AL

Feedback from higher education to high schools is used as an element of the state’s accountability system for secondary education. 

Major priority given to review of existing academic programs resulting in a reduction over the past five years from 3,200 to 1,781 active programs, and the reallocation of resources to strengthen other programs.

Governor Seigelman in 1999 gained approval of initiatives to lower K–3 class size, strengthen professional development, and a reading initiative (see next column).

In March 1999, tenth graders will become the first students to take new high school exit exam. New exam is aligned with standards and accountability legislation enacted in 1995. Students have several opportunities in 11th and 12th grades to pass exam.

State accountability system rates schools based on Stanford Achievement Test-9th edition. Schools earning lowest rating must show improvement or ultimately face intervention. 1999 saw first state intervention in one school.

Fall 1998 agreement to implement a basic-skills test for new teachers no later than 2002, and eventually to add subject-matter testing.

Fall 1998, schools of education will be classified on basis of their students’ classroom performance and performance on teacher tests. Schools could lose the authority to certify teachers in certain subject areas if their records in those areas are consistently poor. Subject to implementation of new testing.

Reading and teacher-training initiative, begun in late 1997 with private support, engages teacher training institutions with schools focused on reading. Initially limited to 80 schools, will be expanded to 200 schools in 2000-01 with state funding. Intent is to focus on math, science and technology in the future.

From ACHE “Evaluation of the Alabama Reading Initiative: 1998-99.” The initiative started in 1998.

AK

The Legislature passed a law in 1997 that directed the Department of Education to develop the Alaska High School Qualifying Examination.

In 1998, another law was passed that made the qualifying exam part of a greater system of accountability standards and assessment.

The Quality Schools Initiative requires schools to create development profiles for each child entering kindergarten or first grade; requires schools to adopt state-mandated academic standards in reading, writing, and math; requires third, sixth, and eighth grade assessments in reading, writing and math; requires schools to report to public; requires low-performing schools to develop school improvement plans. Starting in 2002, schools will be grouped into four categories of performance based on multiple student measures, and low-performing schools will be subject to intervention.

The new law requires each high school student, beginning with the Class of 2002, to pass the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Exam. A new high school exit exam was piloted in 1999 and 2000. Sophomores are the first to be required to pass the exam to graduate in 2002. State is administering “benchmark” exams in grades three, six and eight, in 2000.

1997 law requires new teachers to take the PRAXIS I exam.

1997 law requires institutions to meet NCATE standards.

See WICHE Policy Insights for tuition and student aid information.

University of Alaska Board of Regents voted in December 1999 to award up to $1,350 per semester, or $10,800 over four years, to recent high school graduates who are academically talented and who enroll at the university to earn a degree. Program would focus on students who rank in the top ten percent of their graduating class.

AZ

Governor’s proposed tax increase for education including funding both for K-12 and for higher education.

Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education will make recommendations in fall 2000. Likely recommendation will call for reduced tuition at the community colleges as an incentive for students to attend these institutions and thereby take pressure off the universities.

State adopted new academic standards in 1996. New state exam (Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards– AIMS) measures proficiency against 1996 standards. Class of 2002 will be first required to pass AIMS exam to receive a diploma. Original target implementation of 2001 postponed by one year.

December 1998 rules require that new teachers pass two written exams on pedagogy and subjects that teachers intend to teach, in order to enter the classroom. Also, they must pass performance assessment on teaching skills to remain there. New standards have been adopted for teacher preparation.

Teacher preparation has been opened to entities other than university-based schools of education (e.g., school districts, businesses, and charter schools)

See possible recommendations of the Governor’s Task Force on Education regarding community college tuition.

Board of Regents in June 2000 adopted proposal for Virtual University.

AR

1999 law established the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment and Accountability Program, which incorporates academic standards, professional development for teachers, and state tests for students in grades four, six and eight. Plan to be phased in over four years. Any school that fails to achieve expected levels of student performance will be placed on list of failing schools and will be required to work on an improvement plan. Failure to show improvement could lead to a school’s takeover by the state. Beginning in 2003-04 school year, schools will be assessed based on students’ test scores, attendance, graduation rates, school safety and teacher qualifications.

In February 2000, Arkansas legislators sought to limit access to the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship program because of projected cost increases.

The Governor’s Distinguished Scholars program, created in 1997, pays the full cost of attendance, including tuition, room and board and mandatory costs, at public or private school of choice. To qualify, students must achieve a 32 on the ACT, or 1410 on the SAT, or be named a National Merit Finalist.

More than 9,000 students successfully applied for the scholarships in the 1999-2000 academic year, nearly twice as many as the year before. The flood of new applications was attributed to a successful television advertising campaign for the scholarships, and to the state’s decision to double the income limit to $70,000 for a family of three, for example. The higher education department found itself without nearly enough funds to fulfill its commitments. To do away with $3.8 million of the program’s $8-million shortfall, the state Higher Education Coordinating Board voted in May 2000 to renege on its promise of bonuses for good grades.

State law requires the Arkansas Coordinating Board of Higher Education to evaluate its role and scope every five years. It should have done so in 1994, but it voted then not to tackle the task with the threat of a lawsuit hanging over it. In 1999, the evaluation was largely internal involving the college presidents, chancellors, faculty and staff.

CA

Governor Davis’ 1999 education reform initiative creates a school-performance index, provides additional funding for literacy training, and requires a graduation exit exam in 2004. New provision would reward teachers in low-performing schools whose students show significant improvement on the state’s new performance index, which is being phased in during the 2000-01 school year.

Under a landmark agreement reached between Governor Davis and the California Legislature, state spending on need-based student aid was set to grow by $97 million—enough to support a 41 percent increase in the number of grants awarded in the 2000-01 academic year. In addition, the agreement provides for nearly doubling spending on the state’s need-based aid program, to $1.2 billion, by 2006. Under the agreement, the awards would be guaranteed to every student who qualified, rather than depending on how much money was available in the budget.

Senate Bill 1644 revamps the State’s current statewide financial aid program, Cal Grant, creating an entitlement program guaranteeing a grant or scholarship award to future California high school graduates who demonstrate financial need and earn at least a C grade point average in their high school course work. Beginning in 2001, high school graduates with financial need and at least a B average would be eligible for a full-tuition grant at a state institution, or up to $9,700 at a private college in the state. Needy students who have at least a C average would be eligible for up to $1,550 to cover living expenses. In addition, the legislation provides grants for older students who are returning to college or enrolling for the first time.

Senate Bill 1688 provides financial awards of up to $5,500 for college costs to those high school students who are the highest scorers on the state’s standardized STAR examinations and on advanced placement examinations in mathematics and science. Program would provide $1,000 scholarships to students with high scores on a statewide standardized test (STAR), and $2,500 grants to students with high scores on Advanced Placement tests in math and science.

CO

Colorado public institutions, by fall 2001, are to test the basic skills of their incoming freshmen and determine which students need extra help. The results will be grouped by school districts and used to help them adjust their high school curricula, if necessary, to cut down on students’ remedial needs.

1999 reform legislation created pilot project to test the abilities of college sophomores at the state’s public institutions. In the spring of 2000, seven Colorado institutions administered tests to assess the writing, reading, critical thinking and mathematical reasoning abilities of some of their sophomores. In 2000-01, officials will try out different types of standardized tests and continue to weigh how the test results might be used to help assess institutions’ core courses, and measure how well high schools prepared the students for college.

SB 00-186, passed in April 2000, establishes a new school accountability system with school grading based on an expanded assessment program.

New law will require each Colorado public high school junior, beginning in spring 2001, to take the ACT college-entrance examination. The state will pay as much as $1 million a year to pick up students’ registration fees.

SB 154 (1999) requires all resident teachers to pass a basic-skills test by April 15 of their first year of employment.

SB 154 eliminated state approval of all teacher-preparation programs as of July 1, 2001. To continue, teacher training programs must conform to new standards to be set jointly by the state board of education and the Colorado Commission on Higher Education.

State officials set new standards, as well, for students receiving Colorado merit-based scholarships. All new recipients, beginning in the 2000-01 academic year, will be required to maintain at least a 3.0 grade point average to be eligible for the aid in the subsequent academic year.

State policy changes in 2000 will shift resources to begin providing more aid to the state’s neediest students rather than allocating smaller amounts of assistance to a wider group of people. Eligible low-income students in 2000 began receiving the new Governor’s Opportunity Scholarships. The program aims to provide students whose families’ incomes fall in the state’s bottom quartile enough assistance so that they do not have to accrue debt by taking out loans for college.

The Colorado General Assembly set aside $800,000 to increase access to higher education through another route. The money will be used for a rural education-access program, to begin in fall 2000, which will allow some two-year colleges in rural and mountainous areas to offer bachelor’s degrees.

New performance funding policy.

CT

1996 mandate targeted significant proportion of state aid to poor and urban districts on literacy programs, and in 1998 launched the Early Reading Success program.

1999 law requires districts to revise policies to reduce social promotion. Over two-year period, the state’s poorest and most urban districts are to provide additional instruction to all fourth and sixth grades who fail to meet performance goals on Connecticut’s standardized tests. Students who still don’t progress even after receiving help will be required to attend summer school or be held back a grade. Plan also calls for public listing of elementary and middle schools whose test scores are most in need of improvement. Those on the list must develop improvement plans. If actions do not yield improvements, the law authorizes the state to reconstitute or completely re-staff the school.

State board of education in 1999 approved a “Common Core of Teaching” replacing the 15 “competencies” used since implementation of the Education Enhancement Act of 1986. The common core is meant to guide teacher training and evaluation programs.

Connecticut froze tuition at public institutions beginning in 1997, but because of Constitutional spending limitations that barred state funding to offset tuition, the state abandoned this freeze and agreed to increase spending on need-based aid for public-college students by about 30 percent in 2000-01. The state’s public colleges, meanwhile, resolved to increase their tuitions by about four percent.

Governor Rowland proposed Connecticut HOPE Scholarship Tax Credit and the Lifelong Learning Tax Credit in his 2000 State of the State message. (This was not enacted, as far as can be determined.)

The Legislature approved the establishment of a Waterbury campus of both the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut State University System, which would jointly use the site to offer a limited selection of four-year programs intended to meet local business needs.

Lawmakers appropriated about $5 million to begin to build a distance-education network linking all of the state’s colleges, school systems and libraries.

Accountability in Higher Education Act of 1999 directs the state’s public colleges and universities to develop benchmarks for improvement in areas such as graduation rates, minority-student access, and fee growth. Public Act 99-285 clarifies the major goals and expectations that Connecticut citizens have for their public system of higher education. The act charges the Higher Education Coordinating Council (HECC) with developing accountability measures for each constituent unit and each public institution of higher education. These measures must be approved by the BOG and used by the D of HE and each constituent unit in assessing progress toward meeting six identified goals. The BOG presented a progress report on the process on January 26, 2000.

DE

Accountability requirements enacted in mid-1990s are just now being implemented. State has been administering assessments in reading, writing and mathematics in grades three, five, eight and ten since spring 1998. In 1999, the state administered social studies assessments in grades four, six, eight and 11. Students in grades three, five and eight will be required to meet the state standards in reading in order to advance to the next grade. Students in grades eight and ten will be required to meet state standards in math to advance. Students must pass the tenth grade math assessment to receive a high school diploma.

Governor Carper’s 2000 Legislative Agenda included raising student achievement by recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers, maximizing the impact of 10,000 mentors, and other initiatives.

In March 2000, Governor agreed to delay for one year the mandatory consequences of testing in grades three, five and eight, and to delay for an additional two years (from 2002 to 2004) the graduation requirements. Student Standards bill, SB 182, was first enacted in 1997.

Delaware also considered (and may have enacted) a social promotion bill in 2000.

State rejected the Governor’s educator-accountability law proposed in Fall 1999.

Proposal in 1999 for “HOPE-like” scholarship program died in state Legislature. Plan would have provided a free education to any student whose family earned $40,000 a year or less and who maintained a grade point average of at least 2.5 in high school. No major student aid proposals were enacted in the 2000 legislative session.

FL

Major governance change creating a new structure effective January 2003. New structure would include a seven-member state board of education appointed by the governor, a commissioner of education appointed by the board of education, and chancellors for non-public and non-traditional education, community colleges, state universities and K–12 education. Each of the state universities would have a governing board appointed by the governor. A transition task force is overseeing implementation with deadlines for reports in March 2001, 2002, 2003 and a final report on May 1, 2003.

In February 2000, the Florida Board of Regents approved the Talented 20 initiative as alternative to affirmative action. Proposal required approval by the State Board of Education and Cabinet. Under previous policy, students had to have a 3.0 grade point average and take 19 required credits to get into a state university. Race could be considered in regular admissions and in alternative admissions, which were used when students didn’t meet the minimum standards. Under the One Florida and Talented 20 rules, students in the top 20 percent of their graduating classes would be guaranteed admission. Students would still have to take the 19 credits, but their grades and college entrance test scores would not matter if they ranked in the top 20 percent of their high school class.

Governor Bush’s A+ for education reform plan calls for students to receive a letter grade based primarily on their performance on state tests. Under the law, students in schools graded F in two out of four years may transfer to better public schools or use state-financed vouchers to pay private or religious school tuition. Schools earning A’s are to be rewarded with extra money.

New tougher state assessments (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test) were phased in be-ginning in spring 1999. Tests were given to students in grades four, five, eight and ten for the first time in spring 1999.

New policy (under development in 1999) to end social promotion. New law requires that schools tie student progression from one grade to the next to demonstrated proficiency in reading, writing, science and math. Also requires that schools provide those students who are held back with individual education plans.

1999 legislation increased entrance requirements and expanded types of data schools of education must report to enable identification of best practice. Also, legislation established committee on teacher education to recommend new curriculum requirements for state-approved teacher education programs to be completed in January 2000.

Florida Bright Futures, established in 1997.

Maximum award: Academic: tuition, fees and book allowance. Merit: 75 percent of tuition and fees. Gold Seal Vocational: 75 percent of tuition and fees. First awards in 1997.

Eligibility requirements: Academic: 3.5 grade point average in college preparatory courses; maintain a 3.0 grade point average in college to renew. Merit: 3.0 grade point average in college preparatory courses; maintain a 2.75 grade point average in college to renew. Gold Seal Vocational: 3.0 overall and 3.5 grade point average in vocational courses; maintain a 2.75 grade point average in postsecondary courses to renew.

Performance funding in place for community colleges and in process of implementation for State University System.

GA

Governor Roy Barnes’ Education Review Commission, initiated in June 1999, reported at the end of 1999. Commission’s recommendations led to enactment of major reform legislation, HB 1189, effective July 1, 2000. New law includes provisions related to both K–12 and higher education, although it focuses primarily on K–12. HB 1187 establishes a new Education Coordinating Council and Office of Educational Accountability. Ten-person council including Governor as chair brings to quarterly meetings the heads of the five public education departments, boards and offices: state superintendent of schools, and the chair of the state board of education; chancellor of the University System of Georgia and chair of the board of regents; commissioner of the Department of Technical and Adult Education, and chair of the board; executive director of the Professional Standards Commission, and chair of the board; and executive director of the Office of School Readiness.

Utilizes existing staff in the five departments and offices, together with staff from the Office of Education Accountability (OEA) and the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget (OPB).

Purpose is to improve public education through “seamless” coordination among the five education providers, from pre-K all the way through postsecondary; to get the most out of tax dollars by looking for ways to share facilities, equipment, personnel and other resources; to make it easier for students to transition from one to the other, align the curriculum so a student doesn’t have to start over at each level; to foster state, regional and local cooperative groups; to help raise student achievement in all five by overseeing accountability through an Office of Education Account-ability; and to reduce rules and regulations in all five, cut paperwork, do more via the Internet, encourage mentoring programs.

The Georgia P–16 Initiative is a comprehensive and collaborative statewide effort aimed at raising expectations and ensuring student success from preschool through postsecondary education. P–16 is a collaborative effort (begun in 1995 and first funded by the state in 1997) of the University System of Georgia (USG), the Department of Education, the Department of Technical and Adult Education, the Office of School Readiness, and the business community. At the state level, the P–16 council has led to agreements and recommendations related to college preparation curriculum, teacher preparation (see column on teacher initiatives), academic standards, testing, a linked student database, the University System Reading Consortial and technology in the classroom.

Examples of P­–16- related initiatives are: Performance Assessment for College and Technical School (PACTS) program, a standards-based assessment system being piloted in four local P–16 councils; and Post-secondary Readiness Enrichment Program (PREP) to identify and work with at-risk middle school students.

Beginning with the vision and guiding principles adopted by the Board of Regents in 1994, the University System of Georgia has pursued a consistent, coherent set of policy initiatives. Among these are the reform of missions for all institutions, stronger coordinated admissions requirements, partnerships between USG and K–12 schools, business, and other organizations, a partnership with DTAE, and the P–16 initiative.

Governor Roy Barnes’ Education Review Commission, initiated in June 1999, reported at the end of 1999. Commission’s recommendations led to enactment of major reform legislation, HB 1187, effective July 1, 2000.

Prior to HB 1187, Georgia had established a Core Curriculum. 1998-99 was first year that teachers were expected to use the new curriculum.

Assessments tied to the curriculum—in the form of the criterion-referenced competency tests—were to be given for the first time in spring 2000. Students in grades four, six and eight will be tested in English/language arts, reading and mathematics. Science test for grades three, five and eight, and the social studies test, to be given in grades three, five and seven, are still being developed and will be phased in.

New K–12 accountability system established by HB 1187, including many of the provisions found in accountability laws in Florida, Texas, North Carolina and other states. The measure sets up a system by which schools are to be graded from A to F based on their students’ performance on state tests. Schools will be graded based on both their students’ absolute test scores and on how much they have improved. Each year, teachers at schools awarded an A will receive $1,000 bonuses; those at B schools will get $500. D or F will trigger various forms of state intervention that will become increasingly severe over time. If a school receives poor grades for three or more years, for example, state education officials could order the removal of school personnel or give parents the option of transferring their children to another public school.

The law also stipulates that students’ achievement gains be considered in teachers’ annual evaluations, and that educators with unsatisfactory evaluations be kept from moving on to the next step of the salary scale.

The school performance results must be disaggregated with respect to ethnicity, sex, socioeconomic status, disability, language proficiency, grade level, subject area, school and district.

Board of Regents in 1998 approved ten principles and related actions for improving the quality of teacher education. Principles and actions are being phased in. Revised programs (undergraduate and graduate) must be in place for students admitted to the program beginning in fall 2000.

Report of P–16 Council in June 1999 called for a qualified teacher in every public school classroom by 2006.

Agreement between the USG and the Department of Technical and Adult Education provides for improved coordination and articulation between the two systems, with the USG concentrating on general education and DTAE focusing on job-entry occupational instruction.

HB 1187, effective July 1, 2000, reconstitutes the DTAE board and allows technical institutes to change name to “technical college.” Institute must first get occupational degree-granting accreditation from SACS or COE or any other appropriate accrediting agency approved by the United States secretary of education.

HOPE Scholarships

Maximum award: tuition, fees and book allowance up to $3,000.

First awards in 1994.

Eligibility requirements: 3.0 grade point average in high school for college preparatory curriculum and 3.2 grade point average for other curricula; maintain 3.0 grade point average in college to renew. Beginning in 2000 high school grade point average in core courses will determine eligibility.

HB 1187 effective July 1, 2000, makes adjustments to HOPE: It removes cap on technical school students that currently cuts off HOPE after two certificates or diplomas or after two changes in program of study; sets initial grade point average for a junior in college receiving a PROMISE teacher scholarship at 3.2 instead of 3.6. For a full-time or part-time student, already having baccalaureate degree does not affect eligibility for PROMISE scholarship (to encourage “second career” teacher candidates); removes so-called Pell offset requirement that previously penalized students who got both a federal grant, such as Pell, and HOPE.

Change in the USG budget policy since 1995-96 uses special funding as the leverage to advance the USG strategic plan and to address state priorities. Budget is divided into formula and non-formula components with the non-formula components deliberately linked to state priorities and policy initiatives consistent with the USG strategy plan.

HB 1187 also changes the funding formula to move away from a totally enrollment-driven model.

Enrollment-Driven Funding Formula For Technical Schools Funds now to be based on enrollment and cost factors (subject to appropriation).

Major technology initiatives to serve students and the state include, among others, GALILEO, the one statewide electronic library; Georgia EASY program, which allows high school students to research and apply online for any of the university system’s 34 institutions.

Initiatives linking the USG to the state’s economic development agencies and business community:

Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP); Information Technology Strategic Response Initiative; and Governor Barnes’ YAMACRAW Mission, designed to make Georgia a leader in the microchip industry.

HI

2000 Legislative session approved an autonomy bill for the university system. As a result, voters will decide in the fall of 2000 if the Board of Regents should have constitutional authority over all decisions within the university system. Those decisions include some reforms passed in 1998 which would be placed in the state Constitution under the ballot measure—such as the university’s power to keep tuition revenues and to hire its own counsel.

1999 law gives education officials authority to establish an accountability system including a state assessment system based on state standards and involving rewards and sanctions for schools based on their performance. Nevertheless, it could be five years before schools face any consequences.

Performance Review Commission report found that state standards developed in late 1980s were not consistently implemented throughout the state. Report also emphasized lack of assessment system. An evaluation of the education system commissioned by the state superintendent identified core needs for improvement.

In August 1999 the state board approved revised standards. Next step is development of assessment system. Hawaii Assessment Program of Outcomes piloted in 1999. Implementation in 2000-01 contingent on funding.

ID

First draft of standards for K–8 was due in January 2000. Previous standards-writing effort stalled.

1999 state appropriation for literacy plan for K–3.

1999 legislation outlines reading standards and assessments and calls for statewide testing of students twice a year. Summer programs for students scoring below grade level in reading.

State board of education approved exit standards for students in grades 9–12 that were to be approved by the Legislature in 2000.

1999 legislation called for testing of K–8 teachers and administrators prior to certification.

IL

P–6 Partnership for Education Excellence endorsed by the Illinois BHE in February 1999 is partnership of the Illinois Board of Education, Community College Board, and IBHE.  Major initiatives include: (1) College-Ready Kids to increase the number of Illinois high school graduates who are well-prepared for and go on to college, reduce the number of Illinois college and university students who need remediation, and increase the number of students who earn a certificate or a degree and who do so on time; (2) Classroom-Ready Teachers, to increase the number and competence of newly prepared teachers, improve the knowledge and skills of beginning teachers, provide high quality and accessible professional development opportunities for already employed teachers, and increase the number of master teachers in Illinois schools; and (3) Log-on Learning to expand the use of technology to improve educational opportunities.

Joint Education Committee (JEC) provides a means for collaboration among the Board of Higher Education, the Human Resource Investment Council, the Illinois Community College Board and the State Board of Education.

Prairie State Exam is to be an exit exam given to high school students who are going to enter college and/or the workplace, and has been a major issue for joint deliberations (see K–12 initiatives).

In February 1999, IBHE approved strategic document, the Illinois Commitment, outlining six goals: (1) Higher education will help Illinois business and industry sustain strong economic growth; (2) Higher education will join elementary and secondary education to improve teaching and learning at all levels; (3) No Illinois citizen will be denied an opportunity for a college education because of financial need; (4) Illinois will increase the number and diversity of citizens completing training and education programs; (5) Illinois colleges and universities will hold students to even higher expectations for learning, and will be accountable for the quality of academic programs and the assessment of learning; and (6) Illinois colleges and universities will continually improve productivity, cost-effectiveness and accountability.

In 1999, state completed first round of testing using the Illinois Standards Achievement Test, an assessment designed to align more closely with state academic standards adopted in 1997. First year yielded significantly lower scores than previous assessments. To ease the transition, the state released percentage of students in which schools deemed not to have met state standards for proficiency rather than the raw scores. In addition, though the state will continue to offer assistance to low-scoring schools as in the past, the state will not issue an “early warning list” of low-scoring schools as they have in the past.

Prairie State Exam, established by legislation in 1996 and under development by State Board of Education since then, is to be an exit exam given to high school students who are going to enter college and/or the workplace. Test will replace the ISAT and is to be given to students in the second semester of the junior year. Students will not be required to pass the test to graduate, but those who do will receive a special designation on their diplomas. Test is to be piloted in spring 2000 and used for the first time in 2001. Test, being developed by American College Testing (ACT), is to include three parts: (1) the traditional ACT exam, which many of the universities accept; (2) ACT Work Keys, which include reading for information and applied math; and (3) the Illinois learning standards, specifically with writing, science content and social science.

See P–16 Partnership.

Public Act 90-0548, signed into law by Governor Edgar in December 1997, establishes that teachers will be certified based on attaining knowledge and performance standards, establishes an induction period (though not a program) for newly prepared and hired teachers, distinguishes between an initial and a standard certificate, requires continuing professional development for certificate renewal, and creates a “master certificate” to recognize the significant contributions of teachers who have earned certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. The State Board of Education in 1999 adopted core standards for all teachers, content standards for specific areas of preparation, and requirements for continuing professional development.

A new law (2000) transfers the administration of the state’s $48-million adult-education program from the State Board of Education (which oversees elementary and secondary schools) to the Illinois Community College Board. The changeover is scheduled to be complete by July 2001.

In February 1999, the IBHE refocused the budget development process to establish a close link between statewide strategic goals identified in the Illinois Commitment and budget recommendations, to implement statewide strategic goals and include performance measures and assessments, so that the entire higher education community and each institution can assess progress toward achieving goals, and to assess annually using specific measures of results and accountability.

Illinois Century Network, established by Public Act 91-0021 in July 1999, is to be a single high-bandwidth telecommunications network that provides reliable communication links to and among Illinois schools, institutions of higher education, libraries, museums, research institutions, state agencies, units of local government and other local entities. Initiatives such as the Illinois Virtual Campus, Illinois Digital Academic Library, Illinois Community College Online, and the Illinois Virtual High School, will use the network to expand access to education and training.

The Illinois Virtual Campus (IVC), developed by the University of Illinois and inaugurated in 1999, is to be a gateway to distance learning in Illinois. More than 70 colleges and universities throughout Illinois have expressed their intent to list their courses and programs with the Illinois Virtual Online Catalog. Illinois plan includes partnerships with community colleges to create student support centers that will guide students to courses, offer technical assistance, provide access to computers, and ensure that no students fall through the virtual cracks in the student support system.

Lake County Center. Subcommittee of Illinois BHE formed in 1998 to study the educational needs of Lake County—one of the fastest growing counties, and one without a four-year public institution.  Study recommended that a university center be approved. In 1999, the General Assembly and the Governor authorized and appropriated funds for the University Center of Lake County. The IBHE in 2000 authorized new center to be placed on the grounds of the College of Lake County in Grayslake. Approximately 12 schools and universities have opted to participate in the center.

Adult education   (see 6).

IN

Appointed and co-chaired by Governor Frank O’Bannon and Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Suellen Reed, Education Roundtable serves to improve education for Hoosier students. Comprised of equal representation from business/community and education, and additional representatives from the General Assembly, members are appointed for their commitment to improvement of the state of education in Indiana and as leaders in their respective fields. Meeting on an informal basis in 1998, the Roundtable was formalized through legislation in 1999. Through Senate Bill 235, the Roundtable was established as an entity enlisted          to make recommendations concerning education to the governor, superintendent of public instruction, General Assembly, and Indiana state Board of Education. The Roundtable was given additional responsibilities in House Bill 1750, which include assuming the duties formerly held by the state standards task force.

Cooperative effort of Department of Education, State Board of Education, Chamber of Commerce, CHE, and governor’s office to improve academic rigor for high school students led to adoption of “Core 40” —a list of courses and options that students should complete if they are considering higher education or to prepare for the world of work. Class of 1998 was first required to meet “Core 40.”

Indiana has had standards for all subject areas for all grade levels since the late 1980s, but the quality and clarity of these standards needed to be improved. During fall 1999, the Department of Education undertook a major rewrite of the English/language arts and mathematics standards.

Graduation Qualifying Exam (GQE), which is part of 10 ISEP+ test, was instituted in 1997. All students who expect to graduate in year 2000 and beyond must pass the GQE in order to receive a high school diploma. Students can qualify on appeal or if they get C’s in the Core 40.

Over the past ten years, the Indiana Professional Standards Board has completely overhauled the teacher induction, education and licensing requirements. New standards will be put into effect during the years 2000-04. Schools of Education will now be held accountable for the performance of their students and will have to certify that students know and are able to demonstrate the skills required of them for their specific content areas. Under the new system, teacher candidates will have to pass national exams in their content areas, and elementary teachers will have to pass a reading test to show that they have the knowledge to teach reading. New teachers, through a two-year initial licensing period, will work with mentors and other specialists and will have to demonstrate, through portfolio reviews and in-class observations, that they can teach effectively. After the initial two-year period, teachers will have to develop personal growth plans that are tied to the needs of their students and will be assessed every five years through a portfolio review process in order to renew their teaching licenses. The Professional Standards Board has also put into effect policies that allow colleges and universities to establish non- traditional teacher education programs that lead to eligibility for an initial license.

Initiated in 1999, Indiana’s community college system is being built on a partnership between Ivy Tech State College and Vincennes University. When fully operational, the

system will offer community college curriculum at all 22 Ivy Tech sites and provide students with the opportunity to earn associate degrees that will be accepted by four-year colleges and universities.

The Twenty-first Century Scholars program is Indiana’s GEAR UP program. It grants tuition scholarships for higher education at public or private institutions in Indiana to eligible young people who apply for the program and fulfill a commitment to the state. To be eligible, students must take a pledge including, among other points, that they agree to graduate from an Indiana high school with a high school diploma, achieve a cumulative high school GPA of at least 2.0 on a 4.0 scale, be enrolled in the eighth grade at an Indiana school accredited (or seeking accreditation) through Performance-Based Accreditation, be eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the national school lunch program, or be eligible for free or reduced-price textbooks under the textbook assistance program. If a student does not receive other financial aid for tuition, the scholarship from the Twenty-first Century Scholars program will pay full tuition and fees at an Indiana public college. At an Indiana private or independent college, the scholarship will pay an amount equal to the average cost of full tuition at Indiana public colleges. If the student receives other financial aid for tuition, the Twenty-first Century Scholarship will be awarded only for the amount needed to cover the rest of tuition and fees.

In 1999/2000, the Scholars program enrolled approximately 8,500 eligible eighth-grade students each year. Program administrators hope to raise enrollment numbers to at least 11,000 (approximately 70 percent of eligible Indiana students) within the next five years. Increased outreach efforts are critical to meeting this goal.

KS

The power of the nine-member Board of Regents was greatly expanded by legislation in 1999 that restructured higher education in the state. Three commissions were created within the board to govern the state’s six universities; to oversee the community, vocational and technical colleges; and to coordinate the activities of public and private higher education.

(See major higher education initiatives on changes in the Board of Regents, and the board’s additional responsibility for the  coordination of locally governed community colleges and the postsecondary vocational-technical institutions.)

KY

In 1998, the Council on Postsecondary Education and the State Board of Education created the P–16 Council, composed of three members each of the Board and the Council, along with the Commissioner of Education and the Council President.

The P–16 Council has focused on the preparation and professional development of teachers, and on defining what is expected of students graduating from high school and entering colleges and universities.

Stronger minimum admissions requirements.

Reflecting new minimum high school graduation requirements, the Pre-College Curriculum (courses that students must take to be admitted unconditionally to Kentucky public universities) has been strengthened. The revised PCC, most of which applies to students who seek to enter four-year degree programs beginning in 2002, includes one more credit each in social studies and science, two credits in foreign language (effective 2004), one in arts appreciation, and half credits in health and physical education.

In November, the Council approved a policy establishing a minimum standard for placing students in appropriate levels of courses in English, math and reading. The policy emphasizes placement based on what a student knows—not just the completion of certain courses in high school. It reflects comment by the institutions’ chief academic officers and Kentucky Department of Education staff.

HB 1, enacted in 1997 as the result of the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education, led to major restructuring of the system, establishment of KCTCS, a new funding policy, and the Council on Postsecondary Education as the state’s entity responsible for policy leadership and coordination of the state’s postsecondary education system.

2020 Vision: Action Agenda for Kentucky’s System of Postsecondary Education, adopted in 1998, provides the overall framework for the state’s reform agenda.

Continued refinement of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) first enacted in 1989.

Task Force on Teachers made recommendations leading to major debate about reforms in the 2000 regular session.

HB 1, enacted in 1997, created the Kentucky Community and Technical College System by removing the community colleges from the University of Kentucky and transferring responsibility for the technical colleges to a new board.

Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarships: Maximum award of $2,500 per year. First awards in 1999. Eligibility requirements: Eligibility and amount of award vary based on a student’s grade point average in each of the four years of high school. For example, if a student achieves a 2.5 grade point average all four years of high school, he or she receives a total of $500 in each year of college. A student who achieves a 4.0 grade point average all four years of high school receives a total of $2,000 per year in college. Annual bonuses of up to $500 will be based on ACT scores.

HB 1 established new “base-plus” funding system. The base is determined by benchmarking, and funding beyond the base is established primarily through a series of strategic investment funds.

SB 1, enacted in 2000, continues and broadens the purposes of an investment fund previously enacted in 1997 aimed at adult education and literacy.

Kentucky Common-wealth Virtual University established in 1997.

New economic development initiative enacted in 2000 with leadership responsibility assigned to the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).

Task Force on Adult Education and Literacy led to SB 1, enacted in 2000, setting forth a long-term strategy for improving the adult literacy in the state and assigning leadership responsibility to the CPE.

LA

Louisiana adopted major reform legislation in 1998, followed by approval of voters of amendments to the state Constitution. The legislation and constitutional amendment strengthened and clarified the authority of the Board of Regents and established the new Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

Following recommendations of the Governor’s Task Force on Community Colleges and Vocational-Technical Education, the state created the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, consolidating the state technical schools previously under the State Board for Elementary and Secondary Education and the free-standing community colleges.

Louisiana Tuition Opportunity Program for Students, 1997;

Maximum award and year of first award:

Opportunity awards: tuition at public colleges;

Performance awards: tuition at public colleges plus $400;

Honors awards: tuition at public colleges plus $800;

First awards in 1998.

Eligibility requirements:

*Opportunity awards: 2.5 grade point average in high school and ACT score at or above state average; maintain 2.3 grade point average in first year and 2.5 grade point average thereafter to renew.

Performance awards: Top five percent of high school class, 3.5 grade point average in high school and minimum ACT score of 23; maintain 3.0 grade point average in college to renew.

Honors awards: Top five percent of high school class, 3.5 grade point average and minimum ACT score of 27; maintain 3.0 grade point average in college to renew.

ME

Maine’s long-term educational reform effort centers on a state and local partnership to assure that all Maine students achieve the standards in Maine’s Learning Results, a comprehensive set of guiding principles, content standards and performance indicators in eight content areas adopted in 1997.

Maine is redefining teacher certification standards to align with Learning Results standards, and is considering other policy changes to improve teacher quality.

The Community College Partnership of Maine was developed beginning in Fall 1999 by the Maine Technical College System and University of Maine System to expand access to community college programs. The General Studies program—started last fall at the Technical Colleges—offers foundation courses for many four-year baccalaureate programs as well as associate degree career programs. It is designed to transfer to four-year institutions. Statewide, 432 students—about twice as many as expected—have enrolled in the program since it began in fall 1999.

Maine Technical College system has frozen tuition levels for two years. University of Maine Board of Trustees has placed a high priority on restraining the rate of tuition increases and has debated a freeze comparable to the Technical College System.

MD

Maryland Science and Technology Scholarship Program, 1998;

Maximum award: $3,000 per year;

Year of first award: 1999.

Eligibility requirements: High school grade point average of 3.0, and must be seeking degree in high-demand fields identified by Maryland Higher Education Commission; maintain 3.0 grade point average in college to renew.

MI

The Merit Award Scholarship, established in 1999. Graduating class of 2000 is first eligible class. Scholarship is merit-based: Eligibility is based on student achievement as demonstrated by performance on Michigan’s standards assessment tests in mathematics, reading, science and writing. Student financial need is not a consideration. Students who meet eligibility requirements will qualify to receive the $2,500. The scholarship may be used for study at a university or college or for vocational/technical training at any approved postsecondary education institution. Program includes a middle school component. Beginning with the graduating Class of 2005 (i.e., seventh graders in the 1999-2000 school year), there will be an additional award of up to $500 for students who also perform well on the seventh and eighth grade MEAP tests in mathematics, reading, science and writing, for a total scholarship award of up to $3,000. The scholarship is intended to cover tuition and fees as well as other expenses such as room and board, books and supplies, transportation and daycare. Even if a student enrolls at an approved postsecondary education institution outside the state of Michigan, up to $1,000 may be applied toward eligible costs. Student may use the scholarship money for up to seven years after the student graduates or earns a GED. The program is funded with a portion of Michigan’s share of the revenue from the multi-state settlement agreement with tobacco manufacturers. These funds are deposited in a special trust fund dedicated to the scholarship program.

MO

The Missouri K–16 Coalition’s report, Mathematics in Missouri, called for a higher degree of integration of math courses and skills across the K–16 spectrum. And the Knight Higher Education Collaborative/ College and University Presidents Roundtables resulted in action plans for promoting greater collaboration among institutions.

Blueprint for Missouri Higher Education (completed 1995, but originating in a report by the 1991 Business and Education Partnership Commission). The Blueprint includes five strategic initiatives: institutional mission review and enhancement, student financial assistance, technology-based delivery systems, postsecondary technical education, and performance funding.

Legislation enacted in 1999 includes a variety of provisions related to reading, eliminating social promotion, establishing a Missouri Teacher Corps, and loan forgiveness incentives for entering teaching. Prohibits State Board of Education from establishing “any single test or group of tests as a condition for graduation or a state-approved high school diploma.”

(See K–12 initiatives.)

In 1995, Senate Bill 101 directed the Coordinating Board for Higher Education to work in cooperation with the state Board of Education to implement a comprehensive system of postsecondary technical education throughout Missouri. The following year, the Coordinating Board developed the State Plan for Postsecondary Technical Education, a collaborative, five-year action plan for the statewide implementation of a technical education system. After three years of continuous appropriation by the Missouri General Assembly, the State Plan has shown results in geographic and programmatic access, program quality and improvement, and student success.

The Coordinating Board organized all of its student financial assistance programs and services into one division, called MOSTARS, in October 1997. MOSTARS’ primary mission is to be a statewide “one-stop shop” for postsecondary assistance to Missouri citizens. By continuing to work in partnership with its constituents, MOSTARS serves as a key component in ensuring that students have the opportunity to access education beyond high school and to develop career paths. MOSTARS provides resources and assistance in four major areas: student financial assistance, customer service and support, early awareness and outreach, and default prevention and debt management.

In 1999, the Missouri Commission on the Affordability of Higher Education’s report, Toward an Affordable Future, outlined recommendations leading to the implementation of three new student financial assistance programs in 1999. The Advantage Missouri Program and the Missouri College Guarantee Program provided 2,920 additional students a total of $6.9 million during the 1999-2000 academic year. And in just the first few months of operation, almost $6.5 million was deposited into 2,139 Missouri Saving for Tuition (MO$T) accounts.

The Advantage Missouri Program provides need-based, forgivable loans to eligible students pursuing identified academic programs that lead to employment in designated high-demand occupations in Missouri.

The Missouri College Guarantee Program provides grants to the neediest students who have achieved the required ACT or SAT composite score, obtained the necessary high school grade point average, and participated in high school extracurricular activities to qualify for the program. The maximum annual grant award is based on the fees charged a full-time student at the University of Missouri-Columbia along with a standard book allowance determined by the Coordinating Board. The student’s final award amount is determined after all state and federal non-repayable need-based student assistance is deducted from the maximum annual award amount.

During the 1999-2000 academic year, $4 million was distributed to 1,814 eligible students through the Missouri College Guarantee Program.

The third new state program is the MO$T Program, which is managed under the direction of the MO$T Program Board and the Office of the State Treasurer. MO$T encourages participants to save for postsecondary educational expenses by offering a combination of federal and state tax incentives.

Funding for Results (FFR) initiative established in 1992 is a results-oriented performance-funding strategy that builds on planning priorities.

Through FFR, additional funds are generated for each public institution’s budget, based on student and institutional performance. FFR has been refined periodically and will increasingly be linked to state priorities.

The Missouri Learners’ Network will provide Missouri citizens greater access to postsecondary educational opportunities, and will help institutions promote their technology-mediated courses and programs. Institutions are being brought online at regular intervals. So far, three clusters have been brought online, bringing to 11 the total number of institutions.

Forty-three colleges and universities have indicated their intent to participate.

NC

Governor Hunt has set forth the goal of making North Carolina's public schools First in America by the year 2010.

The goals are the following:

• High student performance

• Every child ready to learn

• Safe, orderly and caring schools

• Quality teachers and administrators

• Strong family, community, and business support.

The Education Cabinet is composed of the state superintendent of public instruction, the chair of the state Board of Education, the president of the university system, and the president of the North Carolina Community College System. In addition, the president of the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities meets with the Cabinet. Each of the education sectors has been charged by executive order to develop the strategies and timelines necessary for the accomplishment of the above goals and priorities.

(See column 1.)

Vice president for university-school programs coordinates initiatives for the University of North Carolina (UNC) general administration.

North Carolina Education Research Council provides research to support decision-making by the Education Cabinet and units of state government.

University-School Teacher Education Partnerships is a statewide strategy involving the UNC, school districts and communities in preparation and development of teachers, administrators and other education professionals.

North Carolina TEACH is a comprehensive program designed to recruit, train, support and retrain highly skilled mid-career professionals with at least an undergraduate degree, who seek to enter the teaching profession.

New minimum course requirements for university admission are in process of implementation.

North Carolina Center for School Leadership Development is responsible for ongoing professional development of school personnel and board members.

Other initiatives include Principals’ Executive Program, Best Practices Center, North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, and the North Carolina Teacher Academy.

UNC strategic priorities include: Expanding access to the university; strengthening UNC’s support of the public schools (See K–16 partnerships); adapting to the Information Age (technology); and building partnerships across the sectors of education, government and business. Priority on access focuses on expanding access to the university to reach beyond “traditional” college-age students and to accommodate a surge of high school graduates over the next decade. Key strategies will include targeted use of distance learning, new types of strategic alliances among sister campuses, with public schools and community colleges, as well as with business and industry. Also, emphasizing affordability through maintaining historic low tuition and developing programs such as “Pathways” to inform families about the availability of higher education and financial aid, and supporting development of a state need-based student aid program.

(See column on community colleges.)

(See column 1, major reform at all levels)

In 1996, the ABCs of Public Education created a comprehensive accountability system for the state’s public schools, and the Excellent Schools Act of 1997 ensured a high quality teaching force. These two acts provide major cornerstones of the First in America efforts. As a result of the First in America effort, all four education sectors will collaboratively develop and refine strategies that will continue to improve the public schools.

(See columns 1, 2, 3 and 4.)

Community College System adopted strategic plan, 2001-03, on May 20, 2000, including 16 goals in the areas of workforce training, lifelong learning, quality and flexible programs and services, procuring and allocating resources, and leveraging the power of technology.

UNC strategic priorities emphasize affordability through maintaining historic low tuition and developing programs such as “Pathways” to inform families about the availability of higher education and financial aid, and supporting development of a state need-based student aid program.

Task Force on Tuition Policy in October 1998 recommended, among other points, that UNC maintain its commitment to low tuition, and that the UNC Board of Governors support the development of a need-based student financial aid program for UNC students.

December 1999, Task Force on Student Financial Aid recommended the specific design of a need-based student financial aid program for UNC students who are North Carolina residents.

Legislature approved establishing the new need-based program, and appropriated for UNC $6.3-million as a down payment on the $31.8-million program to help needy students.

Long-standing policy of maintaining low tuition was debated in 1999-2000. In the end, the university system’s Board of Governors agreed to raise tuition by nearly 40 percent over two years on the two flagship campuses, with smaller increases on the 14 other campuses. The increases come on top of a systemwide student-fee increase of eight percent, on average, also approved by the board.

(See UNC strategic priorities.)

(See UNC strategic priorities.)

ND

North Dakota Roundtable completed report, University System for the 21st Century, for the Legislative Council Interim Committee on Higher Education. The report was accepted by the Legislative Council on May 25, 2000, and the State Board of Higher Education, executive and legislative branches are taking steps to implement the recommendations— including legislation to be considered in the 2001 session. The report includes 92 recommendations directed to the state Board of Higher Education, executive branch, Legislature, university system, campuses and the private sector. Recommendations focus on developing a new long-term financing plan and resource allocation mechanism, new accountability measures (performance and fiscal), increased fiscal and administrative flexibility balanced by accountability, decentralization of responsibility to campuses, redefining the leadership role of the Board of Higher Education, and aligning system policies with state priorities.

New long-range financing plan and resource allocation policies accepted by the Legislative Council Interim Committee on Higher Education based on North Dakota Roundtable Recommendations.

(See University System for the 21st Century report.) Recommendations call for the state Board of Higher Education to assume leadership in developing new delivery systems capable of making the capacities of the North Dakota University System accessible to all of North Dakota, including learning centers and distance delivery. Other recommendations to the executive branch and Legislature call for policy changes and support to put in place the necessary technology infrastructure.

OH

(See next column on new funds.)

The General Assembly agreed (2000) to establish two trust funds for higher education using the tobacco money that the state will receive annually until 2025. The purpose is to provide dollars to public schools and colleges for technology needs, including computers and infrastructure. In the larger of the two, about $1.8 billion will be dedicated to biomedical research and technology, as well as efforts to find commercial outlets for that work. Part of the research is expected to focus on tobacco-related illnesses, college officials said. The fund will be administered by a new, 23-member commission, overseen by the state’s Board of Regents. Commission members will include the chancellor of the state system, state cabinet officials, and appointees of the governor and the General Assembly.

OK

State Regents for Higher Education (2000) taking advantage of federal GEAR UP program to strengthen and deepen Regents’ K–12 partnerships and initiatives. Initiatives include: GEAR UP (see student aid), Oklahoma Educational Planning and Assessment System (OK-EPAS) targeted at grades five–12 in participating schools, OHLAP (see student aid), Smart Start for Brain Gain 2010, a tutoring and mentoring program, summer academies for math, science and multidisciplinary studies, core college curriculum and other programs.

1999 State Regents for Higher Education initiative, Brain Gain 2010, aims at increasing education attainment of Oklahoma population. Goals by 2010: 28 percent of Oklahoma population age 25 and older to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, ten percent to hold an associate degree. Strategies include: Enhancing student preparation for college, expanding information services, improving college and university graduation rates, keeping more Oklahoma graduates in state, and attracting college degree holders from outside the state.

1997 Citizens’ Committee on the Future of Oklahoma Higher Education made recommendations on (1) technology, (2) markets, (3) economic development/
workforce development, (4) funding policy, and (5) administration and management. Implementation resulted in initiatives across all dimensions of the Regents’ responsibilities (K–16 partnerships, student and institutional financing, new modes of delivery, economic and workforce development, etc).

Legislation in 1999 established new high school graduation requirements for all students. Each student must complete an End-of-Instruction (EOI) exam in English II, U.S. History, Biology I and Algebra I.

Oklahoma Higher Learning Access Program (OHLAP), begun in 1996, is a scholarship program aimed at low-income families to help strengthen preparation for college. Required 17-unit core curriculum is two units above Regents’ admissions requirements. Originally, income cap was $24,000. Cap was raised to $32,000, and then to $50,000 in 2000 legislative session.

GEAR UP provides federal funding for direct and indirect services (scholarships, student and school improvement, human and financial resources for schools and public awareness). (See K–16 initiatives.)

Citizens’ Commission recommended that students pay one-third of the cost of education and that Regents have more authority to set tuition. No changes have been implemented as of mid-2000, and student share remains approximately 25 percent.

Oklahoma targets a percentage of its budget (8.3 percent of 2000 budget; eight percent for 2001) for Regents’ priorities and initiatives. These funds have been used to support implementation of the initiatives arising from the Citizens’ Commission recommendations.

Oklahoma has placed a major priority (through OneNet, the statewide network, and policy changes) on the use of technology and new modes of educational delivery to meet the educational needs of the state, and for other purposes. New provisions in Regents’ policy: encourage competency-based learning; eliminate geographic service areas; establish a new learning cite policy to provide incentives for institutions to collaborate in providing services to under-served regions of the state; and provid funding for capital projects related to technology, and funding for use of technology for improved student services and information systems.

Economic development/ workforce development initiatives were core recommendations of Citizens’ Commission. A total of $10.8 million has been placed in an economic development fund to be awarded to institutions, consistent with the approved plan.

SC

South Carolina Palmetto Scholars, 1996:

Maximum award: $5,000;

First awards in 1997.

Eligibility requirements: Top five percent of high school class, a 3.5 grade point average and combined SAT score of 1000 (or ACT equivalent); maintain a 3.0 grade point average in college to renew.

South Carolina Legislative Incentives for Future Excellence, 1998:

Maximum award: $2,000 at four-year colleges; $1,000 at two-year colleges.

First awards in 1998.

Eligibility requirements: High school grade point average of 3.0 and SAT score of 1000 (or equivalent); maintain 3.0 grade point average and complete 30 credit hours each year in college to renew.

SD

The Board of Regents has released the annual High School Feedback Report for high school graduates entering Regental institutions in Fall 1997. Created in 1995, this report enhances communication between high schools and the public universities, provides high schools with information about their graduates’ readiness for postsecondary education, and helps universities, high schools and parents work together to ensure that students are prepared to be productive in college. The Feedback Report is designed to help high schools and higher education identify areas where students need further preparation.

Major change in approach to setting priorities and linking priorities to the budget in 1997-98. (See financing.)

In January 1999, the Board of Regents approved recommendations for the System General Education requirements.

HB 1257 sets out Governor Janklow’s Education Agenda 2000. The Department of Education and Cultural Affairs will: (1) Develop best practices and standards to ensure that South Dakota students, by third grade, have learned fundamental skills in reading, math, language arts, science and technology, and by 12th grade have learned educational and personal skills to prepare them for life outside of school;   (2) Establish the Advanced Reading Enhancement Program to improve the teaching and learning of reading skills in grades one and two;                 (3) Research and analyze demographics of the state’s public education workforce and teacher vacancies;              (4) Establish an Office of Educational Technology;           (5) Examine teacher certification and streamline the alternative certification process; (6) Recommend actions to improve teacher preparation programs. Report due to governor, Legislature, and Board of Regents by Nov. 15, 2000.

Citizens’ Education Review Panel:       The panel will identify the greatest assets of K–12 education in South Dakota, identify the challenges and obstacles to quality education, and recommend actions for the schools and Legislature to consider.

Starting in Fall 2000, all student teachers will be required to take a major field exit examination, according to action taken by the South Dakota Board of Regents. The Regents, meeting on the campus of South Dakota State University, voted to impose the requirement that all undergraduate teacher education programs will test student teachers at the beginning of the semester in which they are teaching in local school classrooms.

New funding policy established in 1997-98 includes performance targets and state policy goals. This was a change from previous policy of allocating funds to institutions based on student credit hours. Under the funding framework, each university has an annual base budget. This amount will remain stable from year to year, unless a university sees dramatic enrollment growth or decline. Each university contributes to five separate incentive funds. Each fund is tied to a state policy goal.

TX

Joint committee between the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Texas Education Agency has been expanded to form a K–16 council involving the lieutenant governor, business leaders, public and independent institutional leaders, legislative and gubernatorial staff.

“Closing the Gaps: Participation, Success, Excellence and Research,” is a new state plan under development in July 2000 by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

Governor Bush’s education reform agenda emphasizes that every student should be able to read by third grade. In addition, other measures strengthening assessment and accountability have been enacted since 1997.

Texas students take the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) exams in grades three, eight and ten. The exam will be expanded to grades nine and 11 in the 2002-03 school year. Scores are combined with attendance and dropout rates to determine school and district accreditation ratings. Schools are rated Exemplary, Recognized or Acceptable. Schools are qualified for a TSSAS award if at least 45 percent of all students, and each student group (including each racial/ethnic group) passed each section of the TAAS, had a dropout rate of six percent or less, and had an attendance rate of at least 94 percent. Additionally, the school must be ranked in the top 25 percent of its unique comparison group in both reading and math. 790 schools qualified for a TSSAS award in 1998-99.

In 1999, a new law was enacted mandating that the exit level test be moved from grade ten to grade 11. The new grade 11 exit level test will assess students in English language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. To be eligible to receive a diploma from a Texas public high school, a student must pass all four of these subject area tests. Students scoring above a certain level may be exempted from the TASP, the current assessment required to be passed before admission to upper division.

New state-designed teacher-evaluation program, Professional Development Appraisal System, was implemented in 1997-98 school year. PDAS includes one criterion related to the teacher’s school state rating. A similar model for principals’ evaluations took effect in 1998-99 school year. A plan for superintendents is to be in place in 2000.

Under rules implemented in fall 1998, university teacher-certification programs are rated on their graduates’ scores on certification exams. Low-performing programs will be visited by technical-assistance teams. While schools will receive credit for improved results, habitually low performers will lose their state accreditation. In 1999, eight of the state’s 87 teacher-preparation programs were rated “accredited—under review” because of the high number of their students who failed the state’s certification test.

Toward EXcellence, Access, & Success (TEXAS) Grant Program enacted in 1999 provides grant of money to enable well-prepared eligible students to attend public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education in Texas. To be eligible, students must be Texas residents, graduate from a public or accredited private high school in Texas no earlier than fall 1998, complete the recommended or advanced high school curriculum or its equivalent, have financial need, have applied for any available financial aid or assistance, enroll at least part-time in an undergraduate degree or certificate program, and not have been convicted of a felony or a crime involving a controlled substance.

Legislature funded the program at $100 million for the biennium. This compares with the state funding for need-based aid for a single year (1998-99) of $66.6 million. Students are eligible to receive an amount equal to tuition and fees at a public university, community or technical college. Eligibility continues for maximum of 150 semester credit hours or for six years, whichever occurs first, provided the student maintains academic standards. Standards are set by institutions for the first year, and in subsequent years students must complete 75 percent of the hours taken in the prior semester, plus maintain an overall grade point average in college of at least 2.5. Plan is expected to provide full-tuition scholarships to about 20,000 students each year.

Law enacted in 1997 and effective fall 1998 provides automatic admission to students who graduate in the top ten percent of their high school class. Law provides option for institutions to admit top 25 percent of high school classes, and defines other factors that can be taken into consideration in admissions. Initiative affects primarily students seeking admission to the institutions with competitive admissions: UT Austin, Texas A&M and College Station.

UT

Master Plan 2000 calls for strengthening the Public Education/Higher Education Joint Liaison Committee, to provide strengthened oversight of areas that are shared responsibilities of the two sectors (e.g., teacher education and applied technology education).

Utah is placing a major emphasis on concurrent enrollment of secondary school students in higher education through courses offered at high schools, at campuses and through open/distance learning. In 1999/2000, 20,000 students were enrolled concurrently. Increase in concurrent enrollment has not decreased ACT taking (Utah is at very high rate compared to other states). Governor Leavitt (as illustrated by New Century Scholars program) (See student aid.) is stressing acceleration of transition to higher education, and the increase of the proportion of high school students who obtain an associate degree prior to or shortly after high school graduation.

Master Plan 2000. (See other columns.)

HB 177 enacted in March 2000 phases in the assessment tools, or tests, to measure if schools and students are achieving. The state Office of Education will recommend a tenth grade basic skills competency test, and a direct writing assessment for grades six and nine. The Office of Education also will develop an assessment method to uniformly measure statewide performance in mastering basic skills. The Legislative Task Force on Standards and Accountability will work with the Board of Education to establish benchmarks for student achievement. They also will work to develop intervention strategies to help schools that are falling behind.

Joint agreement— involving the Board of Regents, State Board of Education, deans of education schools—that all schools of education will meet NCATE accreditation standards, even if they do not seek NCATE accreditation.

Regents Master Plan 2000 called for a study committee to make recommendations in 2000 to resolve continuing issues regarding responsibility for applied technology education, i.e., the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents vs. Board of Education. A legislative study committee (composed entirely of legislators) was examining the issue in mid-2000.

Faced with the challenge of financing accelerating demand for higher education, Utah is considering a new tuition and student financing policy that would potentially increase tuition at the baccalaureate/ university campuses and decrease tuition at the community college level. No action as of mid-2000.

New Century Scholarship, enacted in 1999 (SB 90), provides 75 percent tuition scholarships to students who achieve a two-year associate degree by the September following their graduation from high school. Intent is to provide incentives for students to accelerate their learning. It is estimated that students who take advantage of this program could generate a $65,000 benefit in combined tuition savings and income from earlier entry into the workforce. In addition, the scholarship motivates high-achieving students to better utilize time and available resources in high school. It also partially reduces state-funded capital facility needs in higher education, benefits economic growth by giving students a jump-start on higher education, allowing them to enter the workforce earlier, and reduces student tuition and other personal college-related expenditures. Students who receive their associate degree at or near the time they receive their high school diploma will receive the New Century Scholarship and enter a university as a junior. The state-funded scholarship provides about $3,400 for two years of college or university. It is estimated that the cost of the scholarship can be almost entirely offset by reduced higher education funding. In the first year (2000), only 13 scholars were selected, but this number is expected to increase significantly in subsequent years.

Master Plan calls for a small portion of funding to be allocated on the basis of performance. Also recommends that funding formula fund current as well as new students. As of mid-2000, this recommendation had not been implemented, but the intention is to pursue this in future years. Board of Regents prepares an annual accountability report on performance that could be used as the basis for determining performance funding.

Reflecting Governor Leavitt’s priorities, Utah places a major priority on technology and open/distance learning as a means to provide place-bound adults, rural areas of the state, and students (e.g., secondary students who are concurrently enrolled) with ways to gain access to higher education and accelerate their progress toward a degree.

Regents Technology and Distance Learning Initiative has led to widespread applications of technology to student services, library and information systems, and for facilitating student access to resources at institutions throughout the state.

VT

Vermont Commission on Higher Education Funding (a panel of college representatives, legislators and other state officials, established by the General Assembly in April 1998) recommended to the Legislature, and the legislature agreed in 1999, to establish a multiyear compact to provide public colleges with predictable growth in their state aid, and for public institutions and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation. The public colleges, in turn, had pledged to work more closely with the state’s public schools and to do more to promote economic development. The budgets approved for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 included a seven percent increase in funding to reflect this commitment.

The budget that state lawmakers adopted for the 2000-01 fiscal year called for seven percent gains in support for the University of Vermont, the five-campus Vermont State Colleges System and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, which provides financial aid.

WA

HECB Master Plan completed in January 2000.

After a decade of developments in education reform, 1999 Legislature enacted SSB 5418, K–12 Accountability and Assistance Legislation, which resulted from recommendations made by the Accountability Task Force that was established by the Washington Commission on Student Learning.  Law establishes Academic Achievement and Accountability Commission, including the superintendent of public instruction or designee, and eight members appointed by the governor. Commission duties are to: (1) adopt and revise performance improvement goals in reading, writing, science and mathematics, as the commission deems appropriate; (2) identify the scores students must achieve in order to meet the standards on the Washington Assessment of Student Learning; (3) adopt criteria to identify successful schools/districts; (4) adopt criteria to identify schools/districts in need of assistance, and those in which significant numbers of students persistently fail to meet state standards; (5) identify schools/districts in which state intervention measures will be needed, and identify a range of appropriate intervention strategies. This shall occur only after the Legislature authorizes a set of intervention strategies, and not before June 30, 2001; (6) identify performance incentive systems; (7) annually review the assessment reporting system; and (8) by September 2000, recommend accountability policies, including state intervention strategies for schools/districts in which low performance persists over an identified period of time. The commission is to consider multiple indicators, including mobility, poverty, dropout rates and post-high school indicators; additional assistance measures; and rewards for successful schools/districts.

The State Board of Education started its review process of state minimum graduation requirements in 1998 to align these with the state’s ongoing education reform effort. The fundamental question is: What do all students statewide need to know and be able to do, at a minimum, in order to graduate from high school? In Fall 2000, the Board is addressing the following goals: to align the statewide minimum high school graduation requirements with the goal of the basic education act under RCW 28A.150.210— “provide students with the opportunity to become responsible citizens, to contribute to their own economic well-being and to that of their families and communities, and to enjoy productive and satisfying lives”; to assure that all the Essential Academic Learning Requirements (EALRs) are taught in the high school curriculum; to assure that students are aware of the connection between their education and possible career opportunities.

In 1999, Washington State created a college Promise Scholarship program for students from low- and middle-income families who achieve excellent academic records throughout their high school careers. The scholarship was available for the first time to Washington high school seniors graduating in the class of 1999. Scholarship is available to eligible applicants for two years, subject to the availability of funding. Eligibility: Be designated by their Washington high school as being in the top 15 percent of the 2000 graduating class, or the top ten percent of the 1999 graduating class; have a family income of no more than 135 percent of the state’s median for the year in which they graduated (about $77,600 in 1999-2000 for a family of four); attend an accredited public university, community or technical college, independent four-year college, or private vocational school in the state of Washington at least half-time; and not pursue a degree in theology. For the 2000-01 academic year, the maximum value of the scholarship is $1,641; however, the exact value depends on the number of eligible applicants. All completed applications received by the deadline and determined eligible will receive the same award. Scholarships are disbursed each term, on a per-term basis, from fall through spring, and are sent directly to the school where the student is enrolled.

2000 Legislature approved $2.4 million on top of $9 million they already had promised for the state’s merit-scholarship program in 2000-01. The extra dollars allowed state officials to increase the maximum award to near the level of community-college tuition, about $1,641.

Goals of the Washington State GEAR UP Project, established in 1998, are to: provide comprehensive early intervention services and financial assistance to low-income and academically at-risk students; increase academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education of participating students; increase educational expectations of participating students; increase student and family knowledge of postsecondary education options and financing; increase the enrollment rate of participants in postsecondary education; and establish effective educational partnerships among families, schools, institutions of higher education, local organizations and businesses, state educational service agencies, and state and local governments. Includes two components: GEAR UP state and partnership coordination project and GEAR UP scholarship project. The coordination project intends to: expand statewide capacity, and improve teaching and learning to prepare more disadvantaged students for postsecondary study; establish critical links between local K–12 schools, the various sectors of higher education, state and local governments, businesses, community organizations and statewide educational outreach organizations; develop and implement effective curricula and early intervention programs for students, families and schools that can be replicated across the state and nationally.

WV

New Higher Education Policy Commission established by SB 653 includes the secretary of education and the arts and the superintendent of public instruction as ex officio voting members with an explicit legislative intent that the new Commission take a K–16 approach to policy formulation.

SB 653, enacted in the 2000 Legislature, restructures the state’s higher education system. The statute calls for a six-year compact linking higher education to the future of West Virginia’s economy and quality of life. Elements of the plan include a new funding system, strengthened provisions for community and technical colleges, and a new West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission—a policy leadership/ coordinating entity to replace the two previous governing boards. Governance is decentralized to the institutional level, while policy leadership in pursuit of the public agenda is strengthened.

SB 653 establishes a state task force on teacher education to undertake a thorough review of current policies for preparation of teachers.

(See changes in SB 653.)

Provisions of SB 653 related to community and technical colleges likely will lead to lower tuition rates for previous “component” community colleges that currently charge four-year rates for community college students.

SB 653 calls for a “base plus” funding system, moving away from an enrollment-driven formula to a policy that establishes base funding through a benchmarking process, and providing for the allocation of most new resources in accordance with institutional compacts that reflect state priorities.