Mobile devices benefit report

A new report finds educators, students and parents generally agree that mobile devices are useful tools in preparing students for college and careers. The findings show that the favorable consensus exists despite challenges such as connectivity and budget constraints.
(2014). The New Digital Learning Playbook: Advancing College- and Career-Ready Skill Development in K-12 Schools. Project Tomorrow.

AASL School Library Research studies

The 2014 volume of AASL’s peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research, features studies on college readiness, information literacy during the high school to college transition, and educational stakeholders’ perceptions of school library programs.

• In “College Ready—What Can We Learn from First-Year College Assignments? An Examination of Assignments in Iowa Colleges and Universities,” Jean Donham examines the readiness of high school graduates to produce scholarly work that meets the expectations of college instructors.
• Jana Varlejs, Eileen Stec and Hannah Kwon examine school librarian and teacher working relationships in their article, “Factors Affecting Students’ Information Literacy as They Transition from High School to College.”
• To provide data for their article, “What Do Stakeholders Know about School Library Programs? Results of a Focus Group Evaluation,” the research team of Nancy Everhart and Marcia Mardis ran four focus groups throughout the state of Pennsylvania to identify what educational stakeholders expect from school library programs.

Articles can be found on the AASL website at www.ala.org/aasl/slr.

A 2013 report finds that most states’ college- and career-readiness accountability systems have focused on getting students to a minimum level of proficiency. The report finds that a coherent college- and career-readiness accountability strategy "centers on the need for states to make ambitious but achievable progress in student performance at a much higher level than minimum proficiency." It recommends states incorporate indicators that measure students’ college and career readiness and use them in multiple ways to orient the system toward postsecondary success.
Achieve. (2013). Closing the expectations gap. 
http://www.achieve.org/files/2013ClosingtheExpectationsGapReport.pdf

Workplace skills and knowledge report

This scholarly report addresses many questions educators are asking about teaching to make sure students get the college and career readiness skills they need to prosper in the 21st century. The report has a comprehensive index that educators will find useful for research on particular topics of interest as they implement Career Technical Education, Common Core, the Next Generation Science Standards and STEM programs and initiatives. The report describes  key skills that increase deeper learning, college and career readiness, student-centered learning, and higher order thinking. These labels include both cognitive and non-cognitive skills- such as critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, effective communication, motivation, persistence, and learning to learn. 21st century skills also include creativity, innovation, and ethics that are important to later success and may be developed in formal or informal learning environments. This report also describes how these skills relate to each other and to more traditional academic skills and content in the key disciplines of reading, mathematics, and science.In addition, features related to learning these skills are identified, which include teacher professional development, curriculum, assessment, after-school and out-of-school programs, and informal learning centers such as exhibits and museums.
Education for Life and Work: Developing Transferable Knowledge and Skills in the 21st Century. (2013). Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13398

College readiness survey

This survey revealed a disconnect on the crucial question of college readiness. Eighty-nine percent of high school teachers surveyed said students who finished their classes were well or very well prepared for college work in those subjects. But 26 percent of college instructors say incoming students are well or very well prepared for first-year courses, the survey found. The results echoed previous findings in 2009, even though there has been intensive focus on college readiness in recent years.
ACT National Curriculum Survey. 2013.
http://www.act.org/research-policy/national-curriculum-survey/

ACT college-ready study

ACT Finds Most Students Still Not Ready for College

Student performance on the ACT essentially held steady this year, with slight improvement shown in the math and science parts of the college-entrance exam.Still, 60 percent of the class of 2012 that took the test failed to meet benchmarks in two of the four subjects tested, putting them in jeopardy of failing in their pursuit of a college degree and careers.
ACT. (2012). Condition of College and Career Readiness 2012. Iowa City, IA: ACT.
http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2012/index.html

National Survey of College Preparedness

A majority of teachers in the U.S. believe that schools are not doing enough to prepare students with diverse learning needs for success after high school, according to a nationwide survey. Ninety-one percent of the public school teachers interviewed for annual survey said that strengthening programs and resources to help “diverse learners” (students with low-income status, limited fluency in English, or learning disabilities) become college- and career-ready should be a priority in education. More than half of the teachers (59 percent) indicated it should be one of schools’ highest priorities. None of the other education reform strategies presented in the survey received as great a consensus.

The findings are being released in two reports:

• Part 1: Clearing the Path examines the importance of being college- and career-ready, what this level of preparation includes, and what it may take to get there.

• Part 2: Teaching Diverse Learners looks at differences in student needs, how teachers address them and how well students feel their needs are being met.

MetLife, 2011, http://www.metlife.com/about/corporate-profile/citizenship/metlife-foundation/metlife-survey-of-the-american-teacher.html?WT.mc_id=vu1101