YEAR 1 Team Deliverables: Summer, 2011

Team / Phase 1 Deliverables (Jan 2011 – June 2011)
Reading & Writing /
  • Recommendations for development of a faculty/teacher collaborative focused on reading & writing proficiency; to include goal, context, and two alternatives for strategy, structure, and participation.

  • Preliminary identification of promising curriculum and student support models at the high school and college levels to consider for expansion and/or replication, and to inform the Graduate NYC! Faculty Collaborative.

  • Map of reading and writing developmental course sequences and programs available at all CUNY campuses that offer developmental coursework. (Being carried out at the office of CUNY’s Dean of Undergraduate Education, at the request of the Reading & Writing Team.

Math /
  • Recommendations for development of a new DOE-CUNY collaborative structure(s) to improve college readiness. See “Math Teacher-Faculty Collaborative Proposal”

  • Policy recommendation: Use an existing diagnostic assessment (e.g. PSAT) in order to place students in the appropriate math course in their senior year of high school (course/intervention to be developed if needed) to assure college readiness.

  • Recommendations regarding teacher assessment:
  • As part of the emphasis on increased teacher observations, Principals should observe math teachers with an educator who knows math content (for example, the Math AP, Lead Math Teacher, or Math Coach) in cases where the Principal is not math-trained/certified.
  • Assessment of teacher capacity, including observations, should lead to professional development and coursework recommendations, where teachers are found to have a deficit in math content knowledge and/or pedagogical skills.

  • Surveyed sub-set of DOE Math Assistant Principals to understand their curriculum, assessment, and college preparation practices, as well as their professional development and teacher education needs. (See “Math Team AMAPS Survey Results”)

  • Received access to the College Board report on the “Alignment of Common Core Standards in Mathematics to New York State Performance Indicators.”

  • Received approval for the addition of DOE representatives on the CUNY Math Panel to discuss the exit criteria for CUNY remediation in math and to provide information and resources if needed to the Panel.

  • Map of math developmental course sequences and programs available at all CUNY campuses that offer developmental coursework. (Being carried out at the office of CUNY’s Dean of Undergraduate Education, at the request of the Math Team.)

  • Catalogue of the math entrance requirements at CUNY and an overview of the COMPASS exam; to be made available to Math APs and Guidance Counselors at the DOE. A one-page version for students, parents, and CBOs is under development (Summer, 2011); to include a description of professions that test math proficiency. (See “CUNY General Skill Requirements” & “Math Skill Requirements”)

  • Recommendation: CUNY should explore raising admission requirements for applicants to math education programs by requiring passing of an exam (e.g. Praxis).

  • Catalogue of CUNY coursework (math education and content courses) available for pre-certified teachers, and summary of certification requirements for mathematics teachers. (See “Math courses by campus” and “Math certification”)

  • Engage CUNY Education School faculty and students around Common Core State Standards. This formally began through May CUNY Education Conference organized by University Dean of Education (Lucariello) and Campus Deans and Chairs. It will continue with campus-based interactions with NYC DOE offices implementing Common Core curriculum and assessments.

Transitions /
  • Definition of a college transition program.

  • Proposal for a Transition Programs Learning Community

FAFSA /
  • Identification of gaps in available financial aid support and completion, and recommendations for CUNY, DOE and Graduate NYC!

  • Annotated bibliography of financial aid completion research.

Internal Advisement Capacity /
  • Identification of schools that are out-performing others in preparing specific populations for succeeding in college specifically to hone in on what advisement practices may be occurring in those schools

  • Database of advisement Services available across the CUNY campuses -- includes where the offices are, what types of services are available and how often, etc. To be used to create surveys for advisement professionals, faculty and students and, together with survey data, to conduct gap analysis and make recommendations to improve advisement services and resources across CUNY.

  • Database of professional development for school, CBOs and college advisement with recommendations on how providers can better coordinate the delivery and promotion of their offerings and guidance to schools/CBOs/colleges on how to select appropriate professional development.

  • Using the College Awareness, Planning and Advisement (CAPA) research and school visits and online research: outline plan of action for approaching the work of benchmarking, propose uses of benchmarks within the DOE and DYCD, catalog college and career planning benchmarks from existing programs and state standards, identify 'buckets' or categories for types of benchmarks, and profile a school with promising practices and school culture related to college and career planning.

External Awareness /
  • Rubric for assessment of the content and communication method of college readiness and success messages. Catalogue of current mechanisms and materials utilized within CUNY and the DOE, as well as nationally and locally (through community based organizations and national campaigns), to communicate these messages to students and families.

  • Assessment of the strengths and gaps in messaging, and a list of current communication mechanisms in the DOE, CUNY and CBOs into which the Team’s recommendations can be incorporated.

  • Results of focus groups of student and family reactions to key college messages and methods of communicating these messages.

Data /
  • Automated matching algorithm to support CUNY/DOE student data sharing.
  • Plan for building larger CUNY/DOE data warehouse to support long term longitudinal tracking goals.
  • Supporting the GNYC! Teams through data analysis.

Joint Projects /
  • Database of currently available programs in college readiness, access, transition and success across NYC – to be used for an online catalogue as the next step.
  • Results from survey of programs that work in college readiness, access, transition and success.

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