Opportunity to Learn campaign

Posted by on December 19, 2011

Repair the pipeline

A new study from the Schott Foundation for Public Education indicates that the United States will need to increase its high school graduation rate by 17.5 percentage points in order to reach the President’s 2020 goal. The Opportunity to Learn campaign has released a blueprint for a comprehensive package of policy reforms to increase the quantity of students who succeed at every stage of the educational pipeline. Its prescriptions include a compulsory system of universal pre-K; closing school-funding gaps to boost student access and success; defining school and student success metrics to enhance quality of educational outcomes; strengthening pathways and gateways to student recovery; strengthening recruitment, preparation, and distribution of high-quality teachers and school leaders; supporting implementation of data systems to improve quality of educational inputs and outcomes; and increasing access to technologies that support digital learning and instruction. The blueprint also calls for expansion of educational opportunities through the promotion of racial, ethnic, and economic diversity; reinforcing a core curriculum that includes civics, arts, music, and physical education; and broadening curricula and essential student supports. College completion must be increased by addressing 21st-century student needs, linking college access and success to the economic growth of states, cities, and communities; supporting multiple paths to college completion; and making remedial education central to the higher education agenda.

See the report: http://www.otlcampaign.org/vision-2020