Education

Improving College Readiness: The Curriculum Alignment Initiative

Posted at September 19, 2008 12:16

By the Missouri Department of Higher Education

Simply stated, college-bound students are more likely to succeed if they know what is expected of them when they first enter a college classroom.

Led by the MDHE, a dedicated team of over 350 faculty and administrators from the higher education and K-12 systems are actively involved in shaping what’s been dubbed the “Curriculum Alignment Initiative (CAI)*.” The group is working to establish a set of guidelines for what knowledge and skills high school students should have when entering into and exiting from their first college general education courses in key areas.

The main goals are to improve college readiness by clearly expressing to Missouri high school students what it means to be college ready and to make transferring entry-level collegiate courses between institutions a smoother process.

So far, entry-level competencies for students entering into college-level work have been identified in each of the following broad areas: 1) Mathematics; 2) Science; 3) English; 4) Social Sciences; 5) Foreign Languages; 6) Engineering and Information Technology; and 7) Arts and Humanities.

Exit level competencies have also been identified for 13 courses, and optimal competencies are in progress for professional fields involving math, engineering, technology, and science (METS).

Ongoing work is required to fully realize the goals of CAI, and the group will continue to work toward fulfilling their goals. While future work includes developing assessments for both entry- and exit-level competencies, completing review of the mathematics gap analysis between CAI competencies and K-12 standards, and developing course level exit competencies beyond the initial 13, Missouri citizens can be assured of the group’s commitment to providing guidance and direction to help our students be better prepared for higher education and challenges beyond.

Details regarding workgroup and steering committee composition, duties, and progress are available on the MDHE Web site at www.dhe.mo.gov/casinitiative.shtml.

October 2008

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