Making the Case

Postsecondary leadership is critical to ensuring that high school graduates are prepared for postsecondary success. Whether students are entering two- or four-year institutions and whether they are doing so as recent graduates or adults, all are expected to have common knowledge in core subjects such as math and English language arts.

Only postsecondary education leaders and faculty can communicate what they expect entering students to know and what knowledge and skills will prepare students for success in college-level courses. Appropriately connecting students from high school graduation to postsecondary success requires higher education to be engaged and demonstrate leadership in K-12 efforts such as standards setting, curriculum development, determination of high school graduation requirements and selection (or development of) college-ready assessments.

Here’s what higher education leaders need to make the case for being involved:

• Fact sheets on why postsecondary leadership is critical to closing the expectations gap and ensuring that high school graduates are ready for postsecondary success.
• College preparation data for each state to determine how your state compares to others.
• National studies on issues such as college remediation and student course-taking trends.
• Case studies highlighting what Achieve, leading states, and higher education systems are doing to bridge the expectations gap and make college success a reality for more public high school students.