The final report of this task force will be presented to the Governor's P-20 Leadership Council and posted here in the spring of 2010.
P-20 College Success Task Force Final Report (May 2010)
Background
Governor O’Malley identified one focus of the P-20 Leadership Council as aligning high school graduation requirements with college readiness requirements. Maryland is fortunate in that it has a history of preK-12 and higher education working on aligning curriculum for mathematics and English composition, but gaps remain. Performance standards expected of seniors and first-year college students are not as clear to students as they should be, and too many students who have completed a high school’s college preparatory curriculum do not successfully complete entry-level college courses. Both secondary and postsecondary education have work to do to ensure that more students successfully complete the first year of college and go on to complete their postsecondary academic programs.
During this past year, the Council decided to have a task force review relevant issues and make recommendations for statewide change. Dr. Nancy Grasmick, State Superintendent of Schools, and Dr. James Lyons, Secretary of Higher Education, are the co-chairs of this task force. A report from the task force is expected by December of 2009.
The College Success Task Force will examine current preK-12 and higher education policies and practices in the State of Maryland as they relate to college readiness and college success. It will pay special attention to the areas of mathematics, reading, and writing, with the goal of making recommendations to the P-20 Council for policy revisions by the appropriate governing boards and/or new practices to raise standards and ensure that completion requirements at the 12th grade are aligned with entrance expectations for postsecondary education. It will also make recommendations regarding steps to ensure that once students are accepted into colleges and universities, their first year experiences lead to success in college.