“Closing the Expectations Gap”
In its sixth annual report, Achieve, a Washington-based group that works with states to raise academic expectations, found that Texas is the only state that has implemented college-and-career-readiness policies in all five areas that Achieve examines: curriculum standards, graduation requirements, assessments, longitudinal data systems, and accountability systems.
The greatest progress among states has come in the adoption of college-and-career-readiness standards, with 47 states and the District of Columbia meeting Achieve’s threshold in that area. Only 21 states did so in the area of graduation requirements. Fourteen states reached Achieve’s mark in assessment, which requires that states give a test that colleges can use for course-placement decisions and assessment.
Twenty-two states data systems met Achieves standard, which means they are able to track individual students progress from K-12 through college.
