Overview

The Arizona Business & Education Coalition (ABEC) is launching a school recognition program to shine a spotlight on those public schools, both charter and district, that are raising expectations and preparing students for college and career readiness. Achieving College and Career Readiness: Arizona's Higher Performing Schools is an ABEC initiative in partnership with the Arizona Department of Education and NCEA/ACT. The initiative is sponsored by Greater Phoenix Leadership, Helios Education Foundation, GearUP, and Southern Arizona Leadership Council.

The National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA) is a department of ACT, Inc., a not-for-profit organization committed to helping people achieve education and workplace success. Through its efforts and products, NCEA/ACT builds the capacity of educators and leaders to create educational systems of excellence for all students. They provide research-based solutions and expertise in higher performing schools, school improvement and best practice research that lead to increased levels of college and career readiness.

In cooperation with the Arizona Department of Education, NCEA/ACT will use a school's aggregate AIMS test scores for each subject and grade level tested and then correlate these scores with target benchmarks for college and career readiness based on national ACT scores. The correlation is backward-mapped to 3rd grade. Using this data, each school is measured on both growth of student achievement and the absolute level of achievement of students. Follow up research will also be conducted to better understand why certain schools outperform their peer schools (e.g., schools with similar demographics) and those strategies that enable better performance.

ABEC will annually recognize schools that have their students "on ramp for college and career readiness", which means:

• Arizona Higher Performing Schools advancing toward college and career readiness in one or more content area in one grade tested, or
• "All subject" Arizona Higher Performing Schools advancing toward college and career readiness in ALL content areas AND ALL grades tested.

ABEC's recognition program will:

• Celebrate - recognize those schools that have their students "on the ramp" to college and career readiness;
• Study - analyze those practices that enable higher performance; and
• Inspire - inspire others to adopt and support such practices.

ABEC's primary message to stakeholders focuses on the question "What will we all do about increasing college and career readiness at our schools?" and conveys the thought that everyone has a role in raising expectations and assuring success, not just educators.