The National Commission on the High School Senior Year says all students should leave high school prepared for postsecondary study. To accomplish that, the panel recommends:
ALIGNMENT
Creating a seamless P-16 system, from preschool to postsecondary education, in which standards, curriculum, and assessment efforts are aligned and integrated. The report urges the creation of state P-16 councils to increase student access to, and success in, college by creating systematic linkages between the different levels of education and aligning standards.
ACHIEVEMENT
Requiring schools to give all students college- preparatory courses as a default, establishing a rigorous curriculum, ensuring that elementary and middle schools prepare students for demanding work, and improving teacher-training institutions to prepare graduates to teach all children to meet higher standards.
ALTERNATIVES
Allowing students to finish school at their own pace, moving on as they complete required standards, including a portfolio of work and a capstone senior project. That would help solve the problem of duplication that leads high schools to offer college-level Advanced Placement courses while colleges offer basic remedial courses.
SOURCE: National Commission on the High School Senior Year, 2001
