National Project Connects High Schools and Higher Education

4/22/2003

From: Jeff DeFranco of the Center for Educational Policy Research, 877-766-2279 e-mail: jeff(underscore)[email protected] web: http://www.s4s.org

EUGENE, Ore., April 22 -- Breaking new ground in smoothing the transition between high school and college, the Standards for Success (S4S) project is providing high school students-for the first time-with knowledge and skill standards they will need to succeed at America's research universities.

To ensure that the material is widely available, the project is mailing the Understanding University Success booklet and accompanying CD-ROM to each of the nearly 20,000 public high schools in the nation, as well as to state education departments and university leaders. These materials will be arriving beginning the week of April 21 continuing into early May and are also available, free of charge, on the S4S website at http://www.s4s.org. This is the largest and most ambitious outreach effort ever undertaken by the Association of American Universities (AAU).

Standards for Success was undertaken at the request of a group of university presidents in the Association of American Universities, who asked the organization to help improve the alignment between K-12 education reforms and university expectations. The project was charged with identifying a set of standards for university success and for determining the relationship between state high school assessments and university success. S4S is a three-year, $2.5 million project of AAU and 17 of its member institutions in partnership with The Pew Charitable Trusts.

S4S research found that there often is a disjuncture between the knowledge and skills tested in state assessment exams and the knowledge and skills necessary for university success. "We want to try to increase the alignment that exists between what state K-12 systems are doing and what universities are expecting," said Conley.

"It is the hope of AAU that these standards may serve as a frame of reference for those who are interested in understanding better what it takes to succeed in entry-level courses at America's research universities, and that they may serve as a point of departure for other studies of the skills desired of students entering college," said Nils Hasselmo, president of the AAU.

The College Board has licensed Knowledge and Skills for University Success to be used as a foundational element in the development of College Board examinations, including the SAT, PSAT and Advanced Placement exams. "The work of Standards for Success is a building block," said Wayne Camara, Vice President for Research & Development at the College Board. "Knowledge and Skills for University Success and the accompanying work samples will be used to complement information the College Board gathers on its own about the college readiness of high school students," said Camara.