NEW YORK, NY—The College Board has launched SpringBoard™, its first full-scale academic program for students in grades 6-12. SpringBoard was created using the College Board Standards for College Success™, which define the knowledge and skills that all students should master in order to be ready for college-level work. Both SpringBoard and the College Board Standards for College Success were introduced last month at the College Board's annual membership Forum.
"Building on a tradition of connecting students to college success, the College Board will further the collaboration between secondary and higher education through the College Board Standards for College Success and SpringBoard," said Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board. "Equal access to the right preparation for college-level work is just as important as equal access to higher education."
Research shows how important it is for high school students to be prepared for college-level work and how this preparation improves a student's chances for completing college. While approximately 45 percent of all students who enroll in postsecondary education will ultimately earn a bachelor's degree, only 17 to 39 percent of students who take remedial courses will successfully earn that degree, depending on the number and type of remedial courses taken. Among students who take no remedial courses, 58 percent will earn a bachelor's degree.1
College Board Standards for College Success™
The College Board Standards for College Success were created to close the gap between secondary school requirements and college-level expectations—with the hopes that more students could be prepared for college and fewer and fewer students would require remedial courses once they reach college. These standards identify the knowledge and skills that college faculty expect freshman students to possess by creating a vertical alignment, or road map, of critical thinking skills from sixth grade to twelfth grade.
The importance of a K-16 continuum and high expectations for all students are being emphasized across the country. In a recent editorial, Mark Warner, governor of Virginia and new chairman of the National Governors Association, said, "By better aligning the high school curriculum with state higher education expectations, we will guarantee that every student graduates ready for college and work."2
Florida Governor Jeb Bush said, "In Florida, our state's future is brighter because of the high expectations we have for all students. The number of students graduating from high school and pursuing college degrees has increased dramatically since we began programs to increase access to rigorous courses such as Advanced Placement. Three Florida counties—Broward, Orange, and Volusia—just started using SpringBoard, based on the College Board Standards for College Success. We look forward to preparing even more Florida students for advanced courses and college success."
The College Board Standards for College Success provide a clear framework for teachers, students, administrators, and parents to identify the critical thinking skills in reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics and statistics that middle school and high school students should develop to prepare for Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) and college courses.
"Answers in the Tool Box, a recent study by the Department of Education, shows that the intensity and quality of the secondary school curriculum is the greatest predictor of degree completion," said Photo Anagnostopoulos, senior vice president for product development at the College Board. "All students should receive the rigorous education that will prepare them for college, and we should have high expectations for all students."
Bridging the Gap
The College Board Standards for College Success are based on the critical thinking skills that college faculty nationwide have indicated are important for college success. They encompass the Knowledge and Skills for University Success, created by David Conley at the University of Oregon and supported by the Association of American Universities and The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Knowledge and Skills for University Success is the culmination of a two-year study that included a national dialogue with more than 400 faculty members from 20 research universities.
The College Board integrated the outcomes of this study with the expectations for introductory-level college work described by the Advanced Placement Program guides, and the expectations implicit in the SAT® assessments and standards established by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Council of Teachers of English, to develop the standards.
"The College Board is unique in its ability to bridge the gap between college and high school because, as a membership organization of K-16 educators, we regularly bring college faculty together with middle and high school teachers to find ways to ensure that students are prepared to succeed once they get to college.
"We need to make rigorous academics available to all students, not just a select group. Too often, students who aspire to participate in college-level courses in high school, such as AP, are limited by earlier curriculum. In some cases, it is too late to catch up. We can—and must—provide students and teachers with the tools they need to succeed earlier," said Caperton.
SpringBoard: Prepare to Succeed
To that end, the College Board created SpringBoard, a comprehensive program for all students in grades 6-12 that combines professional development for teachers with instructional materials, student exemplars, diagnostic assessments, and in-depth reports delivered through a Web-based platform or in print.
Harvard University President Lawrence Summers said SpringBoard is "a major Web-based initiative that provides study guides for teachers and students to ensure that students are exposed to high expectations and rigorous pathways to college."
SpringBoard is available to schools and school districts. It launched this September in schools representing 26 districts across the country, 74 percent of which are Title I schools.
More information about SpringBoard is available at www.collegeboard.com/springboard.
1 Adelman, C. 2004. Principal Indicators of Student Academic Histories in Postsecondary Education, 1972-2000. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
2 Education Week, November 17, 2004, p. 32.
Contact Jennifer Topiel at 212 713-8052.