This disconnect makes it challenging to analyze program offerings, quality, and student career Through ElevateEdAZ, employers have the pathway experiences and outcomes. While this opportunity to provide valuable experiences to help challenge is not unique to Arizona (it exists to some high school students become career and college ready, extent in every state), it does prevent a comprehensive allowing Arizona’s growing labor demand to benefit view of how students are being prepared for college from a qualified workforce. and careers. ElevateEdAZ commissioned DCM Consulting This analysis focuses on publicly available, state-level to develop a strategic action plan to drive the data. In some cases, the available data can be broken development of high-quality education to workforce down at the regional, district, or school-level; however, learning pathways for high school students. To inform this is not true for all the data elements considered. this work, they conducted a scan of available data that Instead, the quantitative analysis provides insights resulted in the following key take-aways*: into some of the components of the education to workforce continuum to offer context and evidence 1. Education-to-career experiences are available in for the strategic action planning process – and should Arizona, but student access and outcomes vary inform local data analysis throughout the strategic across schools, programs, and student groups. planning process. 2. Student participation and completion of education- to-career experiences do not align consistently with labor market demand and earning potential. 3. The data points should be updated and expounded on annually, and they should reflect statewide, regional and local K-12 student, postsecondary, workforce, and economic data fields. Education-to-career experiences are available in Arizona, but student access and outcomes vary across schools, programs, and student groups. *Work-based learning (WBL) data were not available statewide and therefore not listed in the analysis. 1 College and Career Readiness Indicator (A-F Points) About the CCR Indicator Arizona’s College and Career Readiness (CCR) indicator1 contributes to the high school A-F accountability system and school grades. High schools earn CCR points based on the number of students who complete various CCR experiences – which are summarized in Table 1. Each of the 17 CCR experiences is assigned a different point value. Students generate points by completing experiences within the red (career) or blue (college) categories. Students can also generate bonus points by earning points in both categories (college AND career). Table 1: College and Career Readiness Experiences (A-F Points) Category Summarized Experiences Completes CTE sequence and passes aligned AZ Technical Skills Assessment Passes CTE dual/concurrent enrollment course with A, B, or C Completes a CTE course with an A, B, or C Red Meets benchmarks for ASVAB2 (Career) Meets benchmarks for ACT WorkKeys Earns an industry-recognized credential, certificate, or license Completes well-defined, 120+ hour Work-Based Learning (i.e. internship) Earns a Grand Canyon Diploma or International Baccalaureate Diploma Passing score on AzMERIT Algebra 2 or ELA 11 Meets cut score on ACT/SAT English, math, reading or science exam Blue Meets cut score on any AP exam (College) Passes a core subjects dual/concurrent enrollment course with A, B, or C Meets cut score on ACCUPLACER, ALEKS, COMPASS, or Cambridge IGCSE Meets cut score on CLEP, Cambridge A or AS, or IB Meet all 16 Arizona Board of Regents program of study requirements Both Completes the FAFSA Source: 2018-19 School Accountability Plan 1 2018-19 School Accountability Plan 2 The Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) is a multiple-aptitude battery that measures developed abilities and helps predict future academic and occupational success in the military. 2 College and Career Readiness Indicator (A-F Points) CCR Points in Maricopa County Figure 1 shows the wide range of CCR points earned3 by the 89 high schools in Maricopa County. A complete listing of each high school’s CCR points can be found at the conclusion of this analysis summary. In addition to variation in points earned across the county, we also find variation in CCR points earned across schools within the same district. This indicates that there may be both district-level and school-level factors that contribute to these differences in student experiences and readiness. Source: 2019 ASBE School Letter Grades; 2018-19 School Accountability Plan Limitations and Implications of the CCR Indicator Data for the student CCR experiences and points are self-reported by schools. Further, the public data does not include information about specific measures or student groups that contribute to the school’s overall CCR score. As a result, we cannot determine how students in each school earn CCR points, whether there are trends across student groups in the types of experiences or number of points earned, or whether the experiences are high-quality. Additionally, the state policy framing CCR experiences as blue OR red (college OR career) may send unintended signals about the value of different CCR experiences. The bonus point structure implies that college AND career readiness is a bonus rather than a consistent expectation for all students. However, districts and schools can leverage their student-level data to better understand access, equity, quality and success in CCR experiences. This analysis can inform strategies to enlighten student pathway navigation/advisement and to identify barriers that prevent students or student groups from completing specific experiences. Schools and districts should consider intentionally embedding specific experiences along each career pathway and maintaining consistent expectations for all students to complete high-quality CCR experiences in both categories. 3 2019 ASBE School Letter Grades 3 College Acceleration Statewide Participation and Achievement College Acceleration4 (opportunities for students to earn postsecondary credit in high school) is an important component of education-to-career pathways. These opportunities help high school students prepare for college-level work while they earn valuable college credit or work toward a postsecondary credential. Consistent data is not publicly available for all college acceleration options. However, Arizona does promote and report data on some types of college acceleration through its College Credit by Exam Incentive Program (CCEIP). College Credit by Exam Incentive Program (CCEIP) Arizona awards a financial incentive bonus5 to school districts and charter schools for each high school student who earns a passing score on a qualifying examination identified by the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR). Schools with more than 50% poverty generate higher bonus amounts than schools with less than 50% poverty6. Table 2: 2018-19 College Credit Exam Incentive Program (CCEIP) Exams Exams Exams Passed Eligible Passing Students Exam Type Districts Schools Taken # % Students # % Advanced 108 208 61,924 22,510 36% 35,645 12,966 36% Placement Cambridge 4 4 169 32 19% 149 29 19% International International 18 19 1,651 890 54% 793 510 64% Baccalaureate TOTAL 1147 231 63,744 23,432 37% 36,587 13,505 37% 50% or greater FRL 2,883 12% 2,045 15% Less than 50% FRL 20,549 88% 11,460 85% Source: AZED FY20 CCEIP Summary As shown in Table 2, many schools and districts in Arizona offer college acceleration opportunities and earn CCEIP bonus funds. However, only 37% of the students who take eligible exams earn a passing score. Further, exam participation and pass rates vary across schools and exams. In fact, one district (Chandler Unified) accounts for more than 15% of all exams taken. Most striking is the finding that only 15% of students who passed qualifying exams attend a school where more than 50% of students receive free/reduced lunch. This indicates an opportunity to expand access and improve quality of CCEIP offerings – especially for low-income students and schools. 4 College Acceleration opportunities include Advanced Placement, Cambridge International, CLEP, Dual Enrollment, Industry-Recog- nized Credentials and International Baccalaureate. 5 FY20 CCEIP information 6 For FY20, school bonus amounts per qualifying eligible exam were $300.92 (>50% poverty) and $200.62 (<50% poverty). 7 Unduplicated count. 4 College Acceleration Statewide Participation