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Academic Acceleration for High School Students
Since 2018, the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has led the implementation of the Academic Acceleration Policy for High School Students, in all Washington public school districts. The goal of OSPI’s work is to ensure all students, regardless of demographic group, are provided access and entry into the next most academically intense course, including AP, IB, and dual enrollment opportunities.
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Problem
State leaders and school district superintendents recognize a challenge: Access to high academic intensity courses across the state is uneven and often has low participation, or enrollment disparities do not reflect students' diversity.
Since 2018, the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has led the implementation of the Academic Acceleration Policy for HighSchool Students, in all Washington public school districts.
The goal of OSPI’s work is to ensure all students, regardless of demographic group, are provided access and entry into the next most academically intense course, including AP, IB, and dual enrollment opportunities.
State education leaders and district superintendents are laser-focused on the need to ensure that students from all backgrounds, demographic groups, and specialized learning needs have equitable access to academic acceleration and college and career preparation. State education leaders know that historically underrepresented students in the college-going population need expanded and clearly defined opportunities for postsecondary preparation.
Strategy
Abl partnered with OSPI to help Washington school districts meet their goal of postsecondary success through academic acceleration. In collaboration with 14 school districts throughout the state, Abl led a multidimensional, three-part professional development series for school-site and district leaders. The series allowed participants to assess their challenges and opportunities, build an understanding of the tangible ways schools can dismantle barriers and increase academic acceleration, and define and implement action plans at the school level.
- Abl’s team of data scientists and strategic consultants worked with14 Washington school districts during the the2020-2021 academic year
- Examined historical and current enrollment and college retention data
- Gained a comprehensive understanding of the barriers built into the existing school schedules that limited access
- More than 300 Washington State educators participated in professional Learning Leading through the master schedule identified demographic patterns of student enrollment in each academic acceleration course using Abl Analytics Compared school data and course progression with state and national college-going trends
Result
Using Abl's data analysis, Washington state educators developed school action plans for Equity, including a focus determined to have the most significant potential for expanding access for students. As districts entered the following scheduling season, they were intentional about incorporating their goals into their scheduling plan and used Abl's scheduling software to meet and exceed their academic acceleration goals for all students.
- 60+ Academic acceleration and college readiness professional learning sessions with district leadership teams and school site participants from 46 schools and 14 districts.
- 300 Participants engaged in action planning for equity, developing skills to execute specific and measurable goals that align with school and district equity goals.
- 10k Student transcripts were analyzed to understand systemic and historical barriers to access and success, leading to recommendations to adjust course catalog offerings, redesign course requests, or reshape student and parent counseling
Auditing Schedules to Improve Equity and Efficiency
With the second largest student enrollment in the state of Iowa, Cedar Rapids Community School District strives to have every learner future ready and is based on a guiding philosophy of continuous improvement.
Academic Acceleration for High School Students
Since 2018, the Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has led the implementation of the Academic Acceleration Policy for High School Students, in all Washington public school districts. The goal of OSPI’s work is to ensure all students, regardless of demographic group, are provided access and entry into the next most academically intense course, including AP, IB, and dual enrollment opportunities.
Improving College and Career Readiness for all Students
Federal Way is focused on an advancement of a college-going culture and expanding STEM access to all students. An analysis of transcript and scheduling data helped them identify ways to improve college and career readiness for all students in the district.
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