Tech Directions - May 2008 - (Page 7)

example, South Carolina and Texas each have more than 130 high schools offering Project Lead the Way, a hands-on engineering curriculum. To address the dropout problem, states should focus extra efforts on grade 9, starting career exploration and planning. They also should create a mindset among all stakeholders—postsecondary institutions, schools, business leaders— that they all have a role in stemming high school dropouts. At-risk students should be surrounded with opportunities to explore careers. The forums agreed that students must not waste time in weak dual enrollment courses. In most states, high school students enrolling in these courses do not even have to take tests for college readiness, and dual enrollment course models are not on a par with Advanced Placement courses, which use a common curriculum framework, assessments, and teacher training. The report states, in fact, that no states have a comprehensive set of policies to ensure the quality necessary to pre- pare all students for postsecondary learning. The report urges states to set standards for dual enrollment and to monitor the programs. Other actions recommended in the report include: adopt a single-set of college- and career-readiness standards for reading, writing, and math (currently, community colleges are not at the table for discussions about standards, thus high schools focus narrowly on the demands of fouryear colleges); prevent high school students from being deceived by the “open admissions” policy of community colleges, which leads to wasting money, time, and interest because of the need to do remedial work; and provide more support to help students complete community colleges. The High Schools That Work program of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) co-sponsored the forums with the League for Innovation in the Community College. The Office of Vocational and Adult Education in the U.S. Department of Education supported the forums. State reports are available for Alabama, Georgia, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia. “Taking Action to Build Seamless Transitions from High School to College and Careers: Recommendations from Leaders in 15 States,” is available on the SREB Web site: www.sreb.org. Record Low Teen Employment Rate Even before the economic woes that began to show strength at the first of the year, the teen average employment rate was the lowest ever recorded since the end of World War II and justifies immediate federal interventions, according to researchers with the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston. In its most detailed recent report on the job situation for teenagers, the Center said that the deteriorating teen employment rates—evident since 2003—are “unprecedented” www.techdirections.com WASHINGTON 7 http://www.sreb.org http://www.tormach.com http://www.tormach.com http://www.techdirections.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Tech Directions - May 2008

Tech Directions - May 2008 Contents Technically Speaking Direct from Washington The News Report Mastering Computers Technology's Past Technology Today Road to Success - Service Learning Enhances Tech Ed Experience Balsa Tower Walls Brave 'Big Buster' These Kids Are Really on the Ball - Inventors Competition Winners School Web Site of the Month Animator Career Exploration Tools Guide Index to Volume 67 More than Fun

Tech Directions - May 2008

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