States Get Graded CCR, Style!

Hot on the heels of Dr. King’s confirmation as the Secretary of Education, Achieve, Inc. has released its report of grading each of the States on College/Career Readiness (CCR), a form of CCSS (Common Core State Standards). CCR is embedded in the ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) several times.

Since Sen. Alexander felt it important enough to ball up his fists and bang them on the podium in expressing the need to ‘implement ESSA just as it was written’, we know CCR will be part of the process.

The Report from Achieve, Inc.:

First, the link to the website: http://www.achieve.org/state-profiles

Secondly, an excerpt of interest. “For more than a decade, Achieve has issued an annual 50-state report on each state’s adoption of college- and career-ready (CCR) policies as reflected in state standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and accountability systems.”

A reflecting question:
Hmmm…wait a minute, CCSS is NOT a decade old, is it? IF CCSS is that old and CCR is a part of it (as I have previously proven and shared with you), why are we just seeing CCR instead of CCSS, especially in the ESSA?
The answer: As we know, CCSS is a toxic phrase, by switching the language to a not-so-well-known-name-of-the-same-thing, you impress folks that all is well. However, those fools didn’t count on savvy anti CCSS Warriors who KNOW no matter WHAT name is slapped on a piece of paper, when it comes to CCSS, it is ALL the same!

What the Report says:
“These individual state profiles, as well as a K–12 summary report, represent the first time that indicators of college and career readiness, from publicly available sources, have been compiled to paint a picture of college and career readiness in every state in this way. The report and accompanying state profiles illustrate that too few high school graduates are prepared to succeed in post-secondary education, the military, and careers.” 
My guess? Achieve, Inc. is painting a subjectively based picture. Why? How many times have we seen ‘research’ that is from one CCSS Machine member based on other CCSS Machine members findings? PLENTY!

The Report gives you charts, percentages of CCR success based on SBAC, PARCC, SAT, AP, and ACT testing. It will give you a map of the USA color coded by degree of the following:
1) no current CCR standards or coursework in use
2) has current CCR standards/coursework, but will not publicly share that information
3) has current CCR standards/coursework and does publicly share the information.

Thanks to the language of the ESSA, all States will have CCR Standards, or Challenging State Academic Standards which must meet the assessments used.

The Report also gives you the name of each State’s diploma name. Be sure to read how many have some form of CCR in them! (One important note: while the introduction says all 50 States, all 50 State’s information is not included! Why? That pesky category #2 from above, not all the States publicly share CCR information. By the way, since you know I live in NC, I can share NC doesn’t publicly share its CCR information. Fortunately however, I have!)

Further in the Report you will find the CCR measurements of dual enrollment students, early college students, Tech School, and IB (International Baccalaureate) students. Since many homeschool students use AP, some IB, early college, Tech Schools, and dual enrollment (and since this will only increase in the ESSA) options for education, you can see how even these students do NOT escape CCR!

Access the Report: CCRHSGradsMarch2016

The Report’s Research and Methods? NCES (National Center for Education Statistics), College Board, ACT, Inc., and the Education Trust. ALL CCSS Machine members! Talk about subjectivity! Talk about massive data mining/sharing!

Part of the research and methodology included race, income, STEM, formative assessment scores, and military or post-secondary enrollment. To access the methodology: Achieve-Methodology-CCR_HS_Grads

If you live in a State which does not publicly share CCR information, Achieve, Inc. has you covered there. Use the link at the very top (will say ‘state profiles’). Scroll down to the portion of the website you see each State’s name. You can click there and access the findings Achieve, Inc. has been able to use to paint their picture. You can print off or download each of the State Reports if you choose.

Oh, and one last note: Achieve, Inc. believes in CCSS/CCR SO much they even provide you with a video on how to understand the Report at the bottom of the page. They seriously need a new set of paints and paintbrushes!

If you need more proof of the Achieve, Inc.’s agenda for aligned education, be sure to see their page: http://www.achieve.org/our-agenda
Don’t miss their proud work on their initiatives of Next Generation Science Standards, Competency Based Career Paths, and using CCSS to its fullest! See: http://www.achieve.org/our-initiatives