High schools are our nation's front line in the battle to restore America's global competitiveness. High school completion is the first step in the earnings and skill ladder and the bridge to postsecondary education, work readiness, and lifelong learning.

Governors are leading high school redesign initiatives to increase academic rigor, relevance, and options in high schools and to ensure that our students are ready to succeed and learn well beyond graduation day. In 2004, under the leadership of then-NGA Chairman, Virginia Governor Mark Warner, NGA launched an initiative—"Redesigning the American High School"—to spur state action and systemically change high schools. Today, this effort continues as governors work with education leaders, parents, and students, to improve our nation's high schools.

NGA Position

Governors would like to partner with Congress and the Administration to accelerate state high school redesign action plans. The federal government can support state innovation and best practices through the following recommendations:

• States are creating different high school models that strengthen student relationships with adults; connect classroom work to real-life problems; and improve connections to postsecondary education.
  • Congress can create a grant program that encourages states to develop, expand, and improve state dual enrollment and early college programs (bridging high school and college) in a variety of coursework areas. This grant may also help states pay for qualified college credits.
  • Congress should help states partner with business and local schools to develop and provide mentoring, shadowing, and internship opportunities to students in grades 7-12.

• States are expanding high school opportunities that increase rigor and relevance of high school for all students. States use a myriad of strategies that provides a wide range of students with an increased opportunity for college readiness and a better chance for success in all of their post secondary pathways.
  • Congress should expand opportunities for students to participate and succeed in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and certification programs, especially in high-need schools. Expanded access to AP, IB, and certificate programs for all students is accompanied by a priority on STEM and foreign language programs, and includes paying for low-income student AP or IB testing, training teachers to teach AP, IB, and certificate courses, and administering more AP, IB, and certificate courses and assessments.
  • Congress should provide incentives to states to create dual enrollment or early college programs that permit students to obtain college-level credits or college degrees.
  • Congress can provide resources to states to expand the use of technology in teaching and learning through e-learning opportunities, virtual High Schools, e-mentoring and e-portfolios.

• States are developing new targeted recruitment incentives to attract teachers where they are needed most, and provide support to retain them. States are also working to improve principal recruitment, preparation, and professional development.
  • Congress should provide additional flexibility and incentives to support this critical work, especially in high-need areas, by expanding mentoring and professional development programs and piloting alternative teacher compensation models.
  • Congress should adopt the recommendations in NGA’s Innovation America: A Partnership legislative proposal to recruit, retain, and inspire teachers.

• States are investing more resources into need based aid to make college an option.
  • Federal policies to increase preparation and learning opportunities should be matched with additional flexibility and affordability in higher education. To help make college more affordable, Congress should raise the maximum Pell grant award and provide new flexibility to respond to students' needs, including extending eligibility beyond the typical calendar year. In addition, student financial aid guidelines should be revised to better serve nontraditional students and working adults.

• States are highlighting the need for P-16+ alignment by forming P-16 or P-20 Councils that focus on the creation of a seamless learning system from preschool through higher education. States are also building longitudinal data systems to identify areas whereindividual students as well as grade level cohorts of students struggle or succeed as they move through a P-16+ system.
  • Congress can provide grants to implement or develop aligned state P-16+ Councils and to implement solutions that patch holes in the P-16+ pipeline. Congress can also provide grants to governors to create or refine state P-16+ longitudinal data systems.

• States are developing more rigorous standards for teacher preparation and performance. Governors are committed to improving high school students' academic proficiency with stronger teaching.
  • Congress can encourage state innovation and continuous improvement by deferring national one-size-fits-all benchmarks in NCLB and allowing states time to refine their teacher preparation programs.

Legislative Proposals and Official Policy:

ECW-13. High School Reform: Aligning Secondary and Postsecondary Education Policy

Innovation American: A Partnership Legislative Proposal

Related Materials:

• Testimony on P-16 Alignment
  March 22, 2007 Testimony by Dane Linn (Director, Education Division Center for Best Practices, NGA) before the House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Higher Education, Lifelong Learning, and Competitiveness on Innovation America.
  
  
• Testimony on High School Reform
  April 14, 2005 testimony by Kentucky Governor Ernie Fletcher before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, on Lifelong Education Opportunities.
  
  
• NGA Letter to Secretary Spellings Regarding AC Grants
  May 17, 2006 letter (from Governor Huckabee and Governor Napolitano) to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings urging her to allow eligible dual enrollees to be awarded Academic Competitiveness grants and recognize any state plan submitted for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years.
  
  
• NGA Letter to Secretary Spellings Regarding AC/SMART Grants
  March 21, 2006 letter (from Governor Pawlenty and Governor Gregoire) to U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings expressing their views on the new Academic Competitiveness and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grants.
  
  
• NGA Letter Regarding Perkins Reauthorization
  November 17, 2005 letter (from Governor Pawlenty and Governor Sebelius) to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Enzi and Ranking Member Kennedy, and to House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Boehner and Ranking Member Miller outlining recommendations for the final conference agreement on Perkins reauthorization legislation.