Posted August 14, 2023
As Plymouth High School enters the 2023-24 school year, it has a new tool to define how well it is preparing students for colleges and careers.
The recently developed PHS Redefining Ready Report Card evaluates students on 12 indicators, six of which address career readiness and six others gauging college readiness.
“It looks at more than test scores,” PHS math teacher Jack Daniels explained recently to the Board of Education. “Families can use this to compare our school to others. As teachers, we can use this data to help determine what to keep and where to improve.”
Redefining Ready is a national initiative launched by the School Superintendents Association to introduce research-based metrics to assess that students are college ready, career ready, and life ready.
Participating schools evaluate each student on the given set of metrics, which include factors such as attendance and industry credentials for career readiness and grade-point average and rigorous coursework for college readiness.
The results can be shared with each student throughout high school to show individual progression, said PHS Principal Joe Brandl.
In addition, teachers can use aggregate data to see how well prepared each class is in general, and make adjustments accordingly, Mr. Daniels said.
While the metrics were set at the national level, there is no standard reporting format as with the State Report Cards, so each school can decide how best to present the information. Plymouth Assistant Superintendent Dena Budrecki helped Mr. Daniels, Mr. Brandl, and Associate Principal Andy Novak develop the PHS Redefining Ready Report Card design.
The inaugural version displays data for the Class of 2022 and the Class of 2023, and shows that about 85 percent of each class is career ready and about 63 percent of the students are college ready.
A student who meets two or more of the following criteria is considered career ready:
• Attendance: attended at least 90% of all possible school days
• Community Service: completed at least 25 hours of service (required for graduation beginning with the Class of 2026)
• Workplace Learning Experience: earned at least 0.5 credits from a Youth Apprenticeship or Work-Based Learning course
• Dual-Credit Career Pathway Course: completed a Dual-Credit, Advanced Standing, Cooperative Academic Partnership Program, or Advanced Placement course
• Industry Credentials: earned at least one credential, such as Microsoft or ProStart certification
• Extracurriculars: participated in at least 2 organized activities, from the more than 70 offered at PHS
A student who meets two or more of the following criteria is considered college ready:
• ACT Exam (4-year school): scored at least 18 in English, 22 in reading, 23 in science, and 22 in math
• ACT Exam (2-year school): scored at least 18 in English, 18 in reading, 18 in science, and 18 in math
• GPA: achieved 2.8 or higher grade-point average
• AS, CAPP, or AP Course: received a C or better in an Advanced Standing, Cooperative Academic Partnership Program, or Advanced Placement course
• Dual-Credit College Course: received a C or better in a PHS class that carries college credit
• Algebra II or Advanced Algebra: received a C or better in at least one of these foundational classes
