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Parnell, DaleThe Neglected Majority.American Association of Community and JuniorColleges, Washington, D.C.ISBN-0-87117-154-6Sep 85189p.Community College Press, American Association ofCommunity and Junior Colleges, One Dupont Circle, NW,Suite 410, Washington, DC 20036 ($17.95).Reports Descriptive (141) -- Viewpoints (120) -Books (010)

MF01 Plus Postage. PC Not Available from EDRS.*Articulation (Education); *College SchoolCooperation; *Community Colleges; CooperativePrograms; Curriculum Development; Educational Needs;Educational Quality; *High Schools; *TransferPrograms; Two Year Colleges

ABSTRACTDesigned for high school and community college

leaders, this book examines a number of issues related to studentsuccess, learning continuity, individual differences, and the lack ofcommunity college involvement in secondary education; amoi offers aproposal for increasing high school/community college programcooperation and coordination. After chapter I examines some dilemmasfaced by educators in defining excellence, chapter II looks at theeffects of technological, educational, and socio-economic tensions oneducational excellence. Chapter III highlights such barriers toexcellence as unfocused learning, loss of continuity in learning,failure to accommodate individual differences, and unfounded imagesabout learning. Chapter IV offers a model of careers education as alearner-centered bridge between subject-matter disciplines and thecompetencies required by modern life. In chapter V, the "Opportunitywith Excellence" philosophy is proposed as the basis for thecommunity college mission, and a policy statement for the associatedegree is presented as developed by the American Association ofCommunity and Junior Colleges. After chapter VI underscores theimportance of cooperation and coordination between the high schooland the community college, offering examples of successful effortsaround the nation, chapter VII delineates the assumptions andcharacteristics of a 2 + 2 Tech-Prep/Associate Degree Program, whichblends the liberal and practical arts in a coordinated program thatbegins during the last 2 years of high school and culminates with anassociate degree. Finally, suggestions for cultivating excellence arepresented. (LAL)

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T US. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATIONCENTER (ERICI

0 This document hos been toproduttod eswaved horn the pawn or atomizationoriginating b.

tiMotor changes turn been mode to improwreproduction 'dusky.

- PO of nenor opinions routed in the dearmint do not IW/COOWly represent officei Nitmiaow of poky.

In this important new book, Dale Parnell, Presi-dent and Chief Executive Officer of the Ameri-can Association of Community and Junior -Col-leges, presents a major proposal to increase high-

school/ community college cooperation and -coor-dination. He responds to the recent parade ofeducation reform reports from the perspective ofhigh schools and community, technical, and juniorcolleges, by addressing such issues as the failure torecognize that three out of four high school studentsthe neglected majoritywill not likely be earning abaccalaureate degree. Parnell notes the sparsity ofdiscussion among education leaders about how tomake winners out of ordinary students. He remindsthe reader that the waste ofour human resources isnot only a national embarrassment, but in a rapidlychanging world it is also a threat to the UnitedStates, placing it at a disabling disadvantage in theworld economic competition.

It is vital to note that this is not a book about thecomprehensive high schools, nor is it a book aboutthe comprehensive community colleges. Its pur-poseis not to review the missions of the communityand junior colleges. Rather, the book throws thespotlight upon some real-life people called "ordi-nary students" and upon how high schools andcommunity colleges might work together on behalfof this middle quartile of students. Non-baccalaurea te-degree students deserve and needan excellent edu-cation: In many cases they requirea better educationthan they now receive.

To that end. Parnell introduces a program whichhe calls the 2 + 2 tech-prep/associate-degree pro-gram. Designed to be flexible enough to meet avariety of student, institutional, and communityneeds, this cluster of courses is based on the as-sumption that all of us function best when goals areclear and expectations are realistically high. Parentsand students alike are calling for more structure andmore substance in the schools in preparation forliving in asociety which requires a skilled and knowl-edgeable work force. Parnell is confident that thetech-prep/associate-degree program can meet thoseneeds.

But this exciting new program will work only ifhigh-school and community college leaders coop-erate by coordinating their own curricula and com-municating on a regular and sustained basis. Parnellconcludes his book by calling for a series of nation-wide high-school/college roundtablediscussions toensure that all our students, regardless of theirdiffering abilities, receive the education that theydeserve and America needs.

TheNeglected,

ajorityDale Parnell

THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESSA division of the American Association

of Community and Junior Colleges

4

Copyright September, 1985Printed in the U.S.A.

Published by the Community College Press, adivision of the American Association of Communityand Junior Colleges, The National Center forHigher Education, 1 Dupont Circle, Suite 410, N.W.,Washington, D.C. 20036.

ISBN 0.87117-154-6

5

A nation that draws too broad a difference between its scholarsaad its warriors will have its thinking being done by cowardsand its fighting by fools.

Thugdides

CONTENTS

Figures ixForeword xiAn Open Letter to the Leaders of American xvHigh Schools and Community CollegesAcknowledgements xvii

I. Some Dilemmas in Defining Excellence 1

II. Some Persistent Tensions in Achieving -19

ExcellenceIII. Some Barriers to Excellence 35IV. Career Goals and Educational Excellence 51

V. Community, Technical, and junior Colleges 81and the Associate Degree: Opportunitywith Excellence

VI. The High-School/Community College 107Connection

VIL The 2 + 2 Tech-Prep/Associate-Degree 131Program: Making Winners of OrdinaryStudents

Epilogue Some Suggestions for Cultivating Excellence 169

References -177

Index 181

7 vii

FIGURES

1. Twenty Fastest Growing Occupations, 1982 -95- 122. 1983 and 1984 Comparisons, Occupational Status of

the Employed 153. The Haves and Have-Nots 304. High School Comparative Track Identification 375. Percentage of -1980 Seniors Agreeing with Various

Statements about High School Education or Practice 396. Percentage of 1980 High School Seniors Rating

Various School= Characteristics as "Good" or as"Excellent" 39

7. Major Curriculum Components, Percentage ofCredits Generated 40

8. Percentage of 18 to 24 Year Olds Reported HavingVoted, 1964-82 63

9. Careers-Education Paradigm- 6610. Grades 1 -1 and 1 -2 Curriculum Structure 7511. ColoradoIdentification of Essential- Employability

Skills 7812. Fifty Years of Growth in Two-Year College Credit

Enrollments 8513. Comparison of 1982 and 1983 Professional Personnel

in Community, Technical, and Junior Colleges 8914 Community, Technical, and Junior College Locations 9015. College and University Full-Time Equivalent per

Student Operating Expenditures. National Average1980-81 91

16. Comparison of Mean Satisfaction Scores on theWS/DS 94

17. Sample Coordination Structure 12518. Sample Time Line 12619. The Current Typical Comprehensive- High- School

Program Enrollment 14620. The Future Typical Comprehensive High-School

Program Enrollment 14621. Tech-Prep/Associate-Degree Options 147

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22. Postsecondary Curriculum Structure General-Philosophy 155

23. Postsecondary Technology Curricula- 15624. Postsecondary Curriculum Model for Robotics/

Automated Systems Technology 15725. Postsecondary Curriculum Model for Computer

Technology 15826. Kern High School District and Kern Community

College District Organizational Model 16027. Kern High School District and Bakersfield College

Agriculture Business -16128. Kern High School District and Bakersfield College

Crop Science 16229. Kern High School District and Bakersfield College

Mechanized Agriculture 16330_ Kern High School District and Bakersfield College

Ornamental Horticulture -16431. Dallas County Community College District, Digital

Electronics Program ArticulationStudent Profile 165

x

FOREWORD

FEW OBSERVERS of the American educational scene may spcakfrom the breadth of experience and depth of knowledge abouteducation as Dale Parnell. High school teacher, principal, schoolsuperintendent, state superintendent of public instruction, col-lege professor, president of duce t.Jmmunity colleges, and forthe past several years President and Chief Executive Officer ofthc American Association of Community and junior Colleges,Dale Parnell-is in a unique position to assess the effectiveness ofeducation in our nation. In this valuable new book he clearlydefines a weakness-in our basic approach to education: the lackof a rigorous, constructive, and focused program of study to pre-pare the sixty to seventy percent of our high-school students whowill not likely be pursuing a baccalaureate-degree program. It isimportant to help all students makc a more significant contri-bution to our increasingly complex economy and have moreenlightened_participation in our free society. These students mustnot bc- the neglected majority of our eductional system as Weenter the- twenty -first century.

As one solution-for the problem,_Parnell proposes what he hastermed a tech-prep/associate-degree four-year program. Com-mencing with the eleventh grade and concluding with the asso-ciate dcgrcc at the end of the sophomore yearin a community,technical, or junior college, the tech -preplassociate-degree pro-gram isintended to run parallel -to cxisting college-prep/bacca-laureate-degree programs. Consisting of both_vocational and lib-eral arts courses, the. Parnell-designed course of study-rests on asolid foundation of math, science, communications, and tech-nology coursesall in an applied setting.

High school students who select the tech-prep, associate degreewould do so in their junior year, just as some now elect a college-prep:baccalaureate-degree program, they would remain a part ofthe highly structured and focused program for the following fouryears. The -tech -prep students would be taught by -high- schoolteachers in the eleventh and twelfth grades but have access tothe faculty and facilities of the community, technical, or juniorcollege when needed. Says Parnell, "Starting with a solid base of

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applied science, applied math, literacy courses, and technicalprograms, the high-school portion of the career program wouldbe intentionally preparatory in nature. The tech-prep approach,built around career clusters and technical systems, would helpstudents to develop broad-based competence in a career fieldwhile avoiding the pitfalls of receiving shot-term and narrowlydelineated job training..'

Where would the -tech -prep students come from: First of all,from that two-out-of-three students now enrolled in the eneraleducation or vocational education high school tracks. Parnz.IIreminds us that over half of the entering freshmen in all insti-tutions of higher learning now begin their college careers incommunity, ti:chnical, or junior colleges. and that roughly eightypercent of the adult population in our nation do not hold collegebachelor's degrees.

Parnell makes a convincing case for the argument that thecomplex, technological world of the future is really already here.The emerging truth is that higher and more comprehensive skillsmust be developed, particularly by -the middle two quartiles ofthe work force. Tasks once reserved fur baccalaureate-degree oradvanced-degree holders must be assumed by those with feweryears of education and training, and all workers must continueto learn throughout their careers to remain useful. Technology,as it becomes more commercial, will increase America's needfor middle-range proficiencies.

But the tech-prep.'associate-degree program can be bornwithout a close and continuing interchange between the highschool and college governini, boards, key executive officers, andkey faculty members. Such an interchange must lead to specificagreements on unified curricular programs that begin in gradeeleven and continue without interruption through the associatedegree The chapter on the high-school:community college con-nection is must reading for every high-school and er mmurutycollege policymaker and leader. Parnell describes a number ofsuch cooperative programs already under way throughout -thecountry. It is exciting to read about them, and it is a privilege tocommend this insightful new publication to your reading. Meet-

x i i

ing the educational needs of The Neglected Majority is centralto the future of America.

Thomas A. Shannon, Executive DirectorNational School Boards AssociationAlexandria, Virginia

12 X111

An Open Letter to the Leaders of American HighSchools and Community Colleges

Dear Colleagues:

American education is undergoing constant reform. If reportsand studies alone could improve schools and colleges, we wouldhave achieved excellence in education a long time ago. Lead bythe clarion call to the American people, A Nation at Risk, thereport from the National Commission on Excellence in Educa-tion, at least fifteen major reform reports and a host of othershave been issued over the past twenty- four months calling forsubstantive changes in the .American education system. Most ofthe recommendations are familiar. better teachers, a return toC.' basics, greater accountability, more time on tasks, betterdiscipline, more_courses in this and fewer in that, longer schoolyears, more effective use of technology in education.

With so many education reform reports coming so fast, it wouldbe easy to grow cynicalto say "These too will pass." But suchan attitude will result in the loss of a tremendous opportunity.Never has the public been so conditioned to think seriously abouteducation. Never have educators been more willing to give upsome of their "turf" battles in favor of cooperation and collabo-ration. These reform re,iurts provide motivation for taking somepositive additional and public steps toward educational excel-lence at all levels, steps discussed for years and residing in thehopes and dreams of those who li,, c their lives in the educationaltrenches of our schools and colleges. Now is the time to movetoward educational qualityopportunity -with excellence.

Former President Theodore Roosevelt once said that a greatdemocracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be eithergreat or -a democracy. That progressive search for excellence ineducation presses on in this country. There is relentless pressureto improve the quality of life, with education as the centerpieceof that process.

Although the reform reports have made important contribu-tions, they exhibit some glaring omissions and blind spots whichhold considerable significance for high schools and community,

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technical, and junior colleges. These deficiencies include. I) fail--ure to recognize that three out of four high-school students willprobably not earn a baccalaureate degree, 21 sparsity of discussionabout how to make winners out of ordinary students; 3) littleemphasis on continuity of learning; 4) limited attention Iiiven tothe great range of individual differences among the school pop-ulation, particularly the one out of four students who does notcomplete the high-school program; 5) lack of participation bycommunity, technical, and junior college personnel in these-dis-cussions despite the fact that fifty-five percent ofall enteringfreshmen begin their_college careers in one of these colleges.

This book addresses these issues and offers a major proposalto increase high-school/community college programcooperationand coordination. No attempt-has been made to be inclusive orto discuss aspects of the reform reports that have been coveredextensively elsewhere. In particular, no attempt has been madeto assess the quality of teaching or teachers. We can only tip ourhat in appreciation- to those many talented and motivated indi-viduals who keep the educational enterprise glued together. Rather,this study explores some not so-obvious- learning challenges fac-ing the students of our high schools and community, technical,and junior colleges.

The leaders of high schools and colleges are urged to utilizethis book to expand the dialogue where it is already in progressand to initiate the dialogue where it has yet to begin. It_is hopedthat this report will trigger hundreds of high-school/collegeroundtable discussions across the country.

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Dale Parnell, PresidentAmerican Association ofCommunity and junior Colleges

ACKNOWLED GEMENTS

MANY INDIVIDUALS have contributed to the development of thisbook. Special words of appreciation go to the American Associ-ation of Community and Junior Colleges Board of Directors andExecutive Staff for inspiration and for allowing the author thetime away from the office to complete the writing.

Several individuals reviewed manuscript drafts and madeinvaluable suggestions. This list includes. Judith Eaton, Presi-dent of Community College of Philadelphia and Chair of theAACJC Board of Directors, Harold McAninch, President of theCollege of DuPage and Past Chair of the AACJC Board of Direc-tors, Bemard_Luskin, Executive Vice President of AACJC, WarrenBryan Martin, Scholar in Residence, Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching, Thomas Shannon, Executive Direc-tor of the National School Boards Association, William Kendrick,Superintendent of the Salem, Oregon Public Schools, Sue Shields,Vice Principal of- Sprague High School in- Salem, Oregon, ScottThomson, Executive Director of -the National Association ofSecondary School- Principals, Arthur Cohen, President of theCenter for the Study of Community Colleges, Florence Brawer,Research Director of the Center for the Study of CommunityColleges.

Special thanks to Chancellor Jan LeCroy of the Dallas CountyCommunity College District and to his assistant, Nancy Armes.They gave this project a major push at a strategic time. NancyArmes aided immensely in helping to formulate several of thedifficult issues.

I am grateful to Valarie Brooks, who translated the writing intomanuscript form and to Shirley Moyer, who helped manage theproject. James Gollattscheck, Vice President- for Communica-tions for AACJC, has contributed much to the editing and pub-lishing ofthis work.

I extend much appreciation to Barbara Shapiro, who helpededit the book, for her unflagging care and understanding. Myappreciation is extended as well to Richard Rabil for his fine artwork and to Diane Eisenberg for coordinating the book's editorialand artistic services. A special word of appreciation is also expressed

xvii.

to a long-suffering companion, Beverly Parnell. She providedinspiration when needed and patience in abundance.

Finally, thanks to the Shell Oil Foundation for financial sup-port in the development of the book.

Dale Parnell

Chapter I

Some Dilemmas inDefining Excellence

More and more young people emerge from high school readyneither for college nor for work. This predicament becomes moreacute as the knowledge base continues its rapid expansion, thenumber of traditional jobs shrink, and new jobs demand greatersophistication and preparation.

National Commission on Excellence in Education in A Nation at Risk.The Imperative for Educational Reform

17

A.recent Parade Magazine article proclaimed the twentybest high schools in- the country. The_major_ criterionfor the selection of these excellent schools was thepercentage of_high-school graduates going on to a four-

year college or university and a baccalaureate degree. A reviewof this list_of highly rated_high schools_reveals a great deal morcabout the socio-economic level of the student body than it doesabout the quality of teaching andlearning going on-in the class-rooms. It also-underlines the value given education by the fam-ilies of these high - schoolstudents.

I recall my own experience as a young high-school principal inthe 1950's in a large school representing a predominantly blue-collar population. Our rival across the-river was situated -near alarge university and served a white-collar, university-orientedcommunity. When the merit-scholars program was first inau-gurated there was great consternation when our high school hadonly one merit-scholarship winner and the high school acrossthe river had ten. The media became interested and questionsbegan to fly. Why couldn't our high school do as well? What waswrong with our high school? What were we going to do to improveour program? This invidious comparing of schools is-still goingon today, and-my rejoinder of thirty years ago is still applicable.

There are many kinds of excellence, and the merit- scholarshipprogram measures only one kind. We arc not intcrestcd in measur-ing academic excellence by comparison of school to- school. Thesocioeconomic differences arc just too great. But we arc interestedin individual goals and individual progress. You see, we take ourstudents one at a time, as individuals, rather than as a homogeneousgroup. Our faculty work hard to help individuals become merit-scholarship winners, but -they work equally hard to help all stu-dents become good citizens, wise consumers, energetic wage earn-ers, healthy individuals, supportive family members, and most

3

THE NEGLECTED MAJORITY

important, effective life-long learners. Our definition of excellencerevolves around student progress in learning. We are proud of ouracademically talented students, but we are also proud of our stu-dents with other talents.

Most of us develop our opinions based on pictures in the headrather than on real facts. Unfortunately, the pictures in the headabout excellence in education are based primarily on the notionthat there is only one kind of talent and that all students are, orshould be, headed for a college- prep /baccalaureate- degree -pro-gram. The facts simply do not support such a view. The 1980census reveals that seventeen percent of the American popula-tion twenty-five years of age and older hold a baccalaureate degree.Even given a dramatic growth of baccalaureate-degree holdersduring this decade, at least three out of four of our students inthe public schools are unlikely to achieve_a baccalaureate degree.

The Dilemma of Defining ExcellenceThe educational community is not alone in forming unrealistic

images of excellence and imposing them on the American people.Madison Avenue has developed an advertising image-of excel-lence based upon a thin, attractive, white family, confident andhappy in its meticulously landscaped and spacious suburban home.Each morning, after a breakfast which provides fiber and buildsbodies twelve ways, two children, perfectly groomed, emergefrom a model kitchen and skip off to the neighborhood school,as- meticulously- landscaped and spacious as the family home.Presumably, within the allotted time they will be graduated.Then, with little or no effort, they will-continue their educationat the university whose pennants are already mounted on theirartfully decorated bedroom walls.

Faced- with such an artificial image of excellence, one canunderstand the chagrin and frustration of the ordinary studentwho has never entered such a world and of the local school-boardmember who, during a school-board meeting, jumped to his feetand informed his colleagues, with tongue in cheek. "I am sodisgusted with our schools. Why, do you know that half of ourstudents are below average?"

The television and movie image of excellence portrays fun and

SOME DILEMMAS IN DEFINING EXCELLENCE

games as the standard way of life and celebrates the anti-hero.The multi-millionaire athlete or movie star or rock star withlive-in boyfriend or girlfriend becomes the standard role modelfor our young people. John Belushi, Cyndi Lauper, Eddie Murphy,or Farrah Fawcett has a much stronger influence upon valuesthan do teachers or sometimes even parents. Reading, writing,and arithmetic run a- slow -third -to- the more- dramatic skills ofIndiana Jones and the Beverly Hills Cop.

The _news _image of excellence stresses form over _substance.The "photo opportunity" is more important than the message.How someone looks is far more important than what -he or shesays. In recent years the media have criticized the White Houseon this score, but they perpetuate the Recently1 was invited to a White House news conference on adult literacy.Former Secretary of Education Terrel Bell and President Reaganwere to make animportant announcement about a bold newnational- program to-reduce adult illiteracy. The room was filledwith reporters and photographers. President Reagan bounded intothe room with his usual exuberance, wearing a new hearing aidin public for the first time. The photographers immediately beganto take pictures of the President and his new hearing aid. Aftersome preliminary statements about the new program. had beenmade -by the former Secretary and the President, the first questionfrom the reporters was, "Mr. President, how long have you beenwearing your hearing aid?" Adult literacy received scant- atten-tion from -the- media- that- day, _but pictures of the President andhis new hearing aid were published across-the-country.

In some institutions of higher education the definition of excel-lence begins and ends with the admissions process. Who gets in?Excellence will be more or less automatic if the entrance-screen-ing process has been thorough enough in sorting and screeningthe academically talented from -the not-so-talented. There isnothing inherently wrong with tough admissions standards aslong as we do not allow college-entrance requirements to beviewed as the only ke) to excellence in a universal educationsystem.

The-comprehensive high school and the comprehensive com-munity college work on the basis of a not-so-visible or dramatic

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definition of excellence. They seek the development of a highlydiverse potential in all students. Certainly these schools andcolleges want a well-prepared entering student. However, thereare many kinds of talents and many kinds of excellence. Theseinstitutions focus on progress in learning and in value added.where was the student upon entry and did he or she make prog-ress?

Is the College-Prep/Baccalaureate Degree the -Only -Road toExcellence in Education?

One of our human failings is to assume that most people thinkand act as we do. Many in the field of education suffer from thismalady. They have experienced the baccalaureate-degree pro-gram -and therefore expect everyone to have a similar experience.Educational policy formation has become the monopoly of col-lege and university graduates who appear to believe that aca-demic excellence must be described primarily in terms of thekinds of education- which they experienced. The great debateabout excellence in education is closer to a monologue of theone-sided opinions of well meaning individuals and groups whohave- little contact with non- baccalaureate- degree America. Isn'tit time for community, technical, and junior college leaders tojuin in the debate alongside their university and public-schoolcolleagues?

As an example, the College Board has been working for severalyears on an Educational EQuality Project and has issued an excel-lent publication entitled Academic -Prep .:ration for College. Thisreport proposes to synthesize the judgments of several hundredteachers from a cross section of schools and colleges about whatconstitutes the learning students must bring from high school tohave a fair chance to succeed in a baccalaureate-degree program.However, comparatively few community, technical, or juniorcollege personnel were involved in this effort, and little attentionwas given to the host of ordinary students needing some post-secondary education and training, although not necessarily abaccalaureate degree.

A college-prep/baccalaureate-degree program is certainly theroad -to excellence for many individuals, -and= our schools and

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community colleges must help these students prepare -for -thisdirection in life better than ever beforeAndeed, community_ col-leges are actively pursuing program., to encourage and motivatemore community college students to-press on to the baccalau-reate degree. But we must constantly remind ourselves that themajority of our population will never earn a baccalaureate degree.What-about the ordinary student? What can we offer him -or her?This student also wants and needs an -excellent education, butone that -is applicable to__his -or her talents andifuture. Are wecreating the educational crisis of the 1990's by continuing -toinsist that one-kind of educationalprogram=be- applicable to-allstudents?

-K.-Patricia Cross, professor at the Harvard-Graduate -School- of-Education, offers a pungent obscrvation=on-this subject.

In the final-analysis, the task of the excellent teacher is to stim-ulate "apparently ordinary" people to-unusual-effort. What do thereports on school reform have to contribute, to that goal? In- thefirst place, there is surprisingly little attention given to "ordinary_people" in the school reform reports. There is the-clear implication-that-thecribingitide-of mediocrity is_maile up of embarrassing-num-bers of ordinary people. Teachers' colleges are advised to selectbetter candidates, colleges are encouraged to raise admissiois stan-_dards,_and-_the federal_governmentis_urgetko offer scholarships -toattract top -high- school graduates into teaching. Theie is not ailotpaid in the education reports about how-to stimulate unusual efforton the pal-Lathe ordinary people that we seem to be faced with in_the-schools-and-in most- colleges ... The tough-problem is not-in-identifying winners, it-is in making winners out of ordinary people.That, after all, is the overwhelming purpose of education. Yethistorically, in most of the periods emphasizing excellence, edu-cation-has reverted to selecting winners rather than creating them.(Cross 1984)

At a recent international conference on higher education-DavidMoore, Principal of Nelson and Colne College in Lancashire,-England, commenting on the British educational- system, said,"Our schools in England are designed to make the majority ofour people feel like failures." [Moore -1984) After reading therecent plethora-of recommendations-aboutimpreving-American

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education one might conclude that excellence in American edu-cation can only be achieved by making a majority of studentsfeel like failures, unable to cope with modern life. Anything lessthan a college-prep:baccalaureate-degree program is viewed assomehow .second-rate. Few of these national studies provide aworkable solution to the problem outlined twenty years ago byJohn W_Gardner:

The importance of education is not limited to the higher ordersof talent. A compLx society-is dependent every hour of every dayupon the capacity of its people at evely level to read and write, tomake difficult judt,ments, and to act in the light of extensive infor-mation .. . When there isn't a many leveled -base of trained talenton which to build, modernrsocial and economic developments-aresimply impossible. And if that base were to disappear suddenly inany complex society, the whole intricate interlocking mechanismwould grind to a halt. (Gardner [196111984)

Can the Ordinary Student Experience Excellence in Education?We tend to live somewhere between -our hopes and our fears.

Is it possible for our age to move closer to our universal-educationhopes and dreams rather than to our fears? Can we provide anexcellent universal-education system for all our citizens in theirdiversity? The United States is closer than any other culture hasever come to achieving this high goal, but the enterprise muststill be called an experiment. We have yet to demonstrate thatwe really know how to provide a universal education for allpeople. In particular, how can we help ordinary students feel-likewinners:* We must face up to the dilemma of achieving excellencein a universal-education system, particularly =for the ordinarystudent.

The American education system moves along slowly, some-what like t'..le little English "puffer" tugboats moving throughthe fog in an age prior to that of depth- finders and radar. Usuallya young boy was hired to sit on the bow of -the puffer, tossingpebbles first to the right and then to the left to be sure the boatwas in the middle of the channel. As our present educationsystem moves through the fog, there seem to be an unusuallylarge number of pebbles being tossed right and left to keep our

8


educational "puffer" from running aground. We have not yetinvented the kind of radar that will make it easier to determinewhere we are in our universal-education effort, nor have wedeveloped a common understanding of the word " excellence" orrelated that common understanding to the educational enter-prise.

The National Commission on Excellence in Education statesour present dilemma- in- this straightforward way. "More andmore young_people emerge from high school ready neither forcollege nor for work. This =predicament= becomes more acute asthe knowledge base continues -its rapid expansion, the numberof traditional jobs shrinks, and new jobs demand greater sophis-tication and preparation." (Gardner et al. 1983)

What is disappointing in- the content of the major educationreform-reports is their -lack of emphasis on learning incentivesand learner motivation. Meanwhile, almost half the Hispanichigh-school students in the country drop out before graduatingfrom high school. This is more than double the rate of blackstudents and three times the rate of 1,1 hite students. Forty percentof the Hispanic drop outs -never complete the tenth grade. TheNational Commission on Secondary Schooling for Hispanics states.f'.

. . the high drop-out rate is a failure of the education systemwhich has not met the aspirations and speciai needs of its growingHispanic population." (Washington Post 1985) The Commissionblames curricula that fail to address the vocational needs ofstudents, the lack of adequate counseling and support services,low expectations, and the strength of the work ethic amongHispanic men.

The Dilemma of Meeting Individual Differences

The current national thrashing around, the report .upon reportun how to improve the schools and colleges, are symptoms ofthe still-experimental nature of the American education enter-prise. The sheer diversity of individuals attending the schools isawesome. The varieties of student aspirations and abilities, ofsocio-economic and cultural backgrounds, require multipleapproaches in program and-in the teaching/learning process.

24


One of the pressing dilemmas for educators is how -to meet thegreat range of individual differences among students while seek-ing the best in all people, whether rich or poor, able or disabled,destined for the university, community college, apprenticeship,military, or a specific job, including homemaking. To that end,we must learn to ignore, indeed to laugh at, the assumption thata baccalaureate degree is the sole road to excellence, respect,and dignity for all people. Social and educational status cannotbe confused with equality of e9purtunity and individual achieve-ment, regardless of the field of study. It willibe a sad day indeedif the -excellence movement" becomes a cover for a retreat fromequity and opportunity concerns. As stated by the Commissionon Pre-College:Education in-Mathematics,Science and Technol,ugy, "Excellence and elitism arc not synonymous." (Coleman etal. 1983: Clearly, American education requires -a -new definitionof= excellence in education, a definition- that will hold meaningfor all students.

For educators at all levels, it is a time when the varieties ofexcellence we aspire to achieve in our universal education -sys-tem must match to a sufficient degree the sheer- diversity of ourstudents. Trend analysts, forecasters, policymakers, strategicplannersall are finding dramatic ways to- underscore -what wehave already begun to understand in a visceral way. The infor-mation age, sped by technological advance, presents a- richer,more -umplex reality in which an increasing number of humanbeings want and need more of life and work. In that context,educatim is facing some imposing challenges, particularly inhelping the ordinary student develop the competencies and theproficiencies required to successfully, even joyfully, cope withthe dilemmas of a rapidly changing world.

The Dilemma of ChangeWe are living in the time of the parenthesis, the time between

eras, John Naisbitt tells us. "It is a:time of ambiguity, of change,and questioning, a time electric with possibilities, when a singlemodel for achievement will always be limiting, a time whenthose able tu anticipate the new era will be a quantum leap aheadof those who hold-on to the past." (NaisbittViegatrends, 1984)

10


Frankly, some new models are required for education based uponindividual student needs and the needs of a rapidly changingsociety.

If a higher quality of work life is to become a reality for millionsof Americans, perhaps the most fundamental emerging truth isthat higher and more comprehensive skills must be developed,particularly by the middle two quartiles of the work force. Moresophisticated manual as well as conceptual skills will be in demand,and this worker cohort will-be pushed consistently to handle abroader range of work requirements. Tasks once reserved forbaccalaureate-degree or advanced-degree performers will beassumed by those with fewer years of education and training,and all workers will find -it= essential-to learn throughout theircareers in order to remain useful. Not only do we anticipate thatthese demands will- surface in -the future, but we know whathuman resources will be available to meet these demands: allwho will be part of the work force in the year 2000 are alivetoday. Thus we can extrapolate much from the age, sex, ethnic,and regional mixes the kind of individual working at any level.

Itiustimay be easier -to create an information-age society thanto maintain one. Since we know less about job replacement thanjob placement, more about- training than retraining, and moreaboutexcellence in some aspects of education than in others, wemust learn quickly new skills of program coordination and con-tinuity in order to provide greater structure and substance in thelearning process for all individuals.

We have been told that in the future there will be a greaternumber of individuals in our society working at low-skill jobs,i.e., as clerks, custodians, waiters. But sheer volume does notgive an accurate picture of job replacements or of future employ-ment-skill needs, especially of the new career-competencyrequirements created by an information society_ Certainly, therehave been and will continue to be a large number of low-skill,low -pay jobs requinng minimal skills. It is likely there will alwaysbe a more-than-adequate supply of individuals possessing onlythose minimal skills. But that tells only part of the story. "Occu-pational Employment Projections" lists the twenty fastest-grow-ing occupations from 1988 through 1995 (Figure 1). None can be

11

26


classified as low-skill, and only two or three obviously require abaccalaureate degree for entry. The remainder of these fast-growthjobs are occupations for which some postsecondary educationand training, but not necessarily a baccalaureate degree, are pre-ferred or required.

As a further example, the electronic industry is moving closeto becoming a $400 billion business, and it is predicted thatwithin a year or two seventy-five percent of all its jobs willinvolve computers in some capacity. The American Electronic

Figure 1

1Wenty Fastest Growing Occupations, 1982-95

OccupationPercent growth in

employmentComputer service technicians 96.8Legal assistants 94.3

Computer systems analysts 85.3

Computer programmers 76.9

Computer operators 75.8

"'Nee machine repairers 71.7

ysical therapy assistants 67.8

Electrical en 'ricers 65.3Civil engineering technicians 63.9Peripheral EDP equipment operators 63.5Insurance clerks, medical 62.2Electrical and electronic technicians 60.7Occupational therapists 59.8Surveyor helpers 58.6Credit clerks, banking and insurance 54.1

Physical therapists 53:6Employment interviewers 52.5

Mechanical engineers 52.1

Mechanical engineering technicians- 51.6Compression and injection mold machine

operators, plastics50.3

Saurt.e., U.S. Department of :,abut. ErnNuyment Pruicuuns jur 1995. Bureau uj Labor Staustscs.U.S Government Printing Of March 1984.

12

2'7


Association report entitled "Technical Employment Projections1983-87" indicates that the electronic industry will need a sixty-percent increase in technicians by 1987. That means 115,000new electronic technicians -will be needed within two years, inaddition to older-worker replacements.

The shift from an agricultural society to an industrial societytook about one hundred years. But the current movement froman industrial society to an information society is taking place sorapidly there is little time for reaction. The information societyis-a hard, here-and-now, economic reality. Between 6,000 and7,000 scientific articles are written each day. Technical infor-mation is-doubling-about every five years.

Our society will always need custodians and waiters, with theirown sense of excellence, but it is more myth than reality-thattechnology will diminish the need for workers possessing a mid-dle range of technical skills and a better educational backgroundthan ever before. That need will grow dramatically.

Over the last decade we have been entering a "product life-cycle" as we have embraced- the information age. This initialphase has been pushed along by the more advanced- skills- ofscientists, engineers, and top-level-management. However, with6. Jwth and maturity comes the commercialization of technol-ogy. Economic history tells us that the volume of need for a mid-range of workers which this report designates as technicians)will grow rapidly- as various technologies move out of the devel-opment phase into the production phase of the product life-cycle.These are the individuals who will -help us maintain and adaptto our technology driven- information age. Figures 1 and 2 revealthat the employment growth is most pronounced -in the mana-genal, technical, sales and precision production, craft and repaircategories of work.

The Dilemma of TechnologyJohn Naisbitt traces the occupational history of the United

States from farmer to laborer to clerk, from rural to blue-collarto white-collar America. He invites us to speculate about thenew workers who will characterize the predominance of ourwork force as we move past the parenthesis into a new era.

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28


Obviously, what is required is a worker who has obtained anexcellent education that has enabled him or her to develop acluster of skills that reflects many of the critical trends encap-sulated here, a worker who is broadly educated and whose respon-sibilities may span several work areas. What is required for manyoccupations in the future is a broad technician rather than a hightechnician, if by that term we are describing an employee who:

understands the basic principles of technology in an infor-mation age saturated with the use of technology.connects practice and-theory in the work world.identifies problems and then analyzes, tests, and troubleshoots to find solutions.integrates the interests of complementary work areas.works independently with _a network of individuals muchof the time, under the general supervision of a highly skilled,frequently more narrowly specialized professional.works willingly and well with his/her_hands as well as withthe brain.has mastered a basic-skills package that includes a core ofcompetence in math, science, comr2.1:zr science, and com-munications.is liberally educated to function competently as a citizen, aconsumer, a family member, and a neighbor.has developed the proficiencies to be a life-long learner.

In its recent report examining the quality of learning under itspurview, the National Science Board Commission on Pre-CollegeEducation in Mathematics, Science and Technology warned thattechnology must be considered a new entity by educators, notan extension of science and mathematics. "The main implicationfor education of the saturation of society with technology is thatunderstanding technology becomes a primary concern . . . -It isnot true that understanding science and mathematics conveysan cqual understandirg of technology." (Coleman et al. 1983)

Other analysts warn (la if technology becomes an isolatedcontent domain, our society will create more problems than itwill- solve. Their conclusions about the effect of technology onscience and math apply to the broad spectrum of career interests


in -this nation Technology can compartmentalize us more ormake us inure responsive. It can create greater understandingand involvement within the work force, or it can isolate us onefrom the other.

It is estimated that pure high-technology jobs will account foronly five to six percent of all U.S. jobs by 1990. It should be

Figure 2

1983 and 1984 ComparisonsOccupational Status of the Employed

One Year GrowthCivilian employed

August- AugustOccupation 1983 1984

Total, 16 years and over 103,167 106,694

Managerial and professional specialty 23,044 24,460Executive, administrative, and managerial 10,814 11,789Professional specialty 12.230 12,67-1-

Technical, sales and administrative support 31,840 32,924Technicians and related support 3,091 3,175Sales occupations 12,140 12,891Administrative support, including clerical 16,608 16,858

Precision production, craft, and repair 12,794 13,641Mechanics and repairers 4,230 4,477Construction trades 4,602 5,023Other arecision roduction, craft and repair 3.963- 4,141

Operators, fabricators, and laborers 16,498 17,193Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors 7,905 8,105Transportation and material moving occupations 4,198 4,480Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,

and laborers 4,396 4,608Construction laborers 674 732Other handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, laborers 3,721 3,875

Service occupations 14,510 14,291Private household 1,015 1,000Protective service 1,827 1,757Service, except private household and protective 11,667 11,535

Farming, forestry, and fishing 4,481 4,185Suurce_ U.S. Department til Lam, Linpluyr,terit Pruiecuuns Jur 199.5, Bureau of Labor Statistics,U.S. Government Printing Office. March 1984.

15

30


pointed out that agriculture was probably the first high-technol-ogy industry, making two blades of grass grow where only onegrew before, there is nothing particularly new about technology.What is important to note is the impact of technology uponnearly all forms of work. On this point John Naisbitt comments;"The industrial economy rested upon the automobile, but notall of us worked- directly with automobiles. Nonetheless, ourlives were significantly altered by them. Similarly, the informa-tion economy rests on the computer, but not all of us will workdirectly with computers. Our lives and our jobs, however, willcertainly be changed because of them." (Naisbitt, The Year Ahead,1984)

Broad technology and not high technology will-characterizethe main influence on the development of our nation's workforce in the future. We predict here that the occupational historyof this country will chronicle the steps from farmer to laborer toclerk to technician. Technicians, that is broad- technology -tech-nicians, will act as the force that holds together the thousandsof potentially isolated elements in our work world. They will bethe individt,..is who not only understand underlying principles,but also have the ability to apply what they have learned. Theseare the generalists with specific practical skills to address typicalday-to-day challenges. The development of this kind of workerwill require some new programs and approaches to education. Inparticular, some new thinking about vocational- education willbe required.

A Dilemma for the 1990'sAre we creating the crisis of the 1990's by indiscriminately

imposing baccalaureate-degree program standards upon high-school graduation requirements: Is this the answer to improvingthe high-school education of the ordinary student? It may moti-vate some students, but surely it will discourage others. Whenseventy-five percent or rwre of our high- school graduates do notcomplete the baccalaureate degree and twenty-five percent ofthose who begin high school do not even finish, one must ques-tion the validity of the current educational program for the greatmass of individuals in the middle quartiles of the typical -high-

16

31


school student body. What kind of educational program will meetthe needs of these three out of four students? Can these studentsexperience excellence? Will- requiring more theoretical physicsor theoretical math meet their needs and abilities? Of course not,but they certainly need more than "bachelor living," "arts andcrafts," and hobby -type courses. Some fundamental shifts mustbe made in sLhool and college programs if the needs of all stu-dents are to be met and the universal education enterprise is tobe-moved up the road a few more miles. Comprehensive highschools and comprehensive community, technical, and juniorcoileges must be concerned with improving the educationalprogram and performance of -the ordinary student along withthe- baccalaureate-degree-bound student. It is not an either/orproposition.

32,17

Chapter II

Some PersistentTensions inAchieving Excellence

Excellence and elitism are not synonymous.

National Science Board Commission on Pre-College Education inMathematics, Science and Technology

I would put the subject_of school drop-outs first. It is absolutelyastounding to me that so many intelligent people could look for solong at American schools and say so little about this problem.

Harold HoweHarvard Graduate School of Education

33

he cultivation of excellence in education must beaccomplished in a social and educational milieu ofperplexing divisions and tensions. Any attempt to "fix"American education cannot be accomplished in isola-

tion. It must be accompanied by an examination of related issuesand the possible impact of these issues on other parts of society.

There are three great social- tensions -in our contemporary-soci-ety that must be recognized as part of any discussion aboutexcellence in education. They are a technological tension, aneducational tension, and a socio-economic tension. How we defineexcellence -in education- will determine whether we can reducethese tensions. Indeed, examination of these tensions may pro-vide us with some key indicators as to the health of our demo-cratic_society and of the educational system that supports thatsociety.

A Technological TensionThe first of the social tensions is technological. Our society

grows technically and scientifically more sophisticated, yet con-tinues to produce an increasing number of individuals who areuneducated, unskilled, and unable to cope with these technolog-ical changes. Is the pool of the uneducated and unskilled growingor is it shrinking? No one knows for sure. We do estimate thatsome twenty-three million individuals cannot read, write, orcompute at a functional level. We do know there are still sevento eight million individuals unemployed- and another three tofour million working part time but looking -for full-time work.We also know that the nature of work is shifting from blue-collarlabor -to- white-collar clerical to gray-collar technical. We alsoknow that a single inoculation of education for the young is nolonger sufficient for a lifetime.

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34


Much has been made of the need to increase the number ofengineers and other baccalaureate-degree personnel to meet thedemands of a high-technology society. But little attention hasbeen given to preparing the mid-level technicians that keep theplanes flying, the cars repaired, the hospitals operating, the build-ings constructed, the computers serviced, the laws enforced, andgenerally keep our country running. As an example, the healthindustry is booming, requiring individuals with a strong techni-cal education - background. the nurses, health technologists,_andtechnicians skilled in the use of diagnostic and therapeutic equip-ment.

In fact, a labor shortage, which this writer predicted four yearsago, is now upon us. The labor force is growing slowly=from110 million to 130 million between now and 1995. an increaseof twenty million workers. At the same time, we are seeing jobscreated by small and medium-sized businesses - increasing -at anunprecedented rate. In 1983- some four million new jobs werecreated, with close to another four million added in 1984.-If -newjobs continue to be created at even half this rate while the pop-ulation continues to-age and older workers leave the work force,a-critical worker shortage is_inevitable. Add to this picture themovement toward downskillIng. Tasks once reserved-for bacca-laureate-degree performers are being relegated to technicians andthose with fewer years of education and training. This is analmost automatic byproduct of the commercialization of tech-nology and the evolution of the product life-cycle.

Recently, much attention has been directed toward- helpingindividuals at the other end of the scale. In general, federal andstate job-training programs have been designed for the hard-coreunemployed. The results have been discouraging, particularlywhere rather sophisticated skills have been required.

The_tensions between high unemployment and skilled-workershortages will- become- greater unless some very specific stepS aretaken. The Index of_Help Wanted Advertising offers evidence ofthe mismatch between the needs of the workplace and the skillsof American workers. This index is a seasonally adjusted measurebased on the number of help-wanted advertisements printed inthe classified-advertising section of leading- newspapers. While

22

35

SOME PERSISTENT TENSIONS IN ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

unemployment remained at 7.6 percent during May of both 1980and 1981, the help-wanted index increased from 112 to 118.Simply put, more job openings were reported, but unemploymentdid not go down. Since then, unemployment has gone up signif-icantly and is now leveled out at about the 7.5 percent figure. Itis a tragedy that tremendous opportunities exist on the one handwhile sizable unemployment remains on the other. Eric Hofferhas observed that young people are warned not- to waste theirtime but are being brought up to w aste their lives. The waste ofhuman resources creates tremendous tensions in our society.

The shortage of skilled workers is also documented by the U.S.Department of Labor in a publication entitled The Forecastingof Manpower Requirements. This publication projects a shortageof adequately trained personnel in certain professional and tech-nical occupations. The House Committee on Armed- Servicesasserts-that labor shortages penetrate deeply into the lower tiersof the industrial base. Currently there are shortages in the num-ber of- skilled production workers, machinists, electronic tech-nicians, tool and die makers, test technicians, optical personnel,and skilled assemblers.

A number of factors make it evident that the shortage of skilledworkers will only grow worse in the years to come. The workforce in this country is aging, meaning that the proportion ofolder to younger workers is increasing. The-average age of tooland die makers is about fifty-nine years. The number of peopleaged sixty -five and over is growing about twice as fast as is thepopulation of the nation as a whole.

The time is ripe for some new thinking about the technologicaltension and related job training. For example, why nut developa national program which gives a pat on the back and activehelp to members of the underclass who have already taken thefirst steps toward lifting themselves out of their environment?The most cost-effective job-training program today may be onethat focuses on upward mobility. Why not identify those provenworkers in dead-end jobs and offer them education and trainingto meet the needs of new jobs requiring new and more sophisti-cated skills? This would be a win -win situation. The employeewould move up, the employer would gain a proven worker, and

3623


an entry-level job would be opened for an unskilled or less skilledworker.

An Educational TensionMost of the national education study reports offer their own

definitions of quality, but few comment at any length upon accessto education or upon creating more opportunity. One of theincreasing tensions is educational. Can we have quality andequahty in education? The obvious answer is that a democraticsociety must have both.

The national groups issuing these reports have -not been -par-ticularly interested in_ the continuing increase in the number ofhigh-school drop-outs. A smaller share of American youth isgraduating from high school today than a- decade ago. The per-centage of entering high-school students that graduate has droppedfrom 77.2 percent (a 22.8 percent drop-out rate) in 1977 to 72.8percent (a 27.2 percent drop-out rate) in 1982. This means therehas been a nearly five-percent increase in high-school drop-outsover the last_decade. (Grant and Eden 1982)

In 1979, eighty percent of white nineteen-year-olds were high-school graduates, while sixty-four percent of blacks and sixtypercent of Hispanic nineteen-year-olds held high-school diplo-mas. Furthermore, the ethnic and racial composition of-youngAmerica is shifting. Slightly more than twenty-five percent ofwhite Amencans are under eighteen years of age as well as fiftypercent of -the Hispanics and thirty-three percent of blacks. Whileminorities make up about ten percent of the general_Americanpopulation, they average twenty-seven percent of the school pop-ulation.

We seem to have a bifurcated view of our high schools. Somesee the high school as a sorting system separating the academi-cally talented from the not-so-talented. Others see the high schoolas the "holding pen" for young people, keeping them off the jobmarket until they have grown up. Not enough people see- thehigh .school as a human-resource development laboratory, a placein which to prevent human waste. The debate rages on. Canthere- be quality and- equality in the American- school system?

2437


The National Commission on Excellence addresses this ques-tion:

We do not believe that a public commitment to excellence andeducational reform must be made at the expense of a strong publiccommitment to the equitable treatment of our diverse population.The twin goals of equity and high-quality schooling have profoundand practical meaning for our economy and society, and we cannotpermit one to yield to the other either in principle or_in practice.To do so would deny young people their chance to learn and liveaccording to their aspirations and abilities. It also would lead to ageneralized accommodation -to mediocrity in our society on theone hand or the creation of an undemocratic elitism on the other.(Gardner et al. 1983)

The most serious educational tension is a self-induced programfragmentation th..t focuses primarily on either an academic or avocational education track. For those students who do not fitcomfortably into one or the other, we offer an unfocused general -education -track leading to nowhere.

Let us talk- a bit about tracking in high school. Academic,general, and vocational tracks tend to set up unnecessary andarbitrary division and conflicts. Conflicting opinion exists amongsecondary-school educators as to whether tracking even existsin most high schools. Coleman and colleagues found that ineighty percent of the cases teachers and principals disagreed abouttracking, teachers acknowledging and principals denyingits pres-ence. (Adelman -1983) In the-National Center for Education-Sta-tistics data bases students reported tracking in their high schools.Fetters found a significant amount of agreement between-stu-dents and administration on al..; existence of track placement,with seventy eight- percent agreement on academic track place-ment. (Fetters 1975)

Whether we agree or not that academic, vocational, and generaleducation tracking is operating in- high schools, a majority ofteachers and students perceive a- tracking system. In fact, fewwould disagree that the college prep /baccalaureate- degree trackhas been highly visible throughout the history of the Americanhigh- school.

2533

rTHE NEGLECTED MAJORITY

Tracking patterns spring from the traditional_ division of thearts into the liberal and fi-,ie arts and the practical arts. Althoughthe American education system is derived from an elitist philos-ophy, the populist tradition blossomed early, as more and moreindividuals saw education as their pathway into the econorr1/4mainstream of American life. In 1892, 500,000 students went tohigh school; in 1983-84 nearly sixteen million were enrolled.The- classical liberal and fine arts education- no- longer- seemeduniformly appropriate. As a consequence, and I believe an unin-tentional consequence, rigid boundaries were drawn between theliberal and practical arts, although these boundaries create anunnecessary tension. The liberal and fine arts bring meaning tolife-in many ways and liberate the individual by developing thecreative and spiritual senses. The practical arts bring a focus tolife -that helps individuals move from dependence to indepen-dence; few experiences are more liberating than developing voca-tional competence. All are needed for ensuring educational excel-lence. Clearly, -the liberal, fine, and practical arts must movecloser together. If for no other reason, the demands of the infor-mation age will require the easing -of this needless educationaltension. But in easing_the tension we must not forget the needsof an increasing volume of students. These are the students whoare resisting the outmoded academic and vocational labels andwho are permitted, as a result, to fall without plan or purposeinto something called "general education."

We talk about the wage earner, the citizen, the family mem-ber, but not enough attention_ is given to the life-long learner inour society. If there is one thing in which the schools and collegesshould excel, it is in helping the individual to develop-the com-petencies to function in this role. What are the competenciesthat must be developed to be an effective lifelong learner? Hereis a skeletal list. reading speed- and comprehension skills, ana-lytical skills, memory -training skills, problem- solving skills,decision-making skills, synthesizing skills, human-relations skills,computational skills, and more recently, computer skills.

Under- our current educational practices, if an individual hasnot developed these competencies to a certain level by the endof the eighth- grade or so, he or she has been doomed forever to

2639


educational purgatory. How many barriers have been constructedfor adults who need to improve their "learners' skills? Many ofus would like to improve our reading speed or our analyticalskills or our memory skills or or intergroup human-relationsskills and communications skills. Where do we turn? Where isthe home in the high-school and college curriculum for individ-uals to develop these specific competencies to become moreeffective life-long learners? Many community colleges haveestablished developmental educationprograms or college-prep-aratory departments to address these needs. However, they havedone so over the protests of legislators, academicians, and thosewho have a -more exalted "picture in the head" about education.In fact, the college-credit and related financing systems oftenactually mitigate against meeting the student at the point of hisor her "learner" needs.

Peter Drucker indicates that -the greatest single barrier toimproving the productivity of our nation is the consistent break-down in intergroup and interpersonal communications. Employ-ers indicate consistently that their greatest concern is withemployees who fail in the human-relations and intergroup-rela-tions categories. More employees are dismissed because theycannot get along with others than-for any other reason. Where isthe home in the school or college curriculum to address thisneed?

Employers designate the ability to learn as the essential hall-mark of the st......essful empk.,ee. Yet, in most educational arenaslittle direct tune is spent on the learner skills of problem solving,synthesis, analysis, and critical thinking. Helping individualsdevelop the competencies to be effective life-long learners shouldbe the top priority of any educational institution.

There arc other educational tensions that tend to bog us down.Here are a few examples:

Upper-level high-school science and math continue to be tooabstract and theoretical for perhaps two-thirds of the studentbody who desperately require a better and mire practical edu-cation in math, science, and communication skills. The MorrillAct of 1862 was developed to connect the practical and the liberalarts for an agrarian society. Yet land-grant colleges and most

2740


postsecondary institutions have still not resolved what "practi-cal" means, nor have they managed a happy marriage of the two.The definitions and use of tools and applied knowledge are point -idly absent from the education of most secondary-school youngpeople, although the practical expressions such applied knowl-edge represents are essential to the quality of work we producein a technological world.

Learning has leaped the bound.lries of schools and colleges.More and more learning opportunities are offered throughemployers or community-based organizations. As an- example,some 475,000 individuals received their high-school diploma in1983 via -the GED testing program. An estimated 950,000 indi-viduals across the nation earned college credits via extra-insti-tutional learning in 1983. An increasing number are earningcollege credits for learning acquired in the military, on the job,through independent study and televised learning. Yet most schoolsand colleges seem oblivious to this phenomenon.

A broad-based systems approach -to technical training will dis-courage career obsolescence, we are told. But in practice the newcareer courses most often added reflect an increasing specificityof emphasis, and-we continue to-prepare individuals for specificjobs rather than for careers.

Finally, perhaps a key tension for some open-door communitycolleges is that they -have side-stepped the need to work closelywith high schools and to state clearly their own preparationexpectations for high-school students. If they arc to have the bestchance for success in a community ,ollege, high-school studentsmust have a clear sense of what it will take to succeed. Yet, mostyoung people hold only vague notions of what adequate prepa-ration for a community, technical, or junior college experiencemeans_ In the great haste to separate themselves from high schools,too many community colleges have weakened or nearly severedthe high-schoolkommunity college connection.

A Socio - Economic Tension.

The third great tension is socio-economic in origin. There is acontinuing and widening gap between the "ha es" and the "have-

28


nots" in our society. Syndicated columnist William Raspberrycomments on this issue:

The 1964 Civil Rights Act, and other legislation spawned by thatmovement, ended official racism, and meritorious blacks were quickto take advantage. But solving that problem introduced anotherin many ways, tougherproblem. To a significant degree, Americatoday really does treat blacks as individuals. It looks at educationtest scores, economics and other evidences of individual merit. A1980's Ralph Bunche could live, work,_go to school or cat a mealat the place of his choosing.

The principal victims of racial disparity today are the non-RalphBunches. the unskilled, uneducated, unambitious, economicallycrippled underclass whose problems, though they might have hadtheir own origins- in- racism, would= not be solved- by an end ofracism.

This, though many of us have difficulty seeing it, is a differentset of problems whose solution- is beyond -the reach of a massmovement. Groups can be granted the full range of opportunities,but only individuals can take advantage of them.

The pressing question now is how -to help the underclassandclearly they will need help, private and publicto translate thco-retical opportunity into actual improvement of their status.- (Rasp-berry 1984)

An increasing stratification seems to be taking place alongeconomic, educational, employment, and ethnic lines. Statisticsshow a recent increase in the number of individuals and familiesin the lower-income strata and below the poverty line. Therealso appears to bc a steadily increasing gap between low- andmiddle income families and upper-income families. Janet L.Norwood, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, reportsa drop in the February 1985 unemployment rate from 6.4 percentto 6.1. percent for whites but an increase from 14.9 percent to16.3 percent for blacks. (Washington Post 1985)

When we consider the situation of the "haves" and "have-nots" in our society, four startling statistics emerge:

Two out of three adults who currently meet the federaldefinition of poverty are women and more than- half thepoverty families arc maintained by single women.

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42


590.000

Figure 3

The Haves and Have-Nots

Thm ShrinkingMiddle Class1978 1983

= 139.000 adultsr) The shrinking middle class were here In 1978 ..

.. and here in 1933

High Budget

541.000

0000Medium Budget 0000000

527.500

tow Budget

000 0000 000 0000 0

0 000 0 0000000000000000

0000 000000 0000 0

10

S17200

Poverty

$9.800

Annual Income 50

This chart is adapted from the wall size poster "Social Stratification -in theUnited States," recently published by Social Graphics, _a Baltimore companythat prepares posters on coniruv crsial issues. Stephen Rose, the economist whocreated the chart, explains that between 1978 and 1983 approximately 13percent of-the middle portion of the middle class as defined by the Bureau ofLabor Statistics; disappeared. Of this 13 percent, one quarterrose into the upper-middle class t..atcgory, and three quarters de,'A.en.deilinte the !ewe! middle class.Furthermore, the number of people below the poverty line increased 3 percent.This downward shift represents a significant change in the nature of the Amer-ican social fabric.Source. Stephen Rose. "Social Stratification in the U.S.- (Harpers, 1984), 27.

30

SOME PERSISTENT TENSIONSIN ACHIEVING EXCELLENCE

Seventy percent of all AFDC (Aid to Families with Depen-dent Children) recipients are children.3.1 million children, or 3,000 a day, have fallen into povertysince 1979. This is a thirty-one-percent increase in the num-ber of poverty children over a five-year period.There has been a fifty-two-percent increase over the pasteight years in working women with infants under one yearof age. (American Enterprise Institute for Public PolicyResearch 1983)

The-politically conservative observe these- facts and -aver= thatcompetition and choice are the keys to helping the poor. Allships rise with the tide. major emphasis must be placed uponoverall economic growth if the poor are to be helped. Along withansimproved national economic program, local-and state effortsshould be mounted-to strengthen the capabilities of individualsand families to meet their needs.

The politically liberal look at the statistics and call for a nationalfull-employment policy with jobs at the heart of the anti-povertystrategy. All barriers to working should be removed and sometype of federally funded job-guarantee program should be devel-oped. National, state, and-local efforts must be exerted to helpyoung mothers and young children. This includes emphasis onprenatal and infant health care, child-care programs for workingmothers, and-federally financed help in improving reading andmath of poor children.

While the political forces continue to debate ,Ind disagree, thepool of the poor continues to grow. The poor continue to becaught in a cycle of unemployment, loss of self-esteem, andpoverty. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the poor are womenwith children. This has prompted the National Council on Eco-nomic Opportunity to say. "All other things being equal, if theproportion of the poor in female householder families were tocontinue to increase at the same rate it did from 1967 to 1978,the poverty population would be composed solely of women andtheir children before the year 2000." (Ehrenreich and Stallard1982)

Working women who are poor and supporting a family (par-ticularly young children) must-be classified as some of the most

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4 4

THE-NEGLECTED-MAJORITY

heroic individuals in our country. Day in and day out they sur-vive at standards just above welfare level. They can afford rent,minimal child care, food, and some kind of transportation, andthat is about all. They pray daily that their children will remainhealthy. For the single woman with children there are few pro-visions and scant encouragement to seek additional educationand training to help move into the economic mainstream. Indeed,public policy seems to deny low-income women many opportu-nities for upward mobility. Community, technical, and juniorcolleges deserve_plaudits in this area.-Most of these institutionshave made significant efforts to design programs that reach outto the displaced homemaker and single female parent who mustwork. Individuals who work in these programs can tell some ofAmerica's most dramatic and heart- lifting stories. One of these,related by Don Newbury, President of Western Texas College, issymbolic of thousands:

Mary Lou Moreno, a thirty-four-year-old cosmetology studentat Western Texas College, was so determined to get to class ona fifteen-degree morning in the winter of 1983 that she set outto hitchhike the thirty-five-mile distance after her car failed tostart. She had already missed several hours of training becauseof car trouble, and she knew she could be dropped from -theprogram -if -she continued to be absent. There is no public trans-portation-between Snyder, where the college is located, and Rotan,where-Moreno lives with her five children. So she began to walkand, after being given lifts by three passing motorists, arrivedtwo hours after classes had begun. Her eventful- day came to -aclimax in late afternoon when a classmate sent =her a basket offlowers to say what an inspiration she was to her fellow students.That day also just happened to be her birthday. Her dedicationand commitment eventually paid off. in June she passed the statecosmetology exam and is now working as a cosmetologist.

Why is it that it is only when we discuss governmental aid -topoor people that a subsidy becomes a dole? We don't use theword "dole" when we discuss subsidies for farmers, or Pell Grantsfor college students, or stipends for veterans, or tax breaks forcorporations, or tax shelters for the wealthy. Ironically, even therhetoric we use shoots an arrow at the self-esteem of the poor.

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45


Rather than view the poor as untapped human resources, wetend to view them as problems.

Many other implications must be considered in reviewing thesocio-economic tensions between the "haves" and the "have-nots," but the major question to consider is what education andtraining can do to help. We have never really developed a nationalhuman-resource-development strategy in this country, particu-larly for non-baccalaureate-degree individuals. No discussion ofexcellence in education in a universal education system can becomplete without wnsidering the plight of all members of soci-ety and the tensions that motivate or inhibit them. It is time tovalue our human resources as much as, if not more than, wevalue our natural resources of oil and gas and metals.

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4 -6

Chapter III

Some Barriersto Excellence

During what now seems like a golden age of American education,there were two clear, specialized tracks. There was a good academictrack for the university bound - students and a good vocationaltrack for work-bound students. The "general" trackwhich led tolimbo was small. But the Excellence Commission notes that thenumber of students on this general track, this track leading tonowhere, has increased from one in eight to nearly one in two.And that, more than anything, is the center of the problem.

Marvin Feldman, PresidentNew York Fashion Institute of Technology

47

he academic and vocational desert of American edu-cation is the high-school general-education program.Too many young people are receiving an unfocusedgeneral education which- relates -to nothing, leads -to

nothing, and prepares for nothing. It certainly does little to pro-mote- continuity in learning or to build personal confidence andself-esteem. Unfocused learning remains one of the prime barriers to achieving excellence for a host of high-school students.

In recent years there has been such a significant movement ofhigh-school students from both the academic track and the voca-tional track into -the unfocused general- education -track that thisprogram has now become dominant in most high schools. -In arecent study high-school seniors were asked to describe theirpresent high-school program. The students could mark "aca-demic or college preparatory," "general," or any of- the seven"vocational" areas. The following table summarizes the findings.

Figure 4

High School Comparative Track Identification

1969 1975-81

Academic Track 48.8% 36.4%

General Track 12.0% 42.5%

Vocational Track 25.6% 19.0%

Missing Cases 13.6% 2.1%

These general-education students spend over forty percent oftheir high-school effort outside the traditional academic courses,compared with- thirty percent for the academictrack students.The academic courses for these students often carry titles suchas General Science, General Social Studies, General Math, Rerne-iialEnglish. Nevertheless, more and more of these same students

3743


aspire to college and regard themselves as well prepared for col-lege attendance. (Astin 1982, Wagenaar 1981)

The high-school curriculum of the general-track student canbest be described as a combination of general, remedial, andpersonal/hobby courses. Even though general-track students takefifteen percent of their high-school credits in vocational-educa-tion courses, there is little evidence of any kind of focus orconcentration. Nearly half the high school -time of thegeneral-education student is spent in personal-service and developmentcourses such as physical education, arts and= crafts, home eco-nomics, and work experience.

Is it any mystery -that general-track high-school students areunfocused in their learning, more alienated toward school, andhave a significantly higher drop-out rate? (Echternacht 1976) Isit any wonder that these young people experience a significantincrease in self-esteem two or three years after they leave highschool? Students going into the armed forces are among-thosewith the lowest -self- esteem in high school but the highest self-esteem- two years later. ("Two Years after High School," n.d.)Having a goal, meeting a challenge, and being pushed to one'slimit are what build self-esteem.

The "High School and Beyond" survey asked 1980 seniors toevaluate various aspects of their schools. The general-educationstudents rated -their school experience as less satisfactory thandid academic or vocational-track students and were least satisfiedwith the quality of academic instruction and teacher interest instudents.

One of the most powerful and instructive statistics about thegeneral-education track is that 63.5 percent of -the high-schooldrop-outs indicate -they were in the general-education track atthe time -they left high school. Only 6.7 percent of the drop-outscame from the academic track, while 29.8 percent came fromthe vocational program. ("Two Years after High School," n.d.)

The present system of pot luck in the schoolhouse, wherestudents take a little of this and a little of that, provides youngpeople with too many loopholes, -too little- reality therapy, toomany excuses for failing to learn and failing to develop basic

38

49

SOME BARRIERS TO EXCELLENCE

Figure 5

Percentage of 1980 Seniors Agreeing with Various StatementsAbout High School Education or Practice, by Curriculum and

School 'Type

All Curriculum Type of SchoolSeniors Academic General Vocational Public PrivateStatcments

Schools should haveplaccd more emphasison_ vocational andtechnical program

Schools should haveplaced more emphasison basic academicsubjects

School provided mewith counseling thatwill help me continuemy education

School did not offerenough practicalwork experience

School provided me withcounseling that willhelp find employment

70 57 75 81 55 63

67 67 67 65 72 48

64 67 58 61 66 69

59- 51 63 60 50 65

44 35 43 57 36 30,...,./.., ......i.aL:.,. . 4.44 C, Ja. High School and Beyond. A CapaultDcscnptton of HighSchool Students(U.S. Deportment o: Educouon. Natrunoi Center for Education Statistics. 19811, 16.

Figure 6

Percentage of 1980 High School Seniors Rating Various SchoolCharacteristics as "Good" or as "Excellent," by Curriculum and

School Type

SchoolCharacteristics

AllSeniurs A,ademit.

CurriculumGeneral Vucational

Type of SchoolPublic. Private

Reputation inthe community 68 77 64 64 73 90

Library facilities 67 66 67 71 68 60

Quality of academicinstruction 63 75 55 60 73 85

Condition of buildingsSchool spirit 62 69 60 60 67 76

Teacher interestin students 56 66 48 50 62 82

Source- Peng. 13.

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Figure 7

Major Curriculum Components, Percentage of Credits Generated,by 'flack

Academic1969 1981

General1969 1981

Vocational1969 1981

A. Traditional Academic

Language Arts 21.0 19 6 21.2 19.4 20:2 18.1

Social Studies 15 -9 14.9 18 8 15.3 16.5 14.0

Mathematics 14.0 13.4 10.2 10.4 10.4 9.2

Sciences 12.6 13.2 10.2 9.3- 9.4 7.9

Foreign Languages I1 5 7 7 3_3 3.2 3.1 2.1

Other Humanities 1 5 1.4- 2.3 1.8- 1.5 1.4

Sub -Total (84 coursesl 76.5 70.2 66.0 59.4 60.8 52.8

B. Vocational

Business/Office 2.2 3.3 5_7 5.5 10.8 9.2

Industrial Arts 2-6 3 1 6.8 6.9 8.7 11.7

Other 0.7 1.1 2.2 3.0 3.2 3.9

SubTotal (24 coursesl 5.5 7.6 _14.7 15.4 22.7 24.8 _

C. Physical and HealthEduction (3 courses) 9.1 9.1 9.2 9.8 7.6 8.9

D. Basic Personal Service

'typing 1 2-4 2 -6 2_5 2.9 2.9 2.9

Home Economics 1 0 5 0 6 0 8 1.2 0.9 1.3

Music Performance 3 -1 4_3 2.2 3.1 1.3 1.9

Sub-Total (3 coursesl 6.0 7.5 5.5 7.2 5.3 6.1-

E. Personal Service, Hobbies,Remedial (12 coursesl 2.1 4.3 3.1 6.6 2.5 5.8

F. Other (5 coursesl 0.8 1.3 1.5 1.5 1.2 1.6

Total: 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 100.0%

Juutau4.Ll1utdAdciman. tmiu3tan and the.4...ilege4-anncutiun ianpubhshed paper.Match. 19831. Appendix F

pioficiencies. Unfocused learning remains one of the great bar-riers to excellence for far too many high schoolstudents.

One of the import..it lessons yet to be learned by many edu-cators is that the "why" of learning is more important than the"how." Nietzsche's words, "He who has a why to live for canbear with almost any how," apply to education. Those studentswho see no connectedness, no aim, no purpose to their eduction,

40

5 -10


also often see no point in continuing in school. We live best byliving on our hopes rather than our fears, by looking to the future.The student who sees no future for himself or herself will alsonot make much progress in education.

Victor Frank' illustrates this point through relating an expe-rience in a World War II Nazi concentration camp: ". . anyattempt to restore a man's inner strength in the camp first hadto succeed in showing him some future goal . . Whenever therewas an opportunity for it one had to give a whyan aimfortheir-lives, in order to strengthen-them-to bear the terrible howof their existence." (Frank1 1963)

Educators have a heavy responsibility to help students seemeaning in their educational-program. -Clear goals for the- curric-ular course or program and clear goals fur the individual-studentare absolutely essential to achieving excellence ia education,Student goals will change from time to time, indeed should change,but those changes do not invalidate the need for short-range goals.We all shoot better when we can see the target. It is a greatdisservice to allow high-school or college students to wanderaimlessly through the curriculum with- few, if any, targets atwhich to shoot.

If students are to be motivated to learn, they must know whythey are learning, how this learning connects with other learning,and where this learning relates to real life. If we want instructorsto be motivated to teach, administrators motivated to lead, school-board members and college trustees motivated to develop wisepolicies, and the public motivated to support our schools andcolleges, we must pay unrelenting attention to purposes. Thesepurposes must be developed with such precision and with suchclarity that all involved will be able to develop a sense of personalmeaning and commitment.

Unfortunately, goal development and goal setting have neverbeen driving forces in the educational enterprise. Discussion ofgoals has be...ome the intellectual sauna bath of education. Indi-viduals gain a rosy glow in discussing these high principles andpurposes, but -the impact soon wears off as the bracing cold of

41


real life returns. The result is a lack of continuity, coherence,and connectedness in much of the educational program.

Some time ago I attended a college executive-staff meeting atwhich institutional and related program goals were being dis-cussed. One of the administrators jumped up to leave in themiddle of the meeting. When asked where he was going he said,"I must get back to work, I don't have time to talk about goals."He failed to see either the connection between his work and thegoals of the college or the discussion of institutional or programgoals as- part of his work. Unfortunately, this- attitude is notunusual among school and college staff members at any level ofthe operation.

Loss of Continuity in LearningOne of the disappointing aspects of the major reports on edu-

cational reform is the scant attention given to continuity inlearning. It is amazing that some students learn as much as theydo, given the tremendous gaps in the substance of their learningas a result of irregular class attendance.

There is a close correlation between poor attendance patternsand poor grades. In fact, irregular class attendance is an earlysignal of course failure and eventual dropping out of the schoolor college. High-school principals report ti: at poor student atten-dance continues to remain one of the key problems affecting thequality of education in their schools. Yet, how much attentionhas been given this subject in the reform reports? The answer isnot much.

In 1982, the National Center -for- Education Statistics_asked571 school districts, on behalf of the National Commission onExcellence, which policies or procedures were most importantfor improving academic achievement. Increased daily class atten-dance was listed by sixty-six percent of the sample and ninetypercent of the urban school districts as the most important.School leaders estimate a tremendous loss of continuity in learn-ing and consequent school failures through absenteeism. Iris oneof -the consistent barriers to excellence.

It is a fairly safe bet that overall student achievement-testscores would improve dramatically in most schools if student-

5342


attendance patterns improved. On the skill-acquiring levels, con-tinuity in learning is extremely important. If the student missesone or two basic steps, the next steps become increasingly diffi-cult to negotiate. As a consequence, one out of three or morestudents is constantly endeavoring to catch up. It is sad that mostof these students spend the rest of their lives attempting to catchup and never really do.

Fred Hechinger, long-time observer of the American educa-tional scene, has commented on the loss of continuity in learn-ing:

We are not very good at continuity ... as a result of that, Amer-ican education during the past few decades has become a collectionof disjointed parts that in the main fail to connect . . . The lack ofcontinuity that plagues American education is something that allof education needs to address. Instead of connecting the separatelevels, critics genezally compound the spirit of separation by seek-ing scapegoats instead of remedies_..

If we want to reform the schools, two things are essential. con-tinuity, all the way up the line, and understanding the "why" ofevery single course. Read Bruno Bettelheim on that. Whatever youteach, make the children understand why they are studyingit.Don't tell them. "You'll need it later." Later doesn't exist. (Hech-inger 1984)

There are other facets to the problem of continuity in learning.America is a mobile society, and that very mobility has contrib-uted to a. tremendous loss of continuity in learning. An estimatedtwenty tc twenty-five percent of public-school students attendmore than one school each year.

Schools by and large operate on the basis of local control andlocal autonomy. Consequently, the transient student rarely expe-riences the same curriculum in any two-schools. Basically, theAmerican school system still operates ls a cottage industry.fromschool to school teachers approach -the curriculum differentlyand use different textbooks. The student is thrown into a newand often strange environment with a new teacher or teachers, adifferent curriculum, and told to sink or swim. the teacher willdo his or her best to help, but with thirty other students, or 150

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54


in high schools, he or she has little time for individual attention.Insufficient attention has been given to the loss of learning con-tinuity in a highly mobile society. It remains a significant barrierto achieving excellence in education.

Other gaps cause loss of continuity in learning. How about thegap between high schools and colleges? For some students thisgap must seem like the Grand Canyon. A gap also exists betweenhigh-school 2nd college faculty. Some of this distance can beattributed to structure, which inhibits communication. High-school instructors talk with high.school instructors, communitycollege instructors talk community college instructors, anduniversity instructors talk with university instructors. It is onlyby much effort that the educational communication line; arecrossed.

Unlike European systems, which operate with a central min-istry of education, the American education system is highlydecentralized. There arc 14,140 independent school districts and1,222 dependent school districts (subject to the fiscal control ofcounty or city government) across America. Responsibility forthe actual operation of -the schools has been delegated by thevarious states to local school districts (excepting Hawaii, whichhas one -state -wide school system).

There are 1,221- public and private two-year community, tech-nical, and junior colleges, 1,992 public and private four-year col-leges and universities, and an- estimated 6,000 proprietary (pri-vate) technical schools. Tb.- private colleges operate in a largelyautonomous manner. The public two- and four-year collegesoperate under local boards of trustees or as a part of a stateuniversity system or as an independent state system operatingone segment of colleges. -In addition to that institutional frag-mentation, many have observed that there is no organism onearth more autonomous than a professor in -a major university.

As a- consequence of this highly decentralized educationalstructure, communication-among and between the various enti-ties and personnel involved becomes exceedingly difficult. Spe-cial efforts, particularly at state levels, are required to improvecommunication among education and educators at all levels.

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The Twelfth-Grade Throw-AwayFor too many students in too many high schools the twelfth-

grade experience doesn't amount to much. Many-students arriveat that point in their high-school experience needing only two orthree credits to graduate. As a consequence, the twelfth gradebecomes a "goof-off" year, a phenomenon which has seemed toincrease since the late 1960's. It should be noted that the movein nearly all states to increase graduation requirements shoulddo much to correct this problem. Nevertheless, far too manyhigh-school seniors are enrolled=imunstructuredsand unfocuscdprograms lacking in substance. Can excellence be cultivated anda first-rate education achieved when half or more of a high-schoolsenior class du not see this as a very important year of- learningfor them? With so much to be learned and so many new skills tobe developed, students must make better use of the twelfth grade.

Many leaders of technical education programs in communitycolleges are now observing that excellence in technical education,cannot -be- achieved in two college years, given-the current prep-aration-level of the students entering these programs. Wouldn'tit make educational as well as economic sense for schools andcolleges to utilize the twelfth grade more wisely instead ofextending the technical-programs to three college years?

Individual DifferencesIf we arc to become serious about meeting that great range of

individual differences in comprehensive high schools and com-prehensive comn-iunity colleges, instead of permitting-half ourstudents to slip through the "general education" crack we mustcultivate-c:gual-oriented educationalprogram diversity to matchthe diversity of the student body and levels of preparedness. Butwe cannot hope to develop such an appropriate educational diver-sity unless we recognize various forms of excellence. We mustreject the idea that excellence can -be found only in ccrtain uni-versity -oriented programs or in preparing for certain professions.

John Gardner has distilled some of our best thoughts on thevarieties of excellence:

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56

THE_NECLECTED MAJORITY_

Though we must make enormous concessions to individual dif-ferences in aptitude, we may properly- expect that every form ofeducation be such as to Stretch the individual to the utmost of hispotentialities. And we must expect each student to strive fax excel-lence in terms of the kind of excellence that is within his reach.Here again we must recognize that there -may be excellence orshoddiness in every line of human endeavor. We must learn tohonor excellence (indeed to demand it) in every socially acceptedhuman activity, however humble the activity, and to scorn shod-diness, however exalted the activity. As -I said in another connec-tion: An excellent plumber is infinitely more admirable_than_anincompetent philosopher. The society which scorns excellence inplumbing because plumbing is a- humble activity and toleratesshoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will haveneither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes norits theories will hold-water. (Gardner 1961)

The greatest single challenge facing instructors in elementaryschools, secondary schools, and to a significant degree in com-prehensive community colleges is how to meet the great rangeof individual differences in every classroom. In desperation schoolshave labeled students bluebirds, robins, and meadowlarks, oradvanced, terminal, and remedial, and arc still missing thermark.Consider the following. A thirty-five-year-old reading at the fourth-grade level (math skills arc probably at the same level of com-petency) wishes to take training to prepare for a job. This is whathe or she faces:

On the average, it takes fifty hours of intensive one-on-onetutoring to raise an adult one grade level in reading.It-usually takes the average adult 150 hours of adult basic-education classioom time to advance one grade level in read-ing or math.

How many thirty-five-year-olds-will or can commit this amountof time just to get ready for job training? A shocking quotationfrom a1979 Ford Foundation study tells the story. ". . . all currentliteracy efforts combined arc reaching less than four percent ofthose in need."

What can be done? Some high schools and community collegesarc developing a less labor-intensive alternative teaching-learn-

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ing approach using low-cost microcomputers as the core, alongwith other communications technology and with tutors. Researchdata from one producer of basic-skills software claim that chil-dren on the average will rise one grade level in reading in twentyhours on a computer and rise one grade level in math in twenty-five hours on a computer. The development of the microcom-puter, the video cassette recorder, and similar technologicalbreakthroughs hold much promise for helping instructors meetthe teaching challenges of individual differences. The VCR inparticular is becoming-common in-homes and-classrooms. Theschool and college library of the future will experience increasingpressure to accommodate video learning tapes and discs.

Can these technologies be used to teach basic skills to adults?Central-Piedmont-Community College in-Charlotte, North Car-olina, is gathering data to answer this question through its ABLE[Adult Basic Literacy Education) project, which combines micro-computers, VCRs, audio tapes, sound- slide programs, and tele-vision.

A news article describing the ABLE project in personal termsrecently appeared in The Charlotte Observer:

Miracles are not confined to the Bible nor Thanksgiving to asingle day of the year. Come to Freedom Mall Shopping Center andobserve a man whose mind-is blind to the printed word be made tosee. Willie Loyd is about to shuck the chains of functional illiteracy,free at last to embrace a world denied him all his life. Willie islearning to read.

He takes his seat before-a small cubicle in-the-shopping centerstore space converted into a Central Piedmont Community Collegeclassroom. Willie slips un a pair of blue headphones. He turns onhis Apple computer and the message from the cassette through theheadphones tells-him to punch certain computer keys. He does so.

What Central Piedmont is doing is to combine in a single programthe best-of technology and literacy teaching skills that have devel-oped recently as well as lung ago. Frank Laubach pioneered a methodto teach adults to read and write, beginning in 1930-in the Philip-pines. But where it may take fifty hours of individualized tutoringto move a student one elementary grade level in reading, computer-assisted learning can do it in about twenty hours.

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Images About Learning Become Barriers to ExcellenceOne of the tremendous problems we must overcome in

addressing individual differences in education is failing to sepa-rate the images from the realities. These inaccurate pictures inthe head about learning, as related to individual differences, con-tinue to present imposing barriers to achieving excellence ineducation. The following images must be separated from therealities before significant progress can be made in the movementtoward excellence.

Images Reality

1. Students all learn at approxi- 1. There arc vast individual dif-mately the same rate of speed. ferences among students of any

age in speed of learning andcomprehension of knowledge.

2. All students learn the bask. 2. Development of basic skillsskills by completion of the ele- must be placed upon a contin-mentary grades. -uum of learning with students

arriving at different points- atdifferent times. Excellence ineducation requires breaking thelockstep of arbitrary timerequirements for learning.

3. Students who fail to achieve in 3. Research suggests that givenschool either do nut want to adequate time for learning, andlearn or are unable to learn. favorable learhing conditions,

ninety-five percent of studentscan achieve mastery of any basicskill.

48J oti

4. The traditional ..extbuuk andlecture method cf instructionis the most effective method ofteaching for most students.

5. Real excellence can only befound among those students andprograms related to pursuanceof a baccalaureate degree.


4. Some students learn rapidly byone method of instruction andmore slowly under a differentapproach. However, after fif-teen years of experimentationand experience in more than3,000 schools, mastery teach-ing-learning appears consis-tently more effective than tra-ditional instruction.

5. Every high-school and collegeprogram must develop stan-dards of excellence. Excellenceis just as important to the air-craft technician as to the engi-neer. The notion of excellencemust be extended to everycourse and each student.

6t049

Chapter IV

Career Goals andEducational Excellence

The high school should help all students move with confidencefrom school to work and further education. Today, we trackstudents into programs for those who "think" and those who"work," when, in fact, life for all of us is a blend of both. Lookingto the year 2000, we conclude :hat, for most students,_twelveyears of schooling will be insufficient. Today's graduates willchange jobs several times. New shills will be required, new citizenshipobligations will be confronted. Of necessity, education will belifelong.

Ernest L. Boyer, High School: A Report onSecondary Education in America

61

Sidney P. Mar land Jr., the United States Commissioner ofEducation, stood before several thousand secondary-schoolprincipals in Houston, Texas, on January 23, 1971, andkicked off a bold new movement in American_education

by saying:

Most of you are secondary school administrators. You, like me,have been preoccupied most of the time with college entranceexpectations. Vocational- technical education teachers and admin-istrators have been either scorned ur condemned and we have beensilent.

There is illogic here as well as a massive injustice. How can weblame vocational educators for the hundreds of thousands of piti-fully incapable boys and girls who leave our high schools each yearwhen the truth is that the vast majority of these youngsters havenever seen the inside of a vocational classroom? They are theunfortunate inmates, in most instances, of a curriculum that isneither fish nor fowl, neither vocational not truly academic. Wecall it general education. I suggest we get rid of it ...

. .. The first attitude that we should change, I ggest, is ourown. We must purge ourselves of academic snobbery. For educa-tion's most serious failing is its self-induced, voluntary fragmen-tation, the strong tendency of education's several parts to separatefrom one another, to divide the entire enterprise against itself. Themost grievous example of these intramural class distinctions is, ofcourse, the false dichotomy between things academic and thingsvocational. As a first step, I suggest we dispose of the term voca-tional education, and adopt the term career education. Every youngperson in school belongs in that category at some point, whetherengaged in preparing to be a surgeon, a bricklayer, a mother, or asecretary.

What has happened to career educationover these past fourteenyears? The phrase has almost been eliminated from -the educa-tional vocabulary. In fact, "career education" appears about ready

53

62


to join the long hst of oxymorons circulated as joks, like "mil-itary intelligence," "legal brief," and "congressional action."

Was career education a bad idea? What has been the residualimpact of the career education movement? No one knows forsure what happened to career education, but it is fairly safe tosay that much of the salutary information developed about careereducation has been lost in the current rhetoric about academicexcellence.

Some - Images -of Career Education

The career-education movement has nearly foundered becauseof a lack of definition and 2 fuzzy image. What is the picture thatpops into your head when you hear the phrase "career educa-tion"?

Let us- examine soa_ current images of career education.Depending upon orientation and background, one can summarizethese images under six- or seven- categories. First, the generalpublic still has what can be called the "old car" image. For manypeople career education is a group of boys gathered around anold car. Even many teachers have inherited this image. Far toomany individuals see career education as something applyingprimarily to buys working with their hands and as purely voca-tional.

Next, some- educators have what can be called -the "dumb/smart" image. As far as they- are concerned,_ career education isfor all the "dumb kids" and so- called- academic education is forall- the "smart" students. Somehow we have not yet eliminatedthe words "dumb" and "smart" from our educational vocabular-ies. Much has been discovered over the past twenty years aboutlearning and the process of intellectual growth. Benjamin Bloom,one of the leading educational researchers in this country, recentlymade the following comment. "We have learned that individualdifferences in learning are differences in rates of learning, not inbasic ability or capability. With appropriate teaching methods asmany as ninety percent of students have learned, in time, up tothe level of the top ten percent in earlier groups."

The 1973 National Teacher of the Year, Jack Ensworth of Bend,

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6.3

CAREER COALS AND EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Oregon, has stated this concept in another way. "If only thebeautiful birds sang, the forests would be quiet indeed."

Regardless of the research and despite our rhetoric about theuniqueness of each individual, many people still advocate that"academic" means advanced and is for the "smart" studentsand that career education is for the "dumb" students.

Here is- an interesting illustration of the way in which thedumb/smart image makes an impact on the curriculum. Abouttwice as many jobs require welding as a background skill andexperience as jobs which require chemistry. Yet nearly everyhigh school has a chemistry laboratory -and= chemistry courses,while relatively few high schools have welding labs or offer weld-ing courses. Why? Many school boards and school administratorsindicate they can't afford _a welding lab,_but they can afford theexpensive chemistry lab which does not have the potential ofserving nearly as many students as does the welding lab. Thisillustration does not denigrate chemistry, but only illustrates ourtendency to put our money on what the "picture in our heads"envisions as important.

A third fallacious image of career education can be called the"foot-stool and end-table" image. Have we made enough endtables and foot stools in-our school wood-working shops for aspell? If there is any single great weakness in the career educationmovement, it is in the middle grades, seven through ten. Home-making- teachers and industrial arts teachers must be challengedto lead- the way in devising opportunities for boys and girls toexplore all career families or clusters of occupations in the lab-otatories, in the subject-matter classrooms, and in the commu-nities. If we limit our definition of career education to "foolingaround" in the shop, making another foot stool, we have missedthe mark. Perhaps now is the time to suggest that what we haveknown as industrial arts be considered prevocational rather thanvocational training.

Another image can be called the "playtime" image. This writerrecalls visiting the classroom of a second-grade teacher who wasproud of the work she had been doing in "career education." Thestudents had spent much of the school year building a scale-model barn. Although it may have provided a certain amount of

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learning experience, the sehool's principal described the projectas a disorganized game. He said that although -the students hadenjoyed the project, tests revealed they had not improved theirskills in reading, writing, or computing. They probably didn'tlearn very much about farming as a career, either. At this point,one Lan only recall the misunderstanding and misapplications ofthe theories of John Dewey and other "progressive" educators. Ifwe allow career education to become another form of recess, itwill continue to evaporate as have some other fine notions ineducation. Career _education=should=bring-more -meaning to=thecurriculum, not less. A barn-building project could be used- toimprove basic skills, while at the same tim. Informing young-sters about some of the careers associated with agricUlture andconstruction.

Principals, like other people, often operate on the basis ofpictures -in their heads, and their images-of career education canalso be inaccurate. Some administrators have developed- whatmight be called the "dumping groundiinage, which _is closelyrelated to the "dumb/smart" image. In their high schools, one(Amid veil retitle thy: woodworking shop classes Dumping GroundI for the sophomores, Dumping Ground II for the juniors, andDumping Ground111 for the seniors. The wood shop often becOrnesa place where students are dumped when school counselors andadministrators do not know what else to do-with them. Often,the vocational- teacher-is good at-handling students with behav-ioral problems and so ``shop -is whereithe behavioral problemsare dumped. An obvious question must be asked. How- many -ofthese behavioral problems arc created because the student seesno purpose, no meaning, in his or her academic program? Doesthat Student see a relationship between-what he or she needs tomeet the challenges of real life and his or her schooling experi-ences?

Certain legislators have another image of career education.This is the "we can't afford it" image. At a legislative hearing Ican recall a state senator, who also happcned to be a junior-high-school teacher, talking about the cost of career education. Lean-ing back in his chair, he said, "We can't. afford career education.Why, did you know that you could build fourteen or fifteen

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regular high schools for what it costs to build one vocationalhigh school?" This image errs in two ways. First, career educationand vocational education should not be confused. The separatevocational-high-school idea limits the notion of career educationto specific job training for certain jobs. Second, the senator's costestimate is only an image in his head. A vocational high schoolsuch as he envisions would have gold-plated door knobs andmarble halls.

True, some specific job training classrooms do cost more -toequip than -do- English classrooms, but many of them do not. Asan example, speedi is one of the communication skills requiredfor many careers, e.g., law enforcement, nursing, sales, teaching,the ministry. Yet, the speech class is not viewed as a part of thecareer-education program in most schools. Plainly, the erroneousimage in the head must be replaced with a -more accurate pictureof what career education is about.

Plato Over AristotleAmerican education over the years has favored Plato's ideas of

"classical education" over the more practical ideas of Aristotle.In fact, an important body of leaders in this country today holdsthat anything called "vocational education" has no place in theschool curriculum, that the term "education" refers only to thedevelopment of the intellectual proficiencies and knowledge dis-semination. Socrates followed this line of logic. "This is the onlyeducation which, upon our view, deserves the name; that othersort of training which aims at the acquisition of wealth or bodilystrength, or mere cleverness apart from intelligence or justice, ismean and illiberal, and is not worthy to be called education atall."

Scholar and long-time observer of the American educationalscene, Keith Goldhammer rebuts-this position:

The establishment of a public school system in the United Statesbased upon the Platonic intellectual tradition has tended towardan elitist conception of_its functions, has emphasized its selectivecharacteristics, and has at least partially abrogated its responsibil-ities-for the seventy five to eighty percent of its students who bynative ability, interest, and aspiration arc identifiable with the

6657


practical affairs of our culture rather then inclined toward the moreabstract and conceptual activities of the academic disciplines .

That which is needed in today's world is neither a new brand ofacademicism nor a new style of vocationalism, but a fusion of thetwo. The emerging conception which may obliterate the falsedichotomy between the academic and the vocational is -that ofcareers education. (Goldhammer and Taylor 1972)

Black intellectuals Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBoisspent much of their lives debating the issue of the academicversus the practical. DuBois was interested primarily in educat-ing gifted black- youth, believing that if well educated, the giftedwould educate and lead the masses. Washington emphasizededucation for the masses, self-employment, and the necessity forblack young people to work with both their heads and theirhands. He believed that "The Intellectuals," as he called-them,understood theories but were not knowledgeable enough in prac-tical matters -to become well-educated artisans, businessmen,and property owners.

Although in later years DuBois admitted that Washington wasnght, it was too late to turn the tide, DuBois' position had gainedthe ascendancy. As an example, in Washington, D.C., a city thatis seventy percent black, vocational- education has generallyreceived the cold shoulder. The District Board of Education allot-ted less than four percent of its 1984 budget -to the vocationalhigh schools, which enroll over ten percent of the high-schoolstudents. There is the lingering feeling that vocational educationrepresents something inferior. (Press 1984)

When Washington- Technical Institute was- merged- with -theUniversity of the District of Columbia, it didn't take long formany of the -two -year technicianeducation programs to be phasedout as unfitting for a university curriculum. Isn't it amazing thatwe honor tennis as something worthy of college credit, but self-defense for a law enforcement officer as unworthy, or weldingas art as worthy of college credit, but welding as an occupationas unworthy?

If, on the other hand, we believe it should be the primarypurpose of education to help each student become a fully corn-petent, self-motivating, self-fulfilling member of our society, then

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CAREER GOALS AND EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE

it is time to dust off the literature and to redirect the old- career-education discussions toward a careers-education orientation.The evidence indicates that life roles in one form or anotherremain the central and dominating force in the lives of mosthuman beings, and the requirements of these various life rolesshould be the beginning points for any discussion of educationalgoals. One of the reasons dissatisfaction is often expressed aboutmodern schools is that we have failed to match in any system-atic way the goals of schooling with the life role needs of indi-viduals living in our modern society.

Information RichExperience PoorJames S. Coleman has called the society of seventy years ago

-informa tion-poor_bu t experience rich." (Coleman 1972) Peoplereceived most of their information from books or from neighbors,but they were involved in all kinds of experiences. Usually chil-dren were given responsibilities or chores, from which they learnedpractical skills and gained experience.

Today we live in -a_ different society, an information-rich butexperience-poor society. In fact, children acquire so much infor-mation- from television that many suffer from -too much data.They are not emotionally equipped to assimilate or interpret allthey see and hear without the personal experience that providesrealistic perspective. They see a president shot and brutal scenesof wartime combat before their eyes before they have seen a deadrabbit or suffered the loss of a pet dog. When they enter theclassroom they are confronted with even more information, oftenas ambiguous as and generally less interesting than_that on tele-vision.

How, then, can schools provide-experiences that will- enablestudents to relate information to the real-life roles that constitutea part of living for all but a few of the most handicapped? Thatis the question that careers education can answer. It is the pri-mary purpose of careers education to help connect information.and knowledge with real-life experiences. Young people of todayand tomorrow need an information-rich, experience-rich educa-tional program.

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Maslow's Theory of Basic Human NeedsAbraham Maslow's theory of basic human needs provides

instructive insight into understanding the purpose of careerseducation. Maslow contends that the human being is mott atedby several basic needs. These needs are intrinsic and generic andare organized into a need hierarchy of relative potency. Through.out his life a person is always desiring something and is satisfiedcompletely for only brief periods. As each desire is satisfied it isreplaced by another.

Most individuals in American-society have partially satisfiedmany basic needs while still maintaining, unsatisfied, others thatmotivate and drive them. Maslow found that individuals whosatisfy their basic needs are healthier, happier, and more effec-tive, while those whose needs are frustrated develop psychopath-ological symptoms.

The most powerful and basic need is for survival, both phys-iological and emotional. Maslow indicates that once the survivalneeds are satisfied to a degree, safety needs emerge. Any goodteacher of young children knows -that the child needs a secureworld. When security and a degree of consistency are absent, thechild becomes anxious. With a preponderance of survival andsafety needs met, the needs for love and belonging emerge.

The fourth level of need revolves around at least two kinds ofesteem needs. self-esteem and respect from others. Self-esteemneeds include feelings of competence, confidence, achievement,and independence.

Emily, after adequate satisfaction of the love and esteem needs,the need for self-actualization generally emerges. This highestlevel of need stems from that constant human drive to explorethe human potential and nurture -that potential into all it canbecome. (Maslow -1954)

What does a hierarchy of needs have to do with the goals andpurposes of schooling? The first purpose of the great Americandream called "universal schooling" is to meet each individual atthe point of his or her need. Unfortunately, schools and collegestoo often meet students at the point of institutional rather thanstudent need. One must look at the basic needs of human beingsto gain an understanding of student need. If the first level of need

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is survival, does it make sense to force every student to sit throughthe self-actualizing experiences of Shakespeare and Homer andignore his or her survival needs? This is not to intimate thatliterature is unimportant, however, if schools and colleges are tomeet students at the point of their greatest need, the motivationalaspects of the graduated scale of need must be recognized.

Human needs are motivational in nature and mustbe met, atleast partially, in rank order. American schools and colleges oftenaim for the self-actualizing and-higher-level needs while ignoring

=the-lower -level ncJb, particularly self-esteem needs. What com-petencies arc required to'build self-esteem? What kinds of com-petencies are required to cope successfully with life as a citizen,wage earner, consumer, and learner Careers education can-helpdevelop these-competencies so that students will see reality andmeaning in their education. When schooling focuses on the real-life career roles of individuals and the competencies required tocope with those careers and roles, we will sec-a positive educa-tional change for the neglected majority of our students.

By giving young people a variety of opportunities for real-lifeexperiences, we will solve several problems indirectly. Tradi-tionally, we-have -tried to attack emotional- racial,- ethical/moral,and cultural problems by telling people what to dotelling themto be-moral, for example, But schooling must be more than -tell-ing. It must provide opportunities for students to experience andcope with real situations.

Through real-life experiences, the high-school student oftomorrow can begin to feel more confident about himself orherself. He or she can feel tolerant toward others by developing

skills required for coping with real life. Schooling will providethe student with a healthy atmosphere as rich in experiences asin information. Thus, schooling of the 1990's and beyond willprovide students with esteem-building experiences to enable themto act as independent, contributing citizens in the remainingdecade of the twentieth century and beyond.

Careers education affords students opportunities to meet thebasic human needs of survival, security, belonging, self-esteem,and self-actualization. Through this curriculum, the schoolingexperience will provide genuine involvement in learning because

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THE-NEGLECTED MAJORITY

real-life needs will determine the purposes and priorities ofsecondary-school education.

Needed: Some Real-Life Therapy

The school curriculum has not kept in step with the times andwith the real-life needs of a changing society. The needs havechanged, but the schools and the school cuzliculum have not.We still operate information-rich but experience-poor schools.

The competencies required to cope with real-life roles and theirrelationship to the school curriculum are the crucial issues facingthe schools today. These issues are interrelated, and the measureby which they are made compatible will largely determine thesignificance of all schooling activity. The fact that schools arebusy and teachers are skilled does not necessarily mean that theschools are accomplishing the right things. Two questions mustbe asked of modern schools. Which real-life needs are you meet-ing? How well are you meeting these identified needs ? Thesequestions must be posed continually.

It is common for students to know more about the Eskimos ofAlaska and the Incas of Peru than about their own city council,the property taxation system, the justice system, or even votingin ele,:tions. The percentage of young people eighteen to twenty-four participating in our elections has dropped about twentypercent over the last decade- (sec Figure 8). Most young peoplehaven't the foggiest idea who levies the taxes that support theirown schools and how or why they arc levied. As we examine thechanges in our society over the past seventy-five years, we findthat in our highly urbanized society some citizenship = problemsare apparent that were not apparent when one could ride one'shorse to the county seat. For example, we don't talk much in ourschools about citizenship on our streets and highways, yet over40,000 people arc killed annually in traffic accidents.

During the tenure of this writer as superintendent of publicinstruction in Oregon, an excellent curriculum guide on localand state governments was published by the State Departmentof Education. I was visiting a U. S. history and civics teacher oneday and asked, "How do you like the curriculum guide on localgovernments?"

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"Oh, I'm not using it. I'm too busy teaching about the federalgovernment. I -just don't have -time to get into state or localgovernment."

Our curricula and textbooks are filled with emphasis on thefederal government. Our students -must know about the U.S.Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but we just don't seem tohave time to do much with local and state governments, the

Figure 8

Percent of 18 to 24 Year Olds Reported Having Voted,1962-1982

%-Having-Voted-

60_

50_PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTIONS40_

20_

0

OFF-YEAR ELECTIONSillo ammo worm woo.

I I I

1964 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82

YEAR

NOTE. Tht. bh.ldt.d aria is tilt. pt,tiod priut to passage of the eunstitutional amendmentwhich lowered the national voting age u From 1964 to 1970, the minimum votingage was 21 in 46 states and the District of Columbia, 20 in Hawaii, 19 in Alaska, and18 in Georgia and Kentucky. Thus, fur the 1964 -1970 period, the graph shows thcproportion of 18 24 year uld voters from among those-who were eligible under varyingstate laws.

Source. Luttcnt rupulattur, neputta. Aettea P 2u, nu. J97.buung a Regiatattun in the LleetitinNovember 1984" (advance report). U.S. Bureau of Census, 1985,

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TUE NEGLECTED MAJORITY

governments closest to the people. There is a tremendous lackof congruence between what we emphasize in schools and thecompetencies required to cope with modern life, even in the areaof citizenship. In short, real life feels mighty uncomfortable inthe school and college environment.

Life Roles

A life role is usually described as that which an individualperforms throughout his or her life. The role is defined by theexpectations that an individual and others:have-for it as well asby certain ideal norms that society in general attaches to it. The"life careers" roles with which all of us are simultaneously involvedinclude the roles of individual (being myself, being an "I"), life-long learner, family member, producer, consumer, and_citizen.The role of individual includes participation in avocational pur-suits and being aware of and committed- to aesthetic, moral,health, and spiritual values.

The question then becomes, how does schooling relate to thoselife roles? Successful performance in life roles requires more thanknowledge, yet for some educators in the Platonic tradition, themain business of education is- knowledge dissemination. Stu,dents should be told about their -life careers or roles and shouldreceive information relating to those roles. But that is not thesame as recognizing that they are living those roles every day, infact are experiencing life roles with or without the kind of school-ing that will help enable them to achieve a measure of successand fulfillmentyes, even survivalin those roles.

It is the objective of careers education to help individuals developthe proficiencies to be able to cope successfully with whateverMay be thrown at them in their various life roles. The reasoncareers education must be revisited is clear enough. the educa-tional establishment itself just may be finally convinced that theideas of Plato will not suffice in a universal contemporary edu-cational program. Any honest look at our schools reveals thatthey are failing to meet a majority of the real-life needs of amajority of students. Ear too many of our current educationalpractices and requirements are based not only upon the philos-ophy of Plato, but also upon the needs of a society of seventy

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or eighty years ago. Young people have indeed outgrown ourpresent-day schools,

We can see seven great strands running through the schoolcurriculum. these are the competencies related to the life rolesof- learner, citizen, consumer, wage earner, individual, leisure-time pursuer, and family member. The first four strands comprise:the primary areas of accountability for the schools. The latterthree are shared with the home and other agencies and representthe secondary areas of accountability for education. Schools shareaccountability with the home, the church, television, and othergovernmental agencies tohelp young people develop the com-petencies to function effectively as family members, self-renew-ing individuals, and leisure-time pursuers. The schematic rep-resentation that follows (Figure 9) is suggested as a. careers-edu-cation paradigm around which -to structure the school curricu-lum.

Let's Call-It Careers EducationWhat is the correct image of careers education and how can

present inaccurate images be changed? When the goals and objec-tives-of any-organization or enterprise -are fuzzy, _the. actions_ ofthe organization -tend to take on- the same fuzziness. Americaneducation suffers from a "fuzzy goals" syndrome. We can't askeducators to_be held accountable unless we first spell out whatthey are to be held to account for.

Let's look at a notion or two that might bring a degree of clarity.First, let us define careers education as that delivery system-which helps students develop the competencies required -to func-tion in the real-life roles of learner, wage earner, citizen, con-sumer, family member, leisure-time pursuer, and individual.Thinking in terms of the competencies required to function effec-tively in life roles is one way of removing the fuzziness from thegoals of schooling. Schools could begin by diagnosing studentneeds as related to these life roles. It is the hope_ of this writerthat every state legislature would also join in th.:. pai-settingtask. The point of access for policy-makers into the teaching/learning-process should be determining what should be accom-plished by schooling, not how it should be accomplished.

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Figure 9

Careers-Education Paradigm

Career Role Competencies

Write

Compute

Memorize

ReadI

5

Analyze/interpret

7 Identify /assimilate

6 Converse /listen

Evaluate quantity and quality of goods

I

Use consumer assistanceagencies

66

Understand buying-with credit

6 Understand basic legaldocuments (e.g., con-tracts, warranties, billsof sale(

5 Compute interest rates

4Understand provisions ofstandard insurance policies

75


Figure 9 continued


Analyze employment trends

I

Plan for a carcer/voca- 2 8 Develop sometion saleable skills

Understand the pro- 3 EARNERS 7 Understand payrollcesses of production deductionsand consumption

Prepare iob applica 4 6 Understand the meaningLion forms "inflation" and "wage"

5Develop effective interviewingtechniques

Create something

Develop avocational skillsfrionsport hobbies)

I

4 Develop recreationalskills (sports)

3Enhance aesthetic appreciation

7 667


Figure 9 continued


Explain the judicial systemI

Explain local govern-ment operation

6 Understand basic principlesof economic and govern-mental operations

Locate community 3 5 Identify with community,resources state, and national issues

4 .Cope with bureaucracies

Understand legal and socialresponsibilities of parenting

1

Plan for long-range 2economic security

Learn to deal with 3family crises (e,g.,divorce, illness, death,etc.)

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5 Understand familyplanning

4Develop family activities

Undcr.tand mentalhealth principles


Figure 9 continued

Understand physical healthprinciples

1

4 Develop interpersonaland intergroup rela-tionship skills

3Develop principles for makingmoral choices

Some Characteristics of Careers EducationFirst and foremost, careers education is a learner-centered bridge

between the time-honored subject-matter disciplines and thecompetencies required of an individual to cope with modern life.It is an information -rich and experience-rich education basedupon life-role proficiencies.

Our daily lives do not -fall neatly into math, social science,English, and science compartments. One great problem for themodern public schools is a lack of congruence between thc tra-ditional time-honored subject-matter disciplines and the com-petencies- required to function in real life. In a careers-educationprogram student competence is defined as demonstrated abilityto apply knowledge, understanding, or skills assumed to contrib-ute to success in life. Therefore, embedded deep within the phi-losophy of careers education is the idea that every student inelementary and-secondary school must have-the opportunity todevelop the competencies required to function effectively in his

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or her real-life roles. Thus, there is a profound shift in emphasisfrom what is to be taught to what is to be learned and-to theoutcomes of schooling. This is probably the most basic and pow-erful characteristic of a careers-education philosophy. it is real-life oriented and learner centered.

The second major characteristic of careers education is a clearpolicy demand. Educators seem strangely reluctant to talk aboutpolicy demands, but the schooling enterprise is chaotic unless apolicy demand is made upon the school system and- clear- out-come signals are given. The school system is really not a system;it is a- nonsystem. The onlY factors that hold this nonsystemtogether arc many good teachers and good administrators work-ing very hard. Every quality organization or system requires cleargoals or targets. =When the goals are fuzzy or-out,of focus, every-thing in the organization assumes the same image. As a result,the schools-respond to real-life needs in all kinds of inconsistentways. Some clear policy - demand- signals arc required.

The most positive effect of the careers-education movementmay be its role in encouraging educators and the communitiesthey serve to reexamine together what is to be taught and, more_important, what is to be learned. This locus just may result in agreater degree of congruence between the expectations of- stu-dents, the public, and the educators. Everyone will have a clearerpicture of what the schools are to accomplish.

A renewed emphasis upon the expected outcomes of learningsets the stage for the introduction of careers education. A goal-based policy demand provides the framework for establishing,conceptualizing; and integrating the processes and procedures ofcareers education. Here is the kind of clear signal polieymakersshould consider writing into every policy handbook for schools.

The education of the student results from a combined effort ofhome, church, community, schools, and the media. It shall be theresponsibility of our schools to help students develop individualcompetencies to function in the career roles of learner, individual;wage earner, citizen, consumer, and family member.

The schools have an important but shared responsibility and asecondary role in helping students develop social, emotional; cul-tural, and ethical /moral values. It is important that the schools

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support and reinforce the home and other community institutionsin these areas.

The first priority for the use of schooling resources shall be tohelp students develop the competencies to function as life-lunglearners.

This type of statement not only begins to make a policy demandupon the system, but also begins to define areas for which schoolscan be held accountable. Under the current system, schools areheld accountable fot results they haven't the remotest possibilityof achieving. The schools Must deal with goals- that they areuniquely equipped, by training and by financing, to accomplish.

The third characteristic of careers education is a real-life ori-entation as expressed in life Jules. The American public-schoolsystem operates within a web of "tensions:" The major strand inthis web of tensions is the relationship between individual andsocietal needs and the goals and activities of the schools. Muchof what is done by the schools is done well, but the -key questionis, Should it be done at all: Are the schools addressing the highestpriority needs?

Many of the majoi concerns in our society have no home inthe modern school curriculum. Where is the home in the curric-ulum for environmental concerns? Is it in chemistry or biologyor social science or business? Where is the home for consumer-education concerns? Is it in business or the social sciences ormath? Where is the home for intergroup human- relations con-cerns: What part of the school curriculum is responsible forhclping people learn about dealing with their local government,voting on tax proposals, working with planning commissions?Where is the accountability in the modern school curriculum forhelping a person develop the competencies to become a life-longlearner, to analyze, to improve his or her memory? We oftenleave these vital concerns to chance and continue to insist onmeeting the student at the point of some arbitrary subject-matterneed rather than at the point of real-life needs.

The fourth characteristic of careers education -is that lessemphasis will be placed upon time. Students must be allowed tomove and recycle through the instructional and evaluation pro-cess easily. Time must be used flexibly. Not all learners are nine-

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week or eighteen-week learners. Rate of learning is the key dif-ference among learners. Proponents of careers education are notas interested in how long it takes a student to master a givencompetency as they arc. in mastery itself.

A fifth characteristic of careers education is that clear expectedoutcome statements arc placed "up front" as guides for bothinstructors and learners. There should be no surprises in theinstructional or evaluation process. The instructor teaches to thegoals, and the measurement and evaluation process occurs_whenlearners demonstrate the ability to meet clearly defined outcomerequirements, For example, when teaching swimming, theinstructor teaches to the :test by having the student swim fromone end of the pool to the other. That is one clearly anticipatedoutcome; and there arc no trick questions or surprises. The samecan be said for computing interest rates or reading a newspaperor locating a book in a library.

Careers education does not turn its back on traditional subjectmatter or on time-hor,ored instructional techniques, it only insiststhat the instructional program be based, atleast in part, on real-life needs and that students demonstrate the applicability ofwhat they haveJearneth

Perhaps now is also the time to rethink the purposes of thehigh-school graduation ceremony. Wouldn't it be more meaningful for the high school graduate to sit down with his or herparents, teachers, and perhaps a peer or two in a small groupsetung to demonstrate, as well as to discuss, his or her life-rolecompetencies in a series of real-life tests?

How Would Schooling-Be Different With Careers Education:Let us examine only one of the life roles, that of wage earner

or producer, as an illustration. Let- it be emphasized again thatcareers education isnot synonymous with vocational education,although the latter is a significant aspect of careers education.American education has suffered from a misunderstanding of theplace and value of vocational education. Unfortunately, the- imagein the minds of too many people is that vocational education isonly specific lob training. Instead, it is a way to help young people

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develop the competencies they need to be wage earners and pro-ducers. It is-only one of several goals for schooling.

First, all of ba.,ic education must be infused with practicalexamples from the world of work and life roles. Even students inthe primary grades must be able to see some relationship betweenwhat they are learning and the utility of that learning. Indeed,career awareness in- the- elementary -schools should bring morelife, more meaning, more experience, and more rigor to theseearly school experiences. Why not develop readers and librarycollections- around world -of- work - themes?

Second, career exploration in the middle grades can bring newpurpose to those difficult adolescent years. Exploration does notmean that students will visit a little in -the community or thatthey -will -talk a bit about jobs. Career exploration- demands arigorous multidisciplinary approach with industrial arts andhomemaking teachers leading the way. The new pre-vocationalprogram -- will explore all of the clusters and families of occupatiuns, of which some fifteen to eighteen, with such titles as healthoccupations and mechanics occupations, are identified. Boys andgirls in the middle years should be able to explore all of theclusters, not just some -of -them.

The challenge fur -the pre-vocational program is to- bring -moreinto the program and-to provide a -meaningful and rigorous

middle school curriculum. For example, in the world of construc-tion the building of a house can be a rich experience. Teachersmust nut only talk about the- occupations involved in mixingmortar and cement, they must help students lay up a few bricksand experience the mixing of mortar. But that isn't all. Theillustration of constructing a building provides tremendousopportunities fur basic education. Who planned the building acrdhow -was the planning done: How was the money raised to payfor the building' What math is-involved in building something?There are hundreds of -real -life examples other than constructionthat could be utilized to bring life and experiences to the curric-ulum.

At the end of a three- or four-year period, students will haveexplored all the major dusters or families of occupation and havehad actual lab experiences related to aspects of these occupations.

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They also will have begun to understand the relationships betweeneconomics, mathematics, communications, and other disci-plines.

Beginning with the eleventh grade, students would choose oneof three curricular majors:

a college-prep/bac Alaureate-degree majora 2 + 2 tech-prep/associate-degree majora vocational cluster major

All three majors would focus on preparation fc: the next stepfor -the student, whatever that step might Le. -Al:_ three majorswould also include a common core of learning, including com-munication skills, social sciences, physical education. Mathe-matics and the physical:biological sciences would be tailored foreach major. Allowances for individual differences in learningsix; d and style would be required in the common core. Vv herctverpossible, common-core learning would be linked with real-lifeexamples cmanating from the careers-education emphasis.

The college preparatory /baccalaureate- degree program wouldnot vary much from the current grade eleven and twelve programexcept that a fore;gn language might be added where appropriate.

The tech-prep:associate-degree program would include a Prin-ciples of Technology course iapplied physics) and some- cooper-ative r ducation and:or technical lab work along with the c im-mon core learning. The details of the progam will be explainedin Chapter VII.)

The vocational cluster program would include -the commoncore of learning along with any of the career clusters for specificlaboratory work, i.e., accounting, agriculture, clerical-secretarial,construction, electrical, food service, graphic arts, health ser-vices, marketing, mechanical, metals, traf,sportation. The -labo-ratory experiences would be built around- the knowledge andskills common to the occupations that comprise the cluster orfamily of occupations.

The career-cluster program is not conceived ,s a means ofdeveloping a finished product or journeyman in any given -occupation. Rather, it should provide opportunities for developingentry-level skills for certain jobs and some second.level skills for

74 8


others. The result_ of the cluster effort should be that the studentwill enjoy greater flexibility in occupational choice patterns. Netonly will students develop some entry-level skills, but they willalso have an opportunity to appraise their own abilities in re!3-tion to several levels of occupations.

The Colorado Department of Education, u.Acler the leadershipof Commissioner of Education Calvin Frazier, has added a sig-nificant dimension to the career-education program with thedevelopment of an "employability skills program." Since_the fallof 1983, educators, employers, and community leaders in twelveColorado communities have been engaged in the developmentof an employability/transition-skills effort. As a result of thiseffort, all high-school studcnts will maintain a portfolio showingprogress in attaining skills for transition to employment or post-secondary study. Upon graduation from high school, the studentcan present this portfolio to prospective employers and/or collegepersonnel. (See form at conclusion of this chapter.)

As a postscript to this chapter, it is important to emphasizethat careers education is also applicable to the collegiate curric-ulum. The Dallas County Community_College District in Dallas,Texas, has been developing for several years a "Skills for Living"

Figure 10

Grades 11 and 12 Curriculum Structure

TwoElectiveCourses

Five MathMajor SciencesCourses Technical

Five Communication SkillsCommon Core Social StudiesCourses Physical Educa-ton

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common-learning program that forms the basic curricular goalsof that large system of community colleges. After extensive reviewby faculty and administrative committees nine common learninggoals have been developed and adopted:

1 Living as a Learner: Each DCCCD college will provide stu-dents opportunities to develop learning skills (reading, writ-ing, speech- communication, and computation) throughassessment, advisement, and instruction.

2 Living with Yourself: Each DCCCD college will provide direc-tion and opportunities for students to become more com-petent in developing themselves as individuals.

3. Civing_with Others: Each DCCCD college will provide oppor-tunities for students to become more proficient in estab-lishing and maintaining satisfying relationships withothers.

4 Living with Environments. Each DCCCD college will provideopportunities for students to understand the relationshipbetween individuals and their environments and makeresponsible decisions about the use of natural, human, tech-nological, and spatial resources.

5. Living as a Producer: Each DCCCD college will provideopportunities for students to become more competentproducers.

6. Living as a Consumer: Each DCCCD college will provideopportunities for students -to become more competent asconsumers.

7 Living in the Community. Each DCCCD college will provideopportunities for students to become more competent inusing their skills and initiative to serve their local, national,and world communities and improve their quality of life.

8. Living Creatively: Each DCCCD college will provide oppor-tunities for students to become proficient in the assess-ment, development, and application of their creative abili-ties.

9. Living in the Future. Each DCCCD college will provide oppor-tunities for students to become more proficient in antici-

76

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pating and accommodating change and to become morecompetent in examining possible alternatives for the future.

The Dallas County Community College District faculty haverecognized that many common learning goals were alreadyaddressed through the curriculum. But it was difficult for facultyor students to determine, with any degree of precision, just howthe goals were be3ng met. It was felt that the "Skills for Living"goals could best be attained-by identifying and developing com-mon learning requirements. This requires the maintenance ofseveral delicate balances throughout the college program. A bal-ance must be maintained between:

skill development and knowledge acquisition. The devel-opment of basic literacy skills, conceptual skills, and life=long learning skills is fundamental to common learning inthe community college, as is the mission of introducingknowledge likely -to help students live with greater profi-ciency and humanity.training and education. The committee vie ws as valuableboth equipping students for work and expanding humanunderstanding and vision.the structure of the curriculum which reflects the commonlearning commitments and the process of integrating thislearning through curriculum review.the breadth and specificity of course and program content.choice and commonality. The ;..,liege acknowledges studentdifferences by offering learning and content choice balancedwith a core of experiences common to all.student needs and external requirements of four-year insti-tutions.

As the leaders ofhigh-school:, and community colleges beginfocusing upon careers education [whether it be called "skills forliving," "life-role education," or ",zareers education"), it will beeasier to bring continuity and coherence to the learning experi-ence regardless of the educational level.

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Figure II

Identification of Essential Employability SkillsDIRECTIONS: Check those skills thatare essential for students to acquire sothat they will be well prepared to obtainemployment and be successful on the job.In making judgments consider your ownjob experience. Add to part "M. Other"any skills which you consider essentialwhich are not listed.

Please refer to the handout entitled"Identification of Employability Skills"for examples of each skill.

A. JOB SEEKING-CAREERDEVELOPMENT SKILLS1. Knows sources of information2. Knows own abilities, aptitudes,

interests3. Knows occupational

characteristics4. Identifies career/occupational

goals5. Develops a career plan6. Identifies and researches

potential employers7. Knows employment position(s)

desired8. Accurately completes:

a. Inquiry letterb. Resumec. Follow-up letter

9. Accurately completes jobapplication

10. Handles interview without errorsH. Seeks information about future

education/training

B. MATH SKILLS1. Understands importance of math

in jobs2. Performs basic calculations (+,

--, x, '4-)3. Performs calculations in:

a. Fractionsb. Percentagesc. Proportions/Ratios

4. Makes reasonable estimates5. Uses values from graphs, maps,

tables6. Uses English/metric

measurement

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87

Name

Date

7. Compares numerical values8. Applies geometric pnnciples9. Uses formulas correctly

10. Constructs diagrams, tables,records

11. Uses elementary statistics12. Uses instruments to solve

problems:a. Gauges, Meters, Scalesb. Calculatorsc. Computers

COMPUTER SKILLS1. Becomes aware of computer

functions2. Inputs and accesses data from

computer3. Has experience with computer

programsa. Business applicationsb. Data managemente. Simple programmingd. Word processing

4. Understands issues associatedwith computer use

D. READING SKILLSI. Understands the importance of

reading in jobs2. Develops vocabulary related to

careers and occupations3. Reads for details and special

information4. Interprets pictures, graphs, and

symbols(:) 5. Locates information in reference

materials6. Follows intent of written

directions/Instructions7. Interprets ideas and concepts

(comprehension)121 8. Reads accurately at appropriate

rate

E.

00000000


Figure 11 continued

WRITING SKILLSI. Understands the importance of

writing in jobs2. Develops handwriting legibility3. Composes formal letters4. Fills out forms5. Records messages6. Writes memorandums7. Composes ads/telegrams8. Writes instructions and

directions9. Writes reports10. Develops summaries1L Takes notes and/or outlines12. Corrects written- materials

F. COMMUNICATION SKILLSI. Reports accurately/concisely2. Follows intent of oral directions/

instructions3. Speaks distinctly4. Formulates questions5. Answers questions accurately6. Explains activities and ideas

clearlyT. Uses appropriate vocabulary/

grammar8. Gives clear instructions and

directions9. Stays on topic

10. Uses non-verbal signsappropriately

II. Develops oral presentations12. Presents information effectively

to groups

G. INTERPERSONAL SKILLSO I. Functions cooperatively with

fellow studentsO 2. Functions cooperatively in team

efforts3. Functions cooperatively with

adults outside school4. Exhibits openness and flexibility5. Seeks clarification of instructions6. Exercises patience and tolerance7. Utilizes suggestions about

improving skills8. Uses initiative in getting work

done9. Expresses opinions with tact

10. Demonstrates ability to negotiatedifferences with others

H. BUSINESS ECONOMIC SKILLSI. Understands business

organization2. Understands business

competition3. Knows about processes of

marketing4. Knows about processes of

production5. Understands business costs6. Understands factors affecting

profits

I. PERSONAL ECONOMIC SKILLSI. Knows how to evaluate products

and services2. Knows how -to access community

resources/services3. Can compute working hours/

wages4. Knows how to handle financial

affairs5. Can handle records of income

and expenses6. Knows how to make- price-

quality comparisons7. Knows how to prepare state/

federal tax forms8. Can evaluate insurance programs9. Knows how to determine credit

costs10. Understands legal rights in

agreements11. Maintains and utilizes various

forms of transportation

J. MANUAL PERCEPTUAL SKILLSI. Constructs/assembles materials2. Uses specific hand tools and

instruments3. Develops visual presentations4. Masters keyboard skills5. Operates power equipment

K. WORK ACTIVITY SKILLS1. Produces type;amount of work

required2. Maintains punctuality3. Meets attendance requirements4. Accepts assignments/

responsibilities5. Takes responsibility for own

actions6. Maintains consistent effort

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79


Num I I continued

7. Works independently8. Manages time effectively9 Respects rights and property of

others10. Adheres to policies and

regulationsa. Healthb. Honestyc. Safety

11. Presents a neat appearance12. Keeps work area in good/safe

condition13. Exhibits interest in future career14. Suggests or makes workplace

improvementsIS. Knows sources of continuing

education16. Knows about basic employee/

student rights17. Knows about basic employee/

student responsibilities18 Knows basic steps in getting a

raise or promotion19. Knows how to terminate

employment

For the following section, evaluate interms of projects that involve a full rangeof problem solving activities.

L. PROBLEM SOLVING/REASONINGSKILLS

I. Recognizes problems that needsolution

2. Identifies procedures3. Obtains resources4. Prepares or sets up materials/

equipment5. Collects information6. Organizes information7. Interprets information8. Formulates alternative

approaches9. Selects efficient approaches

10. Reviews progress11. Evaluates activities12. Corrects errors13. Makes conclusions14. Summarizes and communicates

results15. Uses results to develop new ideas

M. OTHER

234-56789.

Source; Colorado Department of Education

80 89

Chapter V

Community, Technical,and Junior Colleges andthe Associate Degree:OpportunityWith Excellence

The greatestAmerican educational invention of the nineteenthcentury was the land-grant college. The greatest Americaneducational invention of the twentieth century is the two-yearcommunity college.

John Gardner, No Easy Victories

90

hree important historical events have greatly influ-enced the course of higher education in America. Thefirst was the establishment of the land-grant universityin the 1860's combining theoretical and practical edu-

cation. The agriculture slogan "makiiv, two blades of grass growwhere one grew before" emerged from the work of these won-derful and-serviceable universities and county extension-agentprograms, as did the beginning of high technology.

The second event was the establishment of the-GI. Ea' :,n themid-1940's. America made an educational investment in the menand women who served in the armed forces, one which has beenrepaid many times over in increased earning power and conse-quent government revenue. It was during this post-war periodthat policymaker began to see education as an investment inhuman-resource development.

The third major event was the formation of the contemporarycommunity college. Social historians have given scant attentionto the development of the community, technical, and juniorcollege. On July 13, 1946, President Harry Truman created thePresident's Commission on Higher Education, later known asthe Truman Commission. In his letter appointing members tothe Commission, he wrote. "Among the more specific questionswith which I hope the Commission will concern itself are waysand means of expanding educational opportunities for all ableyoung people, the adequacy of curricula, particularly in the fieldsof international affairs and social understanding, the desirabilityof establishing a series of intermediate technical institutes, thefinancial structure of higher education with particular referenceto the requirements of the rapid expansion of physical facilities."(Vaughan 1983)

On December 11, 1947, approximately seventeen months afterit was established, the Truman Commission issued its six-vol-

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ume report entitled "Higher Education for American Democ-racy." The report expressed concern about the limited highereducation opportunities for a large portion of the nation's citi-zens, and to correct this situation, called for the development ofcommunity colleges across the land. The Truman Commissionreport became a blueprint for developing higher education inpost-war America and in it the phrase "community college" firstappeared. (Incidentally, George B. Zook, the chairman of theCommission, was also the first chairman of_the national assem-bly of junior college leaders which met in 1920 to form theAmerican Association of Junior Colleges. In 1972 the name waschanged to the American Association of Community and JuniorColleges.)

George Vaughan, President of Piedmont Virginia CommunityCollege, has written on the link between President Truman andthe development of the community college. He states:

The Commission's report and its acceptance by PresidentTruman tied the community college closely -to the thinking andprestige of the President's office. President Truman was familiarwith the junior college and its national organization, the AAJC. In1946 the President sent the - following message to the Association'sannual convention. "The extension of general education repre-sented by the junior colleges in this country constitutes a realcontribution- to democracy in education. Social, economic, andpolitical conditions pio, ailing throughout the world can be solvedonly in terms of a lengthened period of education made availableto an increasing proportion of the population." ... In retrospect,the Truman Commisbionas Report can indeed be viewed as thecommunity college's manifesto.

When the report was prepared in 1947, two-year colleges' rolein- higher education undoubtedly would have been consideredsomewhat insignificant by today's figuies. For example, in the1947-48 academic year, there were a total of 651 junior colleges.328 were public and 323 were private. Total enrollment was500,536, of that number, 378,844 were in public colleges and121,692 in private colleges.

Today there are 1,221 institutions, 1,066 public and 155 pri-vate The 1983.84 year-long unduplicated headcount enrollment

8492

THE ASSOCIATE DEGREE: OPPORTUNITY WITH EXCELLENCE

is estimated at 10,941,830 credit and non-credit students. Of thatnumber, 10,707,876 were enrolled in public colleges and 233,954in private colleges during the entire 1983-84 college year.

The American Association of Community and Junior Collegesoffered a special tribute to President Truman at a national recep-.. in in honor of his 100th birthday in May of 1984, in cooperationvy 4th the Truman Centennial Committee. Here are some com-ments included in the special souvenir program prepared for thatcelebration:

Senator Paul Simon (Illinois)The tremendous progress that community colleges have madein so short a -time reflects upon the great good sense ofPresident Harry S. Truman. In fact, today's concept of- thecommunity college is such a good fit that it is hard to imag-ine a higher education system without it.Former Senator- and Senate Majority Leader Howard H. Baker,Jr. (Tennessee)I cannot think of a better tribute to President Trumanthan to recognize the bold steps he took to establish thecommunity college network.Speaker of the House Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. (Massachusetts)Fifty years ago this country was divided between two classes.the wealthy and the poor. Today, our country is dominated

Figure 12

Fifty Years of G_ rowth In 1Wo-Year College Credit Enrollments1933-34 to 1983-84*

Number of CollegesYear Public Private Total

EnrollmentPublic Private Total

1933-34 22',. 309 532 77.111 33,138 110,249

1943-44 261 323 584 74.853 32.954 107.807

1953-54 327 267 594 533.008 69.856 602.864

1963-64 503 268 771 913.057 120.349 1.033.406

1973-74 910 231 1.141 2.729.685 136.377 2.866.062

1983-84 L064 155 1.219 4.799.768 146/07 4.947.975

'Does not JnJudt an estimated 1983-84 4.5 million -nun Gredit enrollment_ andrepresents the enrollment for fall semester only.Source. American Association of Community and Junior Collleges

85

93


by a great middle class. The biggest reason for this is edu-cation. Because of vital community colleges . . . millions ofAmericans have been given the opportunity not just to trainthemselves but also to become knowledgeable in the -fullrange of human experience. Our country can be proud ofthis wonderful achievement. No other land in the world hasmade such a broad commitment to intellectual and eco-nomic opportunity.Former Congressman John Erlenborn (Illinois)I salute Harry S. Truman and the push his President's Com-mission on Higher Education gave the community collegemovement. Both have been good for America.Senator Mark O. Hatfield (Oregon)The Truman educational legacy began a -new era in highereducation. Indeed, the development of the two year collegesystem owes a great debt to his work to bring America outof war and into a productive society.Former Congressman the late Carl D. Perkins (Kentucky)In spite of the growth and strength of the community collegesystem . . the explosion of- knowledge and the means ofdisseminating it make it essential that we strengthen thiscommunity institution to educate, re-educate, train, andretrain people several times during their lifetime in order toprepare them to participate effectively, not only in the workplace, but in society.Congressman Claude Pepper (Florida)As a member of the U.S. Senate when the Truman- Com-mission issued its report, I was glad to be able to support theexpansion of the community college system. This is animportant part of the American dream.Senator Claiborne Pell (Rhode Island)The explosive growth of community and junior colleges andtechnical schools . . [has] brought the dream of a post-high-school education within both the physical and financial reachof millions of Americans.Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah)One of the absolutely unique characteristics of most -com-munity colleges is their extraordinary ability to respond to

86

94

THE ASSOCIATE DEGREE. OPPORTUNITY WITH EXCELLENCE

short-term training . . . Access to education governs the paceat which new knowledge is absorbed, [and] adjustments aremade to new technologies.Senator Robert C. Byrd (West Virginia)Harry S. Truman may have been thc kind of man ThomasJefferson had in mind whcn he praised the everyday Amer-ican citizen as the keystone of our democracy . . . If any manlooks for proof of Harry S. Truman's native wisdom andpractical vision, he need search no further than the excellentcommunity colleges whose seeds were sown during Presi-dent Truman's years in the White House.

Community colleges have brought vocational- and technicaleducation, into the halls of ivy-covered institutions. These col-leges have said there is dignity and worth in all honest labor.They havc also developed their on personalities and their ownsense of mission. I may resemble or behave like someone else,but I have my own personality and-my own definition of excel-lence. Such is the case with the community colleges. They maylook and act like other institutions of learning, but they havetheir own mission, built around the general theme ofa host= of Americans opportunit.) with excellence in pursuing -ahigher education.

The phrase most often used to describe -the American com-munity college is "opportunity with excellence," while the wordthat best describes America is "opportunity." Think of the mil-tons of immigrants mho have come to this country becauseAmerica remains the land of opportunity, upportunity is the verysoul of the community college. These "people's colleges" provideopportunities for most of our citizens and endeavor to providethese opportunities in an excellent way.

When Lester Maddox was governor of Georgia, he was inter-viewed on network television. At the time, Georgia was havingdifficulties with its prison system, The reporter asked, "GovernorMaddox, why are you having so much trouble-in the prisons ofGeorgia?" Mi. Maddox leaned back in his chair and said with asmile, "The trouble with the Georgia-prisons is that we need abetter brand of prisoner." This appcars to be the logic ofsome ofthe educ, tional reformers on thc scene today. If we could just

95 87


get a better-brand of prisoner," if we just had tougher admissionsstandards, we could achieve excellence in our schools and col-leges. Community, technical, and junior colleges have brashlychallenged that definition of excellence. As "open door" insti-tutions they have not placed the stress on entrance requirementsbut on exit requirementsupon the "value added" tt, the indi-vidur,1 . . and upon opportunity.

Belief is a powerful thing. Peter Marshall, the great chaplain ofthe U.S. Senate, sald, "God help us to stand for something lestwe fall for anything." It does make a difference what we believe,and it makes a-powerful difference what a college or any publicorganization believes. The five most debilitating words in theEnglish language arc "it won't make_ any difference." The com-munity, technical, and junior colleges of this land are making adifference, not only in the -lives of hundreds of thousands ofcitizens and individuals, but also in the life of our country.

The Basic Elements of the "Opportunity With Excellence"Philosophy

Why did nearly nine million individuals take one or morecollege credit or non credit classes during the 1984 fall tam in acommunity ; tcchnical, or junior college? What arc these collegeslike: What are the characteristics of an excellent communitycollege What motivates the people- that work and teach in thesecolleges?

There are five fundamental elements that generally character-ize the excellent community c011ege. These five elements formthe basis of the community college philosophy of education.They are the articles of faith for those who live and work in theseunique American institutions.

First among the five basic elements of this "opportunity withexcellence" philosophy is the belief that community collegesmust be community- based. They sec themselves in partnershipwith the communities they serve. The fact that these collegesare often locally controlled gives them even deeper local roots.

In recent years- these collegeshave nearly become modernversion:, of the land-grant universities. They serve the public andprivate employers of a region. Nearly all of the 1,221 community,

88

96-


technical, and junior college campuses report some type of part-nership arrangement with employers and others-in the commu-nity. Community, technical, and junior colleges have a longhistory of working effectively with local community organiza-tions as well as with local employer and employee organizations.Nearly all the occupational-education programs are supportedand advised by advisory committees composed of communityprofessionals working in specific occupational areas related to aspecific curriculum. In fact, community colleges often utilizethe expertise of local citizens by bringing them into the facultyas part-time instructors. (See Figure 13.) Thus, the town-and-gown barrier has been effectively removed.

The community-college school day is a long one, and the aver-age agc of its students is twenty-nine. If you visit a communitycollege at eight in the evening you will see a much older adultpopulation- being- served than at eight in the morning. Life-longlearning in action can be observed in -these community-basedinstitutions.

The -roots of the community college grow deep- in the highschools that feed students into the college. Too often, in timespast, some community colleges have paid insufficient attentionto devcluping partnership arrangements with these high schools.That concern-forms much of the focus of this book. The "oppor-tunity with excellence" theme is greatly diminished unless corn-munik, technic:al, and junior colleges coordinate their programswith-the feeder high schools.

A key word in the community college- community - based -phi-losophy is neeess. There is strong evidence that geographicalaccess to classes makes a considerable difference in the rate of

Figure 13

Comparison of 1982 and 1983 Professional Personnel InCommunity, Technical, and Junior Colleges

Faculty Faculty Adm. Other Prof.Full -time Part-time Total Staff Staff

1982 109.812 137.060 246,872 18.634 16.185

1983 109.436 142.170 251.606 18.228 17.147

% thange .34 +3.73 +1.92 2.18 +5.94

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THE NEGLECTED_MAJORITY

college attendance. Where the college campus is far away orwhere the classes are not held at convenient times, the rate ofattendance is much lower than when the reverse is true. A com-munity-based characteristic of the community college is that itdoes not insist that all students come to a central campus. Edu-cation and training ale brought to the student in local businesses,churches, high schools, union halls, and shopping centers, at alltimes of the day or evening. The community' college-has brokenthe barriers of time and space in the delivery of educationalservices.

The second element of the "opportunity with excellence" phi-losophy is cost effectiveness. Community colleges endeavor tostay within the financial reach of their students. They endeavorto maintain low costs and low tuition.

The average 1984-85 student tuition in the community col-leges- across -the country was $600. Although- the amount mayvary from state to state, it is an article of faith that the commu-

Figure 14

Community, Technical and Junior College Locations

:

;;

Total colleges: 1,221Colleges not shown:

Alaska 12Hawaii 7Outside U.S. 21

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98

THE ASSOCIATE DECREE: OPPORTUNITY WITH EXCELLENCE

nay college tuition remain low. The low tuition combined withstate and federal financial-aid programs ensures that these col-leges are financially accessible to most of the citizens they serve.Even in financially difficult times community college leaderswill go to any lengths to avoid raising student-tuition rates.

A second aspect of the cost-effectiveness tenet is lowoperatingcosts. Not only do community college leaders work hard at main-taining low student costs, they also- work hard at maintaininglow taxpayer costs. Figure 15 gives the comparative operatingcosts and tuition charges for various-institutions of higher -edu-cation. Community, technical, and junior colleges are the low-cost institutions in higher education.

Continuing efforts are=madc to-trim and_modernize operatingcosts in community colleges. Each year the National Associationof College and University Business Officers in cooperation withthe U.S. Steel Corporation sponsors a national competition amongcolleges and universities to encourage innovative cost-contain-ment ideas. Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, haswon -the national competition two out of three years. Commu-nity, technical, and junior colleges always do well in this -com-petition. This observation does not mean that other colleges anduniversities arc not concerned about cost-containment practices,they all arc! But because the community college is a t'achinginstitution without a research mission, and because there is intenselocal_ interest in the work ofthese- colleges, the operating coststend to be lower.

Figure 15

College and University Full-Time Equivalent per Student OperatingExpenditures: National Average 1980-81

Control University Four-Year College Two-Year College

Public $ 9,725 $7,246 $3,061

Private 16,977 7,764 3,514

College and University Tuition -and Fees 1980-81

Public $1,270 $1,020 S 510

Private 6,140 4,750 3,300

Source U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics

91


The third element of the "opportunity with excellence" phi-losophy in a community college is a caring environment. Wehaven't talked enough in higher education about that. JohnNaisbitt writes about the "high tech/high touch" society in whichwe live:

Much has been written about the human potential movement,but to my knowledge no one has connected it with technologicalchange. In reality, each feeds the other, high tech/high touch.

Now, at -the dawn of the twenty-first century, high tech/hightouch has truly come of age. Technology and our human potentialare the two great challenges and adventures facing humankindtoday The great lesson we must learn from the principle of hightech/high touch is a modern version of the ancient Greek idealbalance We must learn to balance the material wonders of tech-nology with the spiritual demands of our human nature. (Naisbitt,Megatrends. 1984]

On campuses, in classrooms, in counseling centers, at admis-sions windows, and in administrative offices of the communitycollege the student-usually finds-a caring environment.

The typical image of a college student is a nineteen-year-oldrecent high-school graduate attending school full time. But thecommunity college student is often quite different. Communitycolleges serve recent high-school graduates and serve them well,but they also serve part-time students and adults. There is atremendously diverse population in the community college, andproviding a caring environment for that diversity may be itsgreatest strength.

The need for a caring environment is everywhere. in schools,stores, unions, and businesses. The more technology that is thrownat us, the greater our need for caring, for human touch, for kind-ness, for respect, for self-esteem. This need should not be left upto the counselors to fulfill. Each individual who enrolls in a classor comes -to -the campus- must -feel that the college really caresabout him or her as an individual. Community colleges workhard- at meeting this responsibility, and partially measure theireffectiveness against the degree to which they have establishedand maintained a caring environment.

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Special commendation must be given the community collegestudent-personnel professionals. As a relatively new seventy-fiN e-year-old profession, college counseling has struggled toestablish its legitimacy in higher education. In recent years,counselors have struggled even more with budget cutbacks andstaff reductions. Although some new student personnel servicemodels may be in order, it is these professionals who have estab-lished and maintained the "caring environment" emphasis inthe community, technical, and junior-colleges.

Necessity is certainly- the mother of invention, and survivalhas -been a motivator among college student-personnel workers.A variety of strategies have been developed to help studentssucceed-in completing their community college courses. Testingand early-placement efforts arc blossoming. Orientation pro-grams, particularly for high-risk students, are being developed.Early intervention and tutorial-services are becoming common.Integrated student-support services covering orientation, earlyintervention, tutorial services, developmental education, learn-ing resources, and_other retention services show much promise.Arthur Cohen speaks tothis -point:

Retention- is a multifaceted dimension. It begins with-studentrecruitment and ends with follow -up activities that provide assis-tance in making choices of program, on-campus work-opportuni-ties, transfer institution, and career employment. Recruitment canbe enhanced if honors programs are built, the community collegesneed the best students as well as the worst. Pre-school orientationhas also proNed useful along with the-type of continuing supportthat says-to the student, We care." Students no longer have theright to fail. The coming decade will sec attrition rates decline andtransfer and career success increase. (Cohen 1984 85)

Community colleges do not pride themselves on how manystudents fail, butrather they rejoice at how many succeed. In theabsence of a caring environment- that places great emphasis uponindividual student success, excellence can be smothered easilyby the weeds of an impersonal "business as usual."

The fourth crucial element of the "opportunity with excel-lence" philosophy is a competent faculty. These are the individ-uals-who are at the center of the caring environment.

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Folk wisdom has it that teachers are a generally dissatisfiedlot and that many community college faculty members, whowould prefer to be teaching in universities, are the most dissat-isfied of all. George Riday, Professor of Psychology at CitrusCommunity College in California, and two of his colleaguesdecided to find the truth. They compared the degree of job sat-isfaction:dissatisfaction among secondary-school faculty, com-munity college faculty, and four-year college and university fac-ulty. What they found was that teaching is a satisfying and ful-filling profession regardless of teaching level and that communitycollege faculty ranked the highest on the faculty-satisfactionscale,

A close view of the specific scale areas and items on the surveyinstrument yields insights into some of the sources of satisfactionfor communitycollege teachers. They highly value the feeling ofachievement and accomplishment in their personal progress andin the performance of their students. They prize their associationwith their students and colleagues, they enjoy being a part of thecampus environment, and they feel recognized an .I rewarded. Thework itself is highly satisfying, and- the conditions under which

Figure 16

Comparison of Mean Satisfaction Scores on the WS/DS AmongSecondary School (SS), Community College (CC), and Four-Year

College (4Y) Teachers

Composite ScalesSS

Mean SatisfactionCC 4Y

Achievement 4.3 4.9 4.5

Growth 3.5 4.0 4.1

Interpersonal relations 4.7 5.1 4.8

Policy administration 3.4 3.9 3.9Recognition 4.1 4.4 4A

Responsihihtv 4.3 4.8 4.6

Salary 1.7 3.7 2.8Supervision 3.7 4.2 _42Work itself 4.8 5.5 5.2Working r ,aditions 4A 44 4.1

Source: RI lay et al.

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they work are favorable ... The community college offers a settingwhere the faculty may justifiably feel that they have a teachingcareer worthy in its own right, not a stepping stone to a higherlevel of education. Clearly the community college need not per-ceive itself "junior" to the four-year collegiate institution withrespect to job satisfaction-of faculty. (May et al. 1984-85)

The findings of this study confirm my own experiences. Some ofthe-best teaching I have seen and some of the most ded:catedand caring faculty members I _have met are in the communitycolleges.

This brings us to the fifth element of the 'opportunity withexcellence" philosophy. These colleges believe in a comprehen-sive community college program with the liberal-arts and-tech-nical-education programs working in a thoroughly integratedmanner. What is "vocational" in today's job market? There isnothing more "vocational" than Spanish classes- -for a lawenforcement officer in some of our communities. In that sense,foreign language courses are "vocational." What is more "voca-tional" than speaking and analytical skills for a salesperson?

The comprehensive community college program is under attackto some state capitals across the country. State-level leaders areasking if they can afford a comprehensive community collegeprogram. The answer is simple. we cannot afford not to havesuch a program. The costs are too great. If community collegesare to meet students at the point of student need, if they are toplace the student -at -the center of their-concerns, a comprehensiveprogram is absolutely mandatory. The good jobs of the futurewill demand workers from comprehensive programs. In today'stechnological society colleges simply cannot have first-rate tech-nical-education programs unless they arc integrated with liberal-arts programs. A first-rate technical-education program requiresan extensive math, science, and literacy base, an understandingof our economic system, and some exposure to cultures otherthan our own. Community, technical, and junior colleges havebrought vocational education into the ivy-covered walls of thecollegiate world.

The real competition for lobs in the future will be betweenthe well-educated and the not-so-well-educated. Less-educated

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workers are at a real disadvantage if the unemployment rate isany indication. In 1982 the unemployment rate among the twenty-to twenty-four-year-olds with less than four years of high schoolwas thirty-two percent. The rate among high-school graduateswas fifteen percent, while unemployment rates for those withone to three years of college and four or more years of collegcwere nine percent and six percent respectively. "The connectionbetween higher unemployment rates-and low levels of educationshows the_importance of_ education in a job market that increas-ingly requires more training." (Occupational Outlook Hand-book-1984)

The number of jobs that require some college education- isprojected to increase by forty-five percent over the 1982-95 periodcompared to the twenty-five-percent growth projected for all jobsover this same period. Employment executives of large corpora-tions report a shortage of technicians and skilled workers despitehigh unemployment. Deutsch, Shea- and Evans, Inc., HumanResources Consultants, recently surveyed ninety-five firms andfound shortages of electronic and electrical technicians, numer-ically controlled machine maintenance-and repair workers, heat-ing, ventilating, and_air-conditioning technicians, and such -pro-duction workers as tool and die makers and machinists. Com-munity colleges are taking on the task of helping to supplyAmerica with a skilled and knowledgeable work force.

To meet the needs of its student body, the community collegehas developed a variety of programs. The college-transfer programis designed -to -equip students with the knowledge and credits totransfer to a four year college or university and to pursue a-bac-calaureate degree. The junior college land now the communitycollege) has always offered an excellent university-parallel pro-gram with first-rate "teaching" professors. Most colleges andstates have now developed college-credit transfer-articulationagreements that allow- students to transfer credits without slip-page. How well du community college students do in the -uni-versity?

Piedmont Virginia Community College conducted a perfor-mancc study of its graduates who transferred to the Universityof Virginia between 1978 and 1983, with-the following results.

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PVCC graduates who transferred and spent their junior andsenior years at the University of Virginia slightly out-performedtheir classmates who entered the University as freshmen. PVCCtransfers earned a 3.15 grade-point average at UVA, students whoentered UVA as freshmen had a 3.09 average. The average age ofPVCC students transferring to UVA was almost twenty-eight.Some had been out of school for fifteen years, at least two hadearned GED's (high- school equivalency diplomas) prior to enter-ing PVCC. Twenty percent of the PVCC transfers had previouslybeen denied admission to UVA as f.zshmen. Many of these stu-dents started at levels well below those of UVA's regular-admis-sion students, but they had achieved parity by the end of thejunior year.

Santa Fe Community College of Gainesville, Florida, offersacademic scholarships to the top ten percent of each graduatingclass of the eight feeder high schools. In 1984, forty-five percent,including four of the eight valedictorians, accepted these schol-arships-and chose Santa Fe Community College. Many of thesestudents, whose combined SAT scores ran as high as 1270, turneddown other scholarships. It should also be noted that Santa FeCommunity College is in =the same town as the University ofFlorida, which also aggressively recruits academically talentedstudents.

These are not isolated stories. Increasingly, strong academicstudents are choosing the community college for their first col-lege experience. As community colleges install honors programsand become-more aggressive in seeking out these students, theirnumbers will continue to grow in the community college ranks.

The community college transfer program also provides a sec-ond chance for many students. those who, for all kinds of reasons,did not succeed their first time around in the traditional four-year college or university. As the community college acceptsthem with open arms and provides additional learning supportservices, these students find they can now succeed in baccalau-reate-degree programs.

Finally, the college-transfer curriculum provides that commoncore of learning so essential to any college student. The human-ities, the liberal arts, the fine arts, are as important to the elec-

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tronic technician as they are to the engineer. Caring, compassion,and understanding, the central focus of a liberal education, canhelp all of us who live and struggle together on this single globecalled Earth.

The de elopmental-education program helps individuals developthe proficiencies to be life-long learners. It also helps individualsremove the educational barriers that impede progress towardtheir goals. That barrier may be reading speed, or writing skills,or eumputational deficiencies, or imemory training, or problem-solving skills, ur analytical skills. The emphasis in developmen-tal education is on- diagnosis, prescription, and program place-ment. This program is vital to the success of the open-door col-leges. Some colleges-refer to =the program -as- college preparatory,as it helps individuals develop the knowledge and skills to nego-tiate college-level work.

The adult and continuing-education program is basically non-credit and particularly designed for individuals who desire tolearn for the sake of:learning, to upgrade themselves, to acquirea new ski!l, or in some cases for job retraining. Much of thecontinuing-education program is built around the. notion of occu-pational extension. In the past there have-been-few educationalextension opportunities fur those occupations which require lessthan a bachelor's degree for job entry. In this modern informationage there arc almost endless adult and continuing educationneeds in the ever-changing field of occupational upgrading andretraining.

The=community -service program is another important aspectof the continuing-education program._As an example, in our mul-ticultural and diverse society, community colleges have said wedare nutleave thcfine arts and lecture series to those institutionsserving only the university community.

Finally, one of the euntinuing intractable problems confrontingour society is the need -tohelp the victims of tocio-economicdeprivation to develop the basic educational skills so desperatelyrequired to move on -to a baccalaureate degree andlor to succeedin an occupation. Community, technical, and junior collegeshave their collective sleeves rolled up and are heavily involvedin the task of helping the sucio-economically disadvantaged remove

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their educational barriers and move into the economic main-stream of American life.

That is the template of excellence to lay over the work of thecommunity colleges. They are community bcsed, they are costeffective, they offer a nurturing and carirg environment, theypride themselves on having a competent_ faculty, and they offera comprehensive program to meet an assortment of educationalneeds.

Community, technical, and junior colleges are a vast and grow-ing force in America. They-enroll a stunning -- fifty -five percent ofall the freshmen in institutions- of highci learning across thecountry today. Approximately eight percelit of all' adult Ameri-cans will take_ one or more classes in an American community,technical, or junior college this year. These institutions are actingout and modeling our national commitments.

In a nation with a moral commitment to access and opportu-nity, community colleges are -the accessible institutions. In anation with a tremendous need for skilled workers, communitycolleges are fulfilling-that need. They are helping a host-of citi-zens discover that marketable skills give them liberating com-petence and the confidence that they can-do something wellthat they can cope with-real:life. In =a nation-leading -in informa-tion-age development, community colleges are the institutionsthat hclping tngger economic revitalization by matching skillsto- the needs of the employers. -In a nation- that emphasizesaccountability, community colleges are a cost-effective part, ofh:her education. In a nation dceply concerned about the qualityof life, community colleges are leading -the way by providingquality -of life experiences fur all levels of working men and womenacross this greatnation.

Community; technical, and junior colleges are making history.George Wy the, a lawyer at William and Mary College; sat 1. to hisstudent and friend, Thomas Jefferson, "Preach, my dear friend,preach a crusade- against ignorance." And that is the slogan ofthe community colleges. They are crusading againstignuranceagainst: wasted lives. They are providing opportunity with excel-lence across America.

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What Is the Associate Degree?

Although the associate degree has been in existence for eighty-five years, it has not become well known until the past twenty.The arrival of the information age and the proliferation of tech-nician-level educationprograms have spurred interest in thistwo-year degree. They have also led to the establishment of avariety of associate degrees. associate in arts, associate in science,associate in applied science, associate in computer science, asso-ciate in business, and the like. In fact, suggestions are being madetoday from those representing some four-year colleges -and uni-versities to require the associate degree of all those pursuing thebaccalaureate` degree.

Leslie Koltai, Chancellor of the Los Angeles Community Col-lege District, reports as follows:

The American :.ommunity college is becoming one of the mostsuccessful educational institutions in the world. Many developingcountries have already adopted models of community and /or -tech-nical colleges and have created hundreds of institutions to usherin -a -new age of civilization.

In the United States the community college is a growing educa-tional enterprise _ During the last decade the number of associatedegrees awarded increased b) approximately sixty percent, com-pared- with an- increase of eleven- percent fur the baccalaureatedegree In fact, associate degrees, which accounted for more thaneighteen percent of all degrees in 1970, grew to twenty- three -per-cent -at the end of the decade. (Koltai-1984)

The public also have given community, technical, and juniorcolleges and_ the associate degree a vote of confidence. The Amer-ican Association of C.immunity and junior Colleges, along withthe College Board and the Council for Advancement and Supportof Education, commissioned Group Attitudes Corporation of New-York in 1984 to conduct a random-sample public-opinion tele-phone survey of 1,006 persons age eighteen_or older. One -prin-cipal finding of the survey was that Americans show great con-fidence in community, technical, and junior colleges and believethat they offer quality education at a reasonable cost. Four outof- five individuals polled (80.9 percent) -felt that an associatedegree from-a community college is useful in helping a person

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transfer to a four-year college or university. Three out of four(75.9 percent) felt that such a degree is useful in helping a personget a job that requires some expertise or training.

The Associate Degree Policy StatementIn order to send clear signals on a national level, the American

Association of Community and Junior Colleges Board of Direc-tors adopted a policy statement on the associate degree in July1984. Under the leadership of Leslie Koltai, Chancellor of theLos Angeles Community College District, Harold McAninch,President of the College of DuPage in Illinois, and Ernest Boyer,President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement ofTeaching, this statement was developed after eighteen monthsof delx.te and discussion.

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITYAND JUNIOR COLLEGESPolicy Statement on the Associate Degree

The Associate DegreeThe associate-degree program is reaffirmed as centr._1 to the

mission of the community. ;ethnical, and junior college. Theassociate degree reflects the '.arger goals of educational attain-ment the institution holds for its students. ft is a means throughwhich the institution develops and maintains integrity in itseducational programs. When appropriately defined, the associatedegree becomes an integrating forceior the institution, serves asan important student guide, and requires commitment on thepart of the student for program completion.

Emphasis on the associate-degree program indicates to faculty,administrators, students, and society that the community, tech-nical, and junior colleges have a vision of what it means to be aneducated person and affirm the colleges' commitment to programcontinuity, coherence, and completion. The associate &Tax mustindicate that the holder has developed proficiencies sufficient toprepare for upper-division collegiate work, or -to enter directlyinto a specific occupation with confidence. The degree should be

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awarded only for completion- of a coherent program of studydesigned for a specific purpose.

The Responsibility for QualityThe institution offering an associate degree assumes a respon-

sibility to students and the public to establish and maintainexcellence -in -all educational programs. In offering such a degreeprogram, the individual institution recognizes the obligation-tocertify that the student receiving the degree has indeed-attainedassociate-degree levels of achievement. When an institution awardsthe associate degree it is providing the individual with the cur-rency to negotiate the next step, whether that step-be into full-time employment or into a baccalaureate-degree program. Theassociate degree should be recognized by employers and bacca-laureate-degree-granting institutions as the best indication thata- student has attained -the knowledge and skills necessary toenter a field of work or an upper-division college program.

Quality community, technical, and junior colleges demandsubstantial investments, and the investments return great divi-dends to individuals and to our nation. Because of the investmentrequired to build and maintain a quality program, the institutionhas a professional obligation to develop programs where resourcesare sufficient- to ensure quality. In addition, the institution, inpartnership with the communities it serves, must providestraightforward information to appropriate decision makers aboutthe resources required to maintain a quality program.

Organization of the CurriculumWorking under the direction of the appropriate administrative

leaders, the teaching faculty and academic staff have the respon-sibility to design, monitor, and evaluate the specific associate-degree programs- offered -by- the institution. This process shouldinvolve consultation -with others, both inside and outside theinstitution, The associate-degree program links learning that hasgone before with learning that will come after. Therefore, thoseconcerned with framing the associate-degree requirements mustnot approach the-task in isolation._Full attention must be givento continuity in learning, as well as to the proficiencies required

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THE_ASSOCIATE_DEGREE:-OPPORTUNITY WITH EXCELLENCE

for an individual to achieve career satisfaction. Community col-lege leaders are encouraged to maintain a continuing dialoguewith high-school administrators and faculty, as well as withcollege and university decision makers, with regard to programscope and sequence. The students should experience little or noloss of continuity, or loss of credits, when moving from one levelof education to another.

The resulting associate-degree program should consist of acoherent-and- tightly knit sequence or courses capped by an eval-uation process, either at the course level, comprehensively, orboth. All degree programs must include the opportunity for thestudents to demonstrate proficiency in the use of language andcomputation, -for whatever their career goals, students will becalled upon to exercise competence in these areas.

In addition, all associate-degree programs should reflect thosecharacteristics that help define what constitutes- an educatedperson. Such characteristics include a level of general educationthat enables the individual to understand and appreciate his/herculture and environment, the development of a system of per-sonal values b-sed on accepted ethics thatlead to civic and socialresponsibility, the attainment of skills in analysis, communica-tion, quantification, and synthesis necessary for further growthas a lifespan learner and a productive member of society. It isunderstood that not all these elements are attained fully throughorganized courses, but that the intellectual and social climate ofthe institution and the variety of other educational- activitiesengaged in by students may play an important part. It is incum-bent upon the institution to develop appropriate procedures -toassess required learning gained outside the formal course struc-ture.

The Associate in Arts and Associate ir Science DegreeThese degrees prepare the student primarily for transfer to an

upper-division baccalaureate degreeprogram. Programs leadingto these degrees are similar in nature. The general trend has beento offer the associate in science degree to students who wish tomajor in engineering, agriculture, or the sciences with heavyundergraduate requirements in mathematics ant. science. The

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associate in arts degree is directed to those majoring in the socialsciences, humanities, arts, and similar subjects. However, it shouldbe noted that the distinction between the two degrees and theeventual baccalaureate major has become somewhat blurred inrecent years. Students awarded associate in arts or associate inscience degrees should be accepted as junior-level transfers inbaccalaureate-degree-granting institutions.

Associate in Applied Science DegreeThe second type of degree program is- destined -to lead the

individual directly to employment-in a specific career. While thetitles given these degrees vary considerably among community,technical, and junior colleges, the most common title is-associatein applied science. Other titles used- are associate in business,associate in data- processing, or other specific occupations, andassociate in applied arts and-sciences. It-should-be noted that thenumber of degrees awarded in these occupational areas has beenincreasing in the last two decades. In some instances, particularlyin the heath- related fields, the-degree is a prerequisite for takinga licensing examination. Some institutions belong to-voluntaryspecialized accrediting agencies that set qualitative and quanti-tative degree standards for their programs.Although the objectiveof the associate in applied science-degree is to enhance-employ-ment opportunities, some baccalaureate-degree-granting insti-tutions have developed upper-division programs to recognize thisdegree for transfer of credits. This trend is- applauded -and encour-aged.

Associate Degree TitlesIn recent years there has been a proliferation of titles of asso-

ciate degrees. This has been true especially in occupational areaswhere some institutions offer many- different degrees in specifictechnologies. In an attempt to reduce the number of these degreesand to avoid confusion as to the level of academic achievementattained, it is highly recommended that:

(a) The titles "associate in arts" and "associate in science"degrees be used without further- designation.

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ib) The associate in applied science degree may have additionaldesignations to denote special fields of study such as nurs-ing, computer technology, or law enforcement.

ic) For all associate degrees the transcript of a student shouldreveal the exact nature of the program completed and whethercourses are recommended for transfer to baccalaureate-degreeprograms.

(d) The names or designations used for associate degree belimited to the-above three titles.

Guidelines for the Evaluation of ProgramsMany factors may enter into the evaluation of associate-degree

programs. The most-basic_and important elements relate -to -theobjectives the institution itself has set for the degree program.Does the program, for example, provide the foundation in gencraleducation the institution has set as a goal? Does the programprovide students with thecompetencies required to competesucces.fully in a career role; The evaluation of_degree programsshould create a continuing dialogue with the institution con-cerning associate-degree quality, and the relative success of thecollege's graduates must not be overlooked as a necessary eval-uation tool.

Ideally, the evaluation of associate-degree programs in com-munity, technical, and junior colleges should be accomplishedby the institutions themselves and not by state or federal agen-cies. Regional accrediting associatio1 serve a- self-regulatorybodies to help institutions-monitor and evaluate the quality oftheir associate-degree programs. In order that accountability forsuch evaluations may be clearly understood, institutions shoulddesignate institution-wide oversight bodies to evaluate the con-tinuing balance and quality of associate-degree programs.

Looking AheadThis policy statement is limited to the associate degree, thus

leaving unexamined a host of other important elements of thecommunity, technical, and junior college mission. These insti-tutions are attended by many individuals for valid reasons otherthan obtaining a degree. Continuing education and noncredit

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courses arc also reaffirmed as important to the mission of -com-munity, technical, and junior colleges. Nothing in this policystatement should be interpreted as discouraging colleges fromadmitting students who do not have degree objectives to allcourses for which they are qualified and from which they willbenefit.

While- this policy statement is limited to a definition of theassociate degree, it is recognized -that further work should bepursued to define other community college outcome measures.Such study is important to the future of community, technical,and junior colleges, particularly as they attempt to influencefunding agencies and legislators,rand to meet a great diversity -ofindividual human need.

Adopted by the Amerkan ASSULla dun of Community and JuniorColleges Board of Directors, July 7, 1984

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Chapter VI.........1wThe High-School/Community CollegeConnection

Vocational, technical training has been community colleges'outstanding success, but...you lithe not thought out your linkagewith-high schools.

Governor Bruce Babbitt, Arizona

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headline in the July 27, 1984, edition of USAToday proclaimed: "Freshmen: Fuzzy Ideas AboutCollege." The article indicated-that high-school stu-dents entering college have little or no idea of what to

expect once they are enrolled and that most colleges are not doinga very good job of helping high-school students develop -a realisticidea- of-what -it takes -to=succccd-in-a_college program._ A-surveywas conducted by James Kelly of Pennsylvania State Universityinvolving some 18,000 incoming college freshmen in 1982 and1983. Nearly all of the entering freshmen, ninety-eight percent,said they expected to earn a B average or better in college. At thesame time, sixty-one percent of these students estimated theywould study fewer than twenty hours per weck. More than eightypercent said- they knew little or nothing about their choice ofmajor. Nearly half these entering freshmen listed "no -one" astheir main influence in choosing their major. (Kelly 1983)

It is obvious that few high-school students know how muchwork or what levels of proficiency will be required to completea college program. They often know about entry standards, butfew know about college exit requirements. The Kelly study wasaimed primarily atstudents in four year colleges, with only tenpercent of the sample including students in two-year colleges.The matter then becomes truly serious for an- open-door, open-admissions college. It, is the rare high-school student who hasmore than a vague notion of what an adequate high-schoolpreparatory program is all aboiit and how he or she can bestprepare to succeed in a community, technical, or junior collegeprogram.

Indeed, somehigh-school students seem to interpret the phrase"open-door college" as an invitation to expend a minimum amountof effort in high school; one need not prepare for the next step atall! The feeling seems to be, "I can always get into a community

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college!' Few seem to know or worry about what it takes to exita community college program. So much attention has been givento college admissions that college exit requirements have beenoverlooked and shortchanged.

Have community, technical, and junior colleges failed to givehigh-school students and their parents clear signals as to whatconstitutes an adequate high-school program of preparation fora career, as well as for university-parallel programs? Do open-door- colleges have a responsibility to state clearly to high-schoolstudents the exit requirements for each and every communitycollege program including the requirements to earn an associatedegree? The answer is an unequivocal yes!

Community, technical, and junior colleges should be proud oftheir open-door label. They have opened the doors of opportunityfor millions of Americans. Higher education will never be thesame because of these open doors, and they must remain open.Bur the open-admissions policy has given some high-school stu-dents an unintended negative signal. For these students the opendoor becomes a revolving dooreasy in and quickly out. Theopen door has never meant that high-school students can prepareor not, as they please, and still succeed in a community collegeprogram.

High-school students and their parents as well as high-schoolfaculty and counselors deserve to know about communitycollege exit standards, associate-degree requirements, studyrequirements, in short, about the rigors of t-ompleting any com-munity college program. The reluctance of some community,technical, and junior college leaders to be directive in their com-munications with their high-school colleagues_ may have beenhonorable in intent. They have not wanted to be overbearing orappear to be telling another segment of education how to run-itsbusiness. But they should know that most high-school admin-istrators have no such fear. Indeed, high-school leaders are look-ing to higher education at all levels for clarity in communicationsabout the preparation requirements that will help students suc-ceed in their next steps. The student must be placed at the centerof concern.

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THE HIGH-SCHOOL/COMMUNITY COLLEGE CONNECTION

Too often in education we meet the student at the point ofadministrator need or faculty need or trustee need, rather thanat the point of student need. In fact, the greatest single weaknessof the host of reform reports has been lack of attention given thelearner. What are the incentives that will motivate the learnertoward excellence in learning? Do college requirements reallyhave much influence on the high-school program and high-schoolstudent choices? There can be no question that colleges are avital link in-the critical chain of influence upon the high-schoolprogram. Sol Levine, Principal of Beverly Hills High School inCalifornia, comments on this point:

My own experience on two ends of the continent New Yorkand Californialeads me to believe that college admission-stan-dards can be a vital ingredient in shaping the secondary program.Properly developed 2nd applied, they are intrusive. They force change.Further, I believe that it is an error to assume that the prestigiousuniversities have a major impact on the four-year high-school pro-gram ... the state and local colleges most clearly affect the largestpercentageof high-school graduates. It is with an eye on the admis-sion standards of these-schools that most students develop theirfour-year high- school- program ... It was the requirements of theCity University of New York which had a significant impact onthe courses I took in high school. I, and most of my graduatingclass, saw the City University as the avenue for our higher- educa-tion. I have little doubt that the adoption of the open admissionspolicy in later years had its own deep impaccon the school program.(Levine 1984)

Community colleges, along with other postsecondary institu-tions, can play a significant role in helping to build public con-fidence in our schools. But more important, they can help manymore high-school students raise their academic and vocationalsights toward excellence. However, this will require cooperation.It IS time to build a more effective partnership between second-ary schools and community, technical, and junior colleges.

Raising high-school graduation requirements alone is notenough. Raising overall college-admission requirements missesthe mark for the "open door" colleges, and raising individualcollege-program requir ments is only a partial solution. Reform

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efforts absolutely require secondary and postsecondary schoolsand colleges to work together to improve the structure and thesubstance of learning for the ordinary student as well as for thebaccalaureate-degree-track student. This will require some directand open communication about college-program exit standards.The concentration of cooperative effort between high schoolsand community colleges must emphasize what_ it takes to suc-cessfully complete a program rather-than just emphasize entryrequirements.

It is important to point out that many people misinterpret theopen-door college to mean that-little attention is-given to admis-sion standards. Many community college programs such as nurs-ing, some- of the technologies, and the university-parallel pro-gram require that students meet certain criteria for admission.The "open door" means primarily opportunity. The communitycollege endeavors to provide a variety of support services- andlearning opportunities to meet a great diversity of individualtalents, hopes, and aspirations.

The challenge for the open-door and opcn-admissions collegeis -to address -the -concept of excellence on- its own terms. Thecommunity zollege has a unique personality and mission. It isa distinctive and relatively new partner in higher education.Excellence for the community, technical, and junior collegc mustbe achieved within the context of its own mission and purpose.

New models of excellence- and -new configurations- will-occuronly when the needs of the students are, placed above special-interest claims. -In some ways -the community college operateslike the university, while in others, it has a_mission-similar tothat of the comprehensive high school. However, mirroring paleimitations of the university or the high school will not meet thechallenges of a highly diverse adult student body. In many waysthe community college is developing into a contemporary ver-sion of the land-grant college, connecting the practical with thetheoretical and connecting the community -with the academictalent and resources of the college.

One of the vital elements of the community to be served bythe-community college is the high school. Community collegesmust never forget that their roots are in the -local -high schools.

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Community college and -high- school personnel of the same regionmust establish deep and lasting linkages that will produce higheracademic performance and stronger career:vocational programs.

In a 1983 speech at the Association of Community CollegeTrustees meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, Governor Bruce Babbittput it this way. "Vocational/technical education and traininghas been the outstanding success of -the community colleges, butyou have not thought out your linkages with the high schools."

Clifford Adelman, senior associate with =the National Instituteof Education and senior staff member serving the National Com-mission on Excellence, has concluded, after viewing much data,that local- colleges, -like community colleges, have a significantinfluence on the= curriculum choices of -high- school- students.

The more proximate the postsecondary institution is to the sec-ondar school, the more likely the secondary-school student willestablish his or her expectations in light of what he or she hearsfrom peers in those institutions. In that sense, community colleges,most state colleges, and local:regional private colleges have farmore significant influence on the choices made by the averagesecondary school student than do the elite private institutions orthe flagship state. universities The message gets around, and, asI noted, the more local or regional the postsecondary institution,the faster the message moves into the high- school culture andwith greater-force. (Adelman 1984)

The pervasive influence of college entry and exit requirementsupon high schools places a heavy responsibility upon collegesand universities. In far too many instances college-graduationrequirements appear to represent a treaty drawn among warringnations rather than a rational, research-based program of study.If you don't believe that, just try to remove a- course from therequired program of study -for a college degree. You will hearmuch talk about wanting the best for students or wanting themto be =liberally educated. But in many instances this rhetoric canbe translated to Don't touch my course because my enrollmentdepends on this requirement."

A recent newspaper account of a proposed change from insti-tutional to department requirements in establishing graduation

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requirements from the University of the District of Columbia,an open-admissions university, best illustrates this point.

The University of the District of Columbia Faculty Senate votedyesterday to condemn recently proposed changes in graduationrequirements for most students.

In an emotionally charged meeting at the Northwest campus,several faculty members complained that the reputation of theinstitution and its students has been "damaged" by the proposal,recommended by UDC President Roberti. Green and given prelim-inary approval by the board of trustees Some faculty membersspoke for the proposal, saying each academic departmcnt would beable to establish its own standards under- the plan. "What arc youafraid of:" associate professor of Lomputer_suence Carl_Friedmanasked his colleagues.

"The bottom-line is that we want to make sure our students arewell equipped," said Johnsca jWiliner Johnson, Faculty SenatePresiduit), who was frequently cheered-and applauded-by senatemembers for his criticism of the proposal. "If there is a concernthat all students learn something about computers, then add it tothe requirements, don't displace something clse that we feel is ofvalue." (Washington Post 1985)

Someone should write a book about higher education entitledYes, But You Didn't Take My Class. Each professor feels that hisor her course- is the most important and should be required.

It is Low estimated that over seventy percent of all high-schoolgraduates will eventually attend a postsecondary institution ofone kind or another for one or more years. Our -society and-theeconomy arc making a postsecondary degree the entry credentialfor a growing -list of-occupations. The associate degree is- becom-ing the preferred credential for entry into many mid-level occu-pations. Furthermore, individuals see the completion of a post-secondary degree as a major avenue leading into the economicmainstream of- American life. Today, fifty-five percent of allentering college freshmen are beginning their college careers ina twu-)ear college. This fact alone should be enough to motivateprogram coordination between the high schools and the com-munity colleges of the country.

Secondary schools prepare students for the_next step, whateverthat step may be. But the numbers would tell us that they prepare

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only some of the students for that next- step. According to theNational Center for Education Statistics, about twenty-sevenpercent of high-school students drop out before graduation, andthere has been a five-percent increase in that percentage from1972 to 1982. Of the number that du graduate from high schoolabout one-half move immediately into some type of postsecond-ary education, but only twenty-six percent of that group completea baccalaureate degree. (Plesko and Stern 1985)- Within the edu-cational-program-patterns of these students, there are worrisomeindicators of slippage.

As I have noted, one area of concern fur the high school shouldbe the increasing numberof students enrolled in the generalcurriculum. As a rule, these 'general education" students receiveless ulcer counseling, have fewer marketable skills, and areunlikely to find the kinds of work that can be seen as an initialstep up a career ladder, at least for several years. Their expecta-tions arc vague= and unrealistic. The greatest single indicator ofslippage is that nearly two out of three of the high-school drop-outs Indicate they were enrolled in the high-school general-edu-cation track at the they left_school. (Adelman 1983)

Some twenty-seven percent of high-school graduates finishvocational programs. But the percentage educated as techniciansis very low (one percent). Almost fifty percent of high-schoolvocational training Is in agriculture, home economics, and indus-trial arts, areas that do not reflect the most pressing needs of themarketplace. Nor do most high schools have the resources tomount sophisticated technical education programs that morenearly reflect_ the_ needs of the marketplace. As community -col-leges well know, such training programs arc usually expensiveand constantly in need of update.

If projecbmis hold, between now and 1990 the percentage ofstudents tat 5nish baccalaureate degrees -will remain relativelystable, but the percentage seeking further education and trainingbeyond high school, particularly the associate- degree, will con-tinue to increase by an estimated ten_ percent. Generally speak-ing, those, high school students coming to community, technical,and junior colleges fur-further education and training will alreadybe hampered by poor decisions and an unfocused high-school

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general-education program unless high-school and communitycollege leaders can provide the motivation for some intensiveprogram coordination and lifting of student visions.

Nationally, community college retention figures hover at fiftypercent. From semester to semester, only about half the studentswho enroll go on to complete the program. The reasons arenumerous and complex, but the impact of this slippage uponindividual lives is pervasive. A high-school general-educationprogram, low high-school grades, and vague educational aspira-tions are important and possibly crucial factors in community,technical, and junior college withdrawals.

New and different curricular models must be designed to slowthe slippage, to bring more structure and substance to the cur-ricular program, and to _make college-program and degree com-pletion more likely for more students.

Factors in High-School/Community College CooperationIn a recent American Association of Community and junior

Coll -zes survey of community, technical, and junior collegeadr 'gators, an overwhelming majority reported some type ofcoilLorative arrangements between their college and high schools,fall:ng for the most part into the following four categories.

joint enrollment is the most common cooperative program.It provides a stimulating challenge for students who wantmore than the standard high school can offer. Some state-level funding formulas reward both schools and colleges forjoint-enrollment participation. However, -this type of coop-eration should not be confused with truly collaborative effortsrequiring commitments from the school and college. In thesedays of shrinking enrollments, the joint-enrollmentprogramis viewed by some high-school personnel as a self-servingstudent-recruitment program on- the part of the college.Sharing of faculty and/or facilities is another form of coop-eration. High-school students may take classes in a nearbycommunity college facility. The classes are taught by a com-munity college faculty member. Although not as common,college faculty may go to the high school to teach-a class.

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This type of program_requires cooperation, but little in theway of real program articulation or collaboration.Advanced placement is a program aimed at motivating aca-demically gifted students to earn college credit while stillin high school. Even though placement is primarily deter-mined by tests, an increasing number of community collegesare offering advanced-placement credit. Again, little collab-orative commitment is required from either the schools orcolleges to establish or maintain this_program.Program coordination efforts, though few and-far between,arc increasing. High schools and community colleges developwritten program-articulation agreements. These agreementsare most often -found in vocational/technical courses andprograms. This is the most important type of cooperation,but it is also the most difficult collaborative effort to sustain.Here are the most commonly cited issues that inhibit- anddiscourage this type of cooperation:1. TurfThe single most often cited problem is turf. Coop-

erative programming i.,_ viewed as an intrusion on oneprogram or another. There is a reluctance by either-insti-tution -to -give up anything. Program articulation is viewedas a threat to programs.

2. State LeadershipThere is a lack of sustained and -vig-orous state-level leadership to establish linkages betweencommunity colleges and high schools in- most states,with little state-level encouragement and few rewards topromote articulation efforts. In fact, in some states therei, less communication between secondary-school leadersand community college leaders at the state level than atthe local level.

3. ResourcesInadequate funds and lack of staff time areoften mentioned as problems to overcome. In addition,high-school personnel in particular fear articulation effortsmay mean some loss of students and/or-funds.

4. SchedulingDifferent calendars and different timeschedules appear to slow down some articulation efforts.

5. Community College ImageIn the eyes of some -high-school administrators and faculty, community college

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programs have an "image" problem. There is nothingparticularly unusual about this problem, since commu-nity colleges are so new upon the educational scene.Nevertheless, solving this problem does require carefulthought from community college leaders. Image-buildingis a long and slow process requiring consistent and opencommunication.

6. La.:k of CommunicationLittle communication amongcollege and high-school officials, college_and high-schooltrustees, is often cited as inhibiting collaborative pro-grams. Baird Whitlock writes:

The unwillingness on the part of many college faculty mem-bers to believe that secondary-school teachers-can teach at thecollege level- has not changed very much. Robert -Frost oncesaid that the basic difference in post-lecture parties he attendedin Britain and America was that in Britain, alongwith thecollege faculty, local doctors, lawyers, clergy, and business-men, there would always be secondary-school teachers; inAmerica this latter group was almost never present. For easierarticulation to take place for students, the inner wall of sepa-ration within the academic community must be broken down.The distrust will never melt away until genuine conversationbetween the two groups of teachers begins. (Whitlock 1978)

7. Focus Upon Machinery Rather Than ActionWhen theeffort to establish collaborative programs is made, muchtime is wasted on insignificant matters. It is difficult toobtain action plans.

In order to ensure cooperation, college leaders will be requiredto develop a "let's work together" style of operation and addresssubstantive issues like curriculum coordination, student reten-tion, and real program coordination, rather than enrollmentdevelopment and student recruitment:

Time and time again when people think about collaborationthey focus first on budgets and bureaucracy, on the costs involved,on hiring one or two directors, on renting space, on paper clips andnew letterhead.

This is self-defeating. And quite frankly, this kind of talk isfrequently a smokescreen for an unwillingness to act. While resources

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art important, they should not become the preoccupation of schooland college planners. The most successful programs are those forwhich people sec a need and find time to actwith little red tapeor extra funding. (Boyer 1983)

Collaboration and program articulation are L ot easy. Three outof four community, technical, and junicr college leaders reporttheir colleges are doing little or nothing in the areas of programcoordination and articulation. This should surprise no one, giventhe few rewards and abundant frustrations leaders experience inattempting collaborative efforts. But there are a- few- keys andconsistent patterns that can be observed in the successful pro-grarns.

First and foremost, the policymakers (school boards andtrustees) must make _a policy demand upon the system thatprogram coordination and articulation be the order of theday. Furthermore, they should meet jointly a couple of timesa year to hear progress reports from the staff.The chief executive officers of the college and school sys-tems must take the initial responsibility to begin the dia-logue and maintain the communication. Only top-level lead-ership will- sustain this kind of effort. In addition, theseindividuals will be giving clear signals -to principals andfaculty that this is an important and sustained effort.Early in the discussions agreement should be reached on aprogram focusa priority for action. The initial tendency isto take on too much, as a consequence, the discussionsinvolve too many people an too many considerations, sink-ing of their own weight. Pick out one or two programs thatlook like winners. Take the easy ones first and demonstratea winner or two right at the start.Participants should receive some recognition and rewards,including reduced work loads where possible. This is partic-ularly important for those key instructors involved.One individual must be assigned to serve as executive sec-retary or executive director of the project. Someone musthave the responsibility to build the agendas,_call the meet-ings, maintain- the action record of meetings, maintain atime-line schedule, and edit the reports.

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A specific charge of duties for the participants should bedeveloped that outlines purpose, time-lines, and duties.Periodic progress reports are essential.The end product should be a written program-coordinationagreement that is widely distributed among those who mustcarry the agreement into action.All agreements should be reviewed on an annual basis.

The good news is that several community, technical, and juniorcolleges have developed- high-school/college partnerships andarticulation efforts that eliminate much of the guesswork aboutwhat is expected of high-school students. A few of- the partner-ships and articulation programs are summarized here. This listis not intended to be exhaustive, but only representative of ongo-ing and increasing high-school/community college partnershipefforts.

LaGuardia Community College (a unit of the City Univer-sity of New York) has established the Center for High-School/College Articulation, an information network to encouragethe exchange of data on high-school/college programs. Underthe leadership of college resident Joe Shenker and DirectorJanet Lieberman, the Center recently published the -firstedition of the Yellow Pages Directory, a compilation of infor-mation on high-school/college articulation at both two-yearand four-year institutions.LaGuardia and the New York City Board of Education alsooperate Middle College. Students enter in the eleventh gradeand work toward a high-school-diploma--and-an associate ofliberal arts degree simultaneously. Both the high-school andcollege portions of the program are located on the commu-nity college campus. A special feature of the program requiresthat every student in Middle College spend a portion of theyear in volunteer work in the community.Miami-Dade Community College has developed an exem-plary cooperative effort with the Dade County Public Schools.Since- the 1960's, highschool students have been enrollingin courses offered by the college and receiving both collegeand high-school credit. Florida law now allows both the highschool and the community college to collect state funds for

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a concurrently enrolled student. Miami-Dade CommunityCollege President Robert McCabe also serves as Chair of theSoutheast Florida Educational Consortium involving thepublic and private schools and colleges of southeast Florida.This consortium has developed an outstanding publicationentitled Planning Your Education. A Guide to Getting theMost Out of High School, distributed to every tenth-graderin the southeast Florida region.The Kern Community College System, Bakersfield College,and Kern High School District in California are developinga 2 + 2 (grades eleven through fourteen) tech-prep/associatedegree in agriculture as a result of earlier successful effortswith this concept. This consortium of schools and_ collegesis also working to develop 2 + 2 curricula in English, math,humanities, and some technologies. An interesting aspectof this collaborative effort is the development of a compe-tency certificate at the conclusion of each year of study.The Alamo Community College District and San AntonioCollege have established a high-technology high school, theonly publicly- funded school of its kind in Texas. Located onthe college campus, the school enrolls junior- and senior-high-school students in science, math, and computer coursestaught by college faculty. In addition to receiving credittoward high-school graduation, they also receive a specialcertificate from the high-tech high school. The school openedin the fall of 1983 with phase one, a baccalaureate- degreetrack that prepares students for college-level work throughadvanced courses. A technology-related track is scheduledto open in the fall of 1985.The Dallas County Community College District is cooper-ating with area school districts to develop a high-school/community college articulation plan in fourteen- occupa-tional programs. This articulation plan makes it possible togrant equivalent college credit for high-school mastery inthese programs. All fourteen programs have manuals listingrequired competencies and the criteria for determining mas-tery. Student profile sheets are used to record mastery andas the basis for awarding equivalent college credit.

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Williamsport Area Community College in Pennsylvania hasdeveloped a program that allows eleventh and twelfth grad-ers to enroll in college vocational/technical-education pro-grams. Currently, approximately 800 high-school studentsare enrolled in fifteen specially designed programs.The Community College of Rhode Island has developed anexcellent guide aimed at high-school freshmen indicatingthe kind of high-school preparation-required to succeed incommunity college programs.Hudson County College- has developed- a joint enrollmentprogram with the Jersey City Schools.Hagerstown Junior College in Maryland has initiated coop-erative agreements with Washington County high schools.College credit is offered for advanced courses in biology,English, foreign languages, and secretarial sciences.The Florida State Board for Community Colleges has adopteda-state-level rule that requires articulation agreements to beexecuted between local community college boards of trus-tee:. and local school district boards to enhance learningopportunities and avoid duplication of courses. The 1982Master Plan for Flonda Postsecondary Education states. "Thesequence and continuity of a student's education are enhancedby the creation of a continuum based upon communication,smooth transition, cooperative and unified philosophy."

Here are a few tips for action that seem to smooth the road inhelping the program-coordination efforts. Prior to initial pro-gram-discussion meetings some analysis_information should_beprepared to help all participants begin the discussion with thesame information base:

High SchoolHow are our college-prep/baccalaureate-degreestudents doing in thecollege-transfer program?

PostsecondaryHow can we improve on thenumber of studentscompleting an associatedegree?

What are we doing for that How can we provide associ-fifty percent of the student- ate-degree technicians to meet

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High Schoolpopulation that is not pursuingan academic or vocationaltrack?

Postsecondaryfuture employer needs?

What are characteristics of themiddle quartiles of the studentbody?

What are present and futuretechnician job requirements?numberscompetenciesexperience

What are the expectations ofstudents beyond high school?capabilitiesmotivation

What kinds of "clear signals"are given high school studentsabout program entry and exitrequirements?

What curriculum are studentscompleting in high school?

What curriculum changes areneeded in community collegeprograms?

What are recent-students-doingafter graduation?

Can the community collegeadequately respond to requiredchanges?

time -(are two years enough?)resources (teachers,equipment)capability of students

How can students be givenmore structure and moresubstance. in their schoolprogram?

What kind of feedbackinformation is the communitycollege giving th- high schoolsabout student performance inthe liberal arts and fine arts aswell as the practical artsprograms?

Some of the program coordination :sues to be discussed inarticulation meetings include:

Analysis of the common core of learning required for variousprograms.

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jobs AnalysisWhich jobs require preparation beyond highschool?Curriculum AnalysisWhat should be taught? Who determineswhat course content?Thrf AnalysisWhich institution should offer a particularcourse?Credit AnalysisWhat determines satisfactory completion of acourse?Facilities AnalysisWhere should a course be taught?Faculty AnalysisWho should teach a particular course? Why?Involvements Analysis Should -co -op training be included?Competencies AnalysisWhat competencies can be identified asprogram requirements ? Should competency- certificates beissued? If so, when?Evaluation Analysis Who measures the effectiveness of thecoordinated program?Student AnalysisDo wide variances in abilities require thedevelopment of multiple teaching-learning approaches?Development of a Written Agreement How -often should thecoordination agreement be reviewed and revised?

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Figure 17

Sample Coordination StructurePOLICY SWARDS

SchoolSuporIntondsnts

STEERING COMMITTEE

Community VocaRonstConnor Coast

Chancellors Supertntentontet

Preor

-Principals

IMPLEMENTATIONCOORDINATING COMMITTEE

High School PrincipalNone of InstructionWt. Education DirctorOw. DIrchr lot Projct

JointLabor Industry

-truthless AdvisoryCouncil

PROGRAMCOORDINATINGCOMMITTEE X

Community CollegeInstructors

Secondary SthisoiInstructors

Vocational Contorinstructors

-PROGRAMCOORDINATINGCOMMITTEE Y

Community CollogoInstructors

Socndary SchoolInstructors

Vocational CenterInstructors

PROCOORDINATING

COMMITTEE Z

PROGRAM

Community Col logoInstructors

Socondary SchoolInstructors

Vocational ConterInstructors

him Mat-Program Y °r".- Program Z

Asmuity Council -Aidater C amtli

I 1 4# rjI14.1.1aTy C..Tvany , Yhemitomli *Mar/ Votiodwat 144.4rry Wcathonol

P.n.., Minn Z

C.M. hum. /...Ng.

---tPeoirmiGoutcoats.hsvmt ' iNgo

X ,

L 1

omen.Cent..

x

MtramY

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Meetings

Figurc iR

Sample Time Line

MonthsI. Meetings of Policy Boards

to establish policydemand upon the varioussystems and hearprogress reports.

--------

2. Meetings of the SteeringCommittee to establishthe operationalprocedures, establishprogram priorities,appoint theImplementationCoordinationCommittee, and reviewprogress.

---:' -,--- --,-7--_,., --

3. Meetings of theImplementationCoordination Committeeto appoint ProgramCoordinatingCornmittm.b. ITILLt withthe Joint Labor Industry,Business AdvisoryCouncil, andoperationalize theprogram.

_ __

r

4. Meetings of the ProgramCoordinatingCommittees to disk.uss,develop, and agree uponprogram specifics.

_ .,;..4

5. Meetings of the JointStudent ServicesAdvisory Council.

._____-_,

_-

.,

6. Meetings of the JointLabor, Industry, Business,Education AdvisoryCouncil.

-:i.---.,,

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STEERING COMMITTEE

Description: Chief executiveofficer from eachparticipatinginstitution

Purpose: Set operatingprocedures, establishpriorities, appointimplementationcommittees, approvecoordinationagreement, secureresources

Meet: Every other month(5 or 6 times a_year)

Responsibilities:

Approve tentative programpriorities /pick program)Assign-representatives toimplementation committeeinvolve/encourage institutionalparticipationObtain-resources for programimplementation at institutionAppoint representatives to jointlabor, industry, business,education advisory council andjoint student services advisorycouncil

Representatives:

IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE

Description: Administrator fromeach participatinginstitution asassigned by theinstitutionalexecutive

Purpose: Develop guidelines,procedures, andcooperativeagreements forcoordinatedprograms: assigncommitteerepresentatives anddirect activities atrespectiveinstitutions

Meet: Monthly, continuingas programs areimplemented

Responsibilities:

Appoint program coordinatingcommitteesIdentify/resolve administrativecoordination issuesDevelop procedure forimplementing plansDraft final agreements andprogram proposalsEstablish institutional budgets,personnel and facilitiesrequirements for programparticipationmeet with advisory committees

Representatives:

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PROGRAM COORDINATINGCOMMITTEE

Description: Program specialists;faculty /staff

Purpose: Identify -and addresscurriculum andimplementationissues

Meet: Monthly

Responsibilities:

Review curriculum for all involvedinstitutions

Review needs as expressed byadvisory personnelIdentify/address curriculum issuesfor coordinationIdentify where/who will teachvarious courses and labs incoordination programEstablish proficiency levels forcompetency certificatesEstablish program review processIdentify/address curriculum issuesfor coordination

Membership:

Some Initial Agenda Items for Program Coordinating Committees

A. List courses currently offered at the postsecondary level that are verysimilar to courses offered at_ the_sccondary school and vice, versa. iThesecourses are the ones that are highly desnable for coordrnatron.)

Name of the Secondary or PostsecondaryCourse Name School Offering the Course

1

;

4

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13 List courses currently offered at the postsecondary level that you believecould be but are not current') offered at the secondary school and viceversa. (These courses arc potentially suitable for coordination.)

I

2

4

C. Fir each course listed above, identify the postsecondary schoolcurriculum or tuirriLulums of whit,h cash course is a parL Doing th:s willhelp visualize the impact of coordination.)

I

2

3

4

D. List the state level, t.ommunity personnel and agentues that should becontacted for information or help in these discussions.

Name- Agency.

Title. Address.

Phone:

Name- Agency

Title. Address.

Phone.

Name. Agency:

Title. Address.

Phone:

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HE NEZMECTED MAJORITY

h Ellete institutiunal cummitincnt frum tup to bottom fur program coordi-nation in this-program?

How arc the various coordinating committees working?

Has a written program-uurdination agreement been developed?

Do state level persunn,1 and advisory personnel-support the agreement:What do periodic evaluations reveal?

a Are students well served?

1301 3 7

Chapter VII

The 2+2 Tech-Prep/Associate-DegreeProgram:Making Winners ofOrdinary Students

... there is surprisingly little attention given to "ordinarypeople-in the school reform reports. There is the clear-implicationthat the i ising tide of mediocrity is made up-of an embarrassingnumber of ordinary people, and if we want to return excellence to

-education, we-better go out -and find-more excellent- people.

K. Patricia Cross, Harvard Graduate School ofEducation

138

The heart of the message we have heard from parents,students, politicians, and policymakers is this. Give usmore structure, give us more substance in our educa-tional programs. Help us develop the confidence that

the materials and scaffolding of our educational ,tructures matchthe real-life needs of ail our students.

One of the most recent reform reports points a finger of guiltat the colleges and universities- for some of the breakdown ineducational-program structure and substance. A distinguishedpanel of- higher- education leaders forthrightly states the problem.

As for what passes as a college curriculum, almost anything goes.We have reached a point at which we arc more confident about thelength of- a college education than -its content and purpose . . .

Electives are being used to fatten majors and diminish breadth. Itis as if no one cared, so long as the store stays open.

One consequence of the abandonment of structure by the col-leges has been the abandonment of structure in the schools. Thedecline in requirements is contagious, and in the absence ofsystemin national educational arrangements, articulation between sec-ondary -and higher education has been allowed to break down. Theresult is a loss of rigor both in the secondary and in the collegiatecourse of study. That loss of definition and rigor has encouragedthe false notion that there is such a thing as effortless learning, anotion that finds expression in curricular practice and studentbehavior. As the colleges have lost a firm grasp on their goals andmission, so have the secondary schools. (Association of AmericanColleges 19851

The requirements listed for most college degrees look morelike a treaty among warring nations than a coherent vision ofwhat it means to be an educated person.

In many ways the associate degree is aimed at maintainingcommunity college comprehensiveness and seeking balance in

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THE NEGLECTED-MAJORITY

the curriculum. The associate degree is not only central to themission of the community, technical, and junior college, but itis also a quality-control issue. Colleges have suffered unintendednegative public relations from well-meaning but semi-literateindividuals who take a college class or two and then go to theuniversity or to an employer and say, "I am a student of theCommunity College."

We simply cannot allow the debate about -the importance ofthe liberal arts and,the practical arts to degenerate into an either/or argument. They are both important and balance is needed.Educational excellence must be defined in terms- of connected-ness and applicability, particularly for that sixty to seventy per-cent of the population who do not work as well, nor as effectively,when dealing only with the abstract. The liberal arts and thepractical arts absolutely need each other.

Students in vocational- technical educationprograms must meetthe same basic skill requirements as any other student seekingthe high school diploma. But, it must be quickly pointed out thata course in business-letter writing can be rigorous and help stu-dents demonstrate writing skills. A course in business- mathe-matics can also be rigorous and help students master computingpercentages or applying statistical methods. An applied-physicscourse can be rigorous and help students master essential -aca-demic knowledge through practical experiences. Balance, con-nectedness, and continuity are key words in any reshaping of thecurriculum aimed at improving the education of-the middle quar-tile of students.

Research and experience tell us that students work better withgoals, indeed, so do we all. Yet there is a lack of clarity in whathigh schools and postsecondary institutions expect of their stu-dents. Furthermore, there is poor communication between thesetwo educational entities. Even more serious, there is a subtle butstubborn provincialism that suggests that program articulation,the careful building of bridges between high schools and colleges,and program evaluation, the careful measure of program successor failure, are extraneous to the primary mission of either group.

The national reports have given only cursory attention to theneed for continuity in learning, forgetting all the dangerous les-

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THE 2 t 2 TECH-PREP/ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

sons that the business world has learned of latewhat happenswhen the left hand does not really understand what the right isabout? The indicators are not difficult to find.

The concern that high-school students are still not concen-trating on developing the "new basics" has been confirmed in astudy by the National Center for Education Statistics. The studyfound that students are not taking recommended loads in suchbasic subjects as mathematics, science, and computer science.Interestingly, in the twelfth grade, the senior year, fewer courseswere completed in_ these targeted areas than in any other high-school year, even though these seniors were below recommendedprogram guidelines.

High schools generally do not have a good sense of how theirstudents perform once at college or in the work world, as thecolleges and universitic with rare exception, do not keep theminformed. Community colleges, who often must deal with-stu-dents who have failed to reach their_ own -or others' expectationsupon high-school graduation, are particularly lax in letting highschools know how their former students are doing.

Generally speaking, although the high-school courses a stu-dent takes do not seem important in getting him or her into acommunity college, they may =be absolutely critical to successonce the student is there. Yet, there is precious little communi-cation to high-school students from the community, technical,and junior colleges about college exit requirements and the rec-ommended high-school preparation related to these exit and-pro-gram-completion requirements.

In The Third-Wave Alvin Toffler describes our future world interms of waves of change. The first wave of change was theagricultural revolution, which took a thousand years to develop.The second wave brought on the industrial revolution, over amere 300 years. A technology-driven third wave is sweeping theworld in a few decades and affecting almost every aspect of ourlives. Robots arc invading our factories. Electronic mail is becom-ing a standard communication device. Disease detection- andprevention have been greatly improved. Superspeed air travel isnow commonplace. The videocassette recorder is becoming apart of the home entertainment center and was the hottest

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Christmas sales item- of 1984. Laser technology, genetic engi-neering, and computer literacy are becoming common phrasesin everyday communications. Odetics, Inc., a southern Californiahigh-technology firm, has just announced the development ofOdex II, a computerized mobile robot, both agile and strong. Itis not only capable of climbing on the back of a pickup truck,but is also capable of lifting the truck. This six-legged wondercan tackle jobs in such high -risk areas -as- nuclear power plants,stifling mine shafts, or burning buildings. In the initial develop-ment and production phase of this -robot many- engineers andscientists are required. But when 50,000 of these robots are beingproduced a year, the commercialization of technology will requiremany technicians for the manufacture, operation, programming,and repair of these machines.

Research on the organic computer, or "biochip," is a growingpriority for some genetic engineers, chemists, mathematicians,and molecular biologists. Can we grow computer circuitry inbiology labs from living bacteria producing powerful micropro-cessors? If it can be done, future computer circuits will be designedfrom groups of organic proteins the size of molecules that willserve as microscopic memory and switching devices, with theability to more or less assemble themselves.

The Office of Technology Assessment serving the Congress ofthe United States lists communities across the country that areconsidered "hotbeds" of technology development. Huntsville,Alabama, Phoenix, Arizona, San Diego, California, Los Angeles,California, Santa Clara County, California, Colorado Springs,Colorado, Brevard County, Florida, Orlando, Florida; Chicago,Illinois, Montgomery County, Maryland, Lowell, Massachu-setts, Minneapolis -St. Paul, Minnesota, Albuquerque, New Mex-ico, Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Oak Ridge,Tennessee, Austin, Texas, San Antonio, Texas; Salt Lake City,Utah, Burlington, Vermont, Seattle, Washington, Milwaukee,Wisconsin. Futurists tend to agree that the next twenty to thirtyyears will be a time of explosive progress. Robert Weinsteinstates:

Like it or not, our educational institutions have little choice butto change with- the- times. Either -that or be left in the wake of

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THE 2 + 2 TECH-PREP/ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

untold technological breakthroughs. Many schools obstinately clingto the past, while others are busy designing curriculums to meetthe needs of tomorrow. Yet, its only a matter of time before eventhe most reactionary open themselves up to what lies ahead. If oureducational system can no longer train and educate our young forthe jobs of tomorrow, education has little relevancy. (Weinstein1983)

Training and education have become integral to most broad-technology workers whether they be nurses, law-enforcementofficers, electronic technicians, aircraft technicians, computeroperators, auto-service personnel, or marketing representatives.IBM now requires each technician, marketing representative, andsystems analyst in that large corporation to spend nineteen totwenty days (one working month) in education and training pro-grams. And IBM- is not alone in requiring such programs of itsemployees. Such widely diverse companies as State Farm Insur-ance, Southwest Forest Industries, Manufacturers Hanover TrustCompany, Abbott Laboratories, Central Illinois Light Company,Citicorp, Steelcase Inc., Valley National Bank of Arizona, andCaterpillar Tractor Company all are moving education and train-ing programs into high-priority positions in -terms of strategicplanning for economic growth. California Superintendent of Pub-lic Instruction Bill Honig has summed up the challenge for schoolsand-colleges this way. "Don't be misled by advocates of a low-tech future. These modern Luddites have historically underes-timated the extent and pace of change in the economy. They citeonly a portion of the data from the Department of Labor, neglect-ing statistics that demonstrate substantive growth in jobs requir-ing high levels of preparation. They are out of step with the peoplewho are hiring our graduates." (1985)

It is estimated that thirty billion dollars is spent annually byU S. public and private employers for employee education andtraining programs. This figure does not include costs for trainingin the military. The Department of Defense estimates that somefifty billion dollars is spent on education and training per yearwhen all DOD education and training costs are included. Publicand private employers are concluding that the competencies and

1-4 3

137


related performance of the work force are the major factor indetermining the economic and social health of their enterprise.

Clearly, more and more secondary schools and communitycolleges are waking up to the reality of shifting the curriculumto match a technological world:

The growing pervasiveness of technologyand the certitude ofongoing technical advancesdemands that we provide our youngpeople with the solid base of scientific knowledge they will require.It is not only -those who create technology who should have acompetency in math and science. Those who use technology shouldalso have a degree of understanding about the tools they use. Theymust also be able to adapt to changes in technology and the newskill requirements they bring with them. (Young 1985)

It is absolutcly imperative that high schools and colleges, par-ticularly community, technical, and junior colleges, becomeaggressive in examining, developing, and sustaining quality edu-cational programs to serve that great host of Americans who keepthis country working.

Who will keep our airplanes flyingour water flowingour electricity chargingour hospitals operatingour trains trackingour computers clickingour cars runningour laws enforcedour goods and services sold

in a society saturated at every level with technology and infor-mation? I breathe a little prayer each time I climb on an airplane.Dear Lord, I just pray that the air-frame and -power -plant tech-nicians that serviced this plane had excellent education and train-ing programsand that they enjoy their work!

Today, graduating lugh-school seniors can either go right to work,pursue a formal college education, or attend technical school orjunior college. In the future we can look forward to new options.Community colleges, for onc, will have a lot more credibility than

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T


they have today. Although they will still be regarded as interimprograms for those unsure of what they want ;.o do with their lives,the community colleges of the future will work closely with thecommunity and industry, thus having a much stronger identityIndustry leaders and teaching staffs will put their heads togetherto devise curriculums that provide real jobs for graduating seniors... For a growing number of young people, a two-year associatedegree or possibly a company- or union-sponsored training programmakes more sense. (Weinstein 1983)

The prediction that community colleges of the- future willwork closely with employers has already come true. Three outof four community, technical, and junior colleges now reporttheir participation in one or more employericollege partnershiparrangements. Has the -time arrived to take the- next step inestablishing formal community college program partnerships withhigh schools? How about establishing a -new four-yF:ar tech-prep/associate-degree program of cooperation between high schoolsand community, technical, and junior colleges?

Many academically talented= secondary-school students havebeen well served over the years by the college-prep/baccalau-reate-degree program, and that work must continue with evengreater vigor and attention. But the ordinary students, the middlefifty percent of the high school student population, have not beenserved- so well. Some eleven million students out -of the fortymillion now enrolled in elementary and secondary schools willnot even graduate from high school. Many of these drop-outs willfind their way to the community college within a -few yearswithout the requisite preparatory background.

It should be underlined at this point that the college-prep/baccalaureate-degree program remains one of the priority pro-grams for the community college. More -and -more recent high-school graduates are experiencing _a cost-effective and excellentundergraduate two years in a community college. In case studyafter case study students report they experienced the best teach-mg of their college careers in the community college. More stu-dents must be encouraged to continue on through the commu-nity college and to complete the baccalaureate-degree program.Community colleges -are working diligently and must continue

145139


to do so to provide a first-rate program_leading to the baccalau-reate degree. But the traditional college-prep/baccalaureate-degreeprogram is not the focus of this book, even though it remains atop priority in the work of the community college.

Assumptions of the Tech-Prep/Associate-Degree ProgramThe tech-prep/associate-degree program advocates taking a step

beyond the current and usually cosmetic high-school/collegepartnership arrangements into substantive program coordina-tion The program seeks a-middle ground that blends the liberalarts with the practical arts without diluting the time-honoredbaccalaureate-degree/college-prep track. A closely coordinatedfour-year (grades eleven through:fourteen) liberal-technical edu-cation program will provide more -room fur an electives programthan can be achieved in- two unconnected years.

The program targets are (1) the middle quartiles of the typicalhigh-school student body in terms of academic talent and inter-est, and (2) the mid-range of occupations requiring some beyond-high-school education and training but not necessarily a bacca-laureate degree. The tech-preplassociate-degree program rests onthe following assumptions:

1 Additional program structure and substance are requiredfor most high-school students.

2 Continuity in learning -is an important and often vitalingredient for student success.

3 Community, technical, and junior colleges have generallyfailed to give clear signals to high-school students and theirparents about what constitutes an exemplary high-schoolpreparatory program, particularly to those students headedfor technical-education programs.

4_ The most growth over the next fifteen years will occur inthose occupations requiring some postsecondary educa-tion and training but less than a baccalaureate degree.Professional and technical workers are expected to replaceclerical workers as the largest occupational group. (Pyatt1985)

5 Most of the emerging land some of the older) technical-education programs cannot be completed adequately in

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two years, particularly if the student has had inadequatesecondary-school preparation. Excellent- liberal /technical-education programs require more time. Furthermore, highschools report little technical education is going on at thatlevel.

6. The junior and senior years of high school can be betterutilized by many students. The senior year in particularhas sometimes been seen as a waste of time for somestudents.

7. The current twenty seven - percent high school drop -outrate can be reduced if students understand the "why" oftheir learning as well as the "how." This means a breakingdown of the walls between vocational and academic edu-cation. The-largest volume of dropping out of high schooloccurs between grades ten and eleven. This volume can bereduced if students see a focused alternative-learning pro-gram that connects the curriculum with real-life issues.

8. Focused learning motivates more students than does unfo-cused learning.

9. The associate degree is becoming an increasingly preferreddegree by employers for entry into many- mid -level occu-pations.

10. Secondary schools must be preparatory institutions for allstudents and not just for college- prep /baccalaureate- degree-bound students. Students must be better prepared to takethat next step, whatever that step may be.

11. Standards of excellence must be develuped for all pro-grams, particularly-for the middle quartiles of students.

11 Guidance programs must present all high-school studentswith a curricular program whose goals are clear. The guid-ance program must also be prepared to help students shifttheir goals from time to time. Aimlessness is one of theplagues- of secondary-school and college students. goalsmust remain within clear vision of the student.

13. High-school and college faculty- and administrators cancoordinate their programs and can communicate moreeffectively when a clear signal is given from the policy-makers that there is a policy demand upon the system.

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14 Neither the current college-prep/baccalaureate-degree tracknor the traditional vocational-education job-specific trackwill adequately serve the needs of a majority of the stu-dents in the future, while a general-education track servesthe needs of none. Placing all students in a theory-basedbaccalaureate-degree program, as recommended in so manyof the reform reports, fails to recognize the tremendousindividual differences in student abilities, aptitudes, learn-ing speeds and styles, and backgrounds.

Here arc some facts to ponder when considering the tech-pmp/associate-degree program:

Fifty-five percent of entering freshmen in all of higher edu-cation now begin their college careers in comnaLmity, tech-nical, or junior colleges.Eighty-three percent of the current adult population do nothold bachelor degrees.Twenty-seven percent, or one out of four students, do notcomplete high school. This means that some ten to elevenmillion will not complete a high-school program unlesschanges arc forthcoming.As reported by the high-school graduates in the NationalLongitudinal Study of the class of 1980, programs of studycompleted -were

Academic (college prep) 37%Vocational - 19%General - 42%Unreported - 2%

Nearly two-thirds of the high-school drop-outs come fromthe general-education program.The Southern Regional Education Board reports that fewerthan one percent of the high school students in vocationalprograms are involved in technical-education programs. Toremedy this situation, the SREB advocates that high schools,postsecondary institutions, and employers together shoulddevelop 2 + 2 programs in which-a planned four-year cur-riculum connects the last two years of high school with two

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THE 2 + 2 TECH-PREP /ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

years of postsecondary study along with planned, on-thklearning. The planned curriculum would include both ..,:a-demic and technical courses.The American Electronic Association report entitled "Techmeal Employment Projects, 1983-87" indicates that the electronic industry will need sixty percent more technicians by1987 than were employed in 1983. That means 115,000 newelectronic technician jobs will be needed by 1987, in additionto other worker replacements.The twenty fastest-growing occupations in 1982-1995 allprefer postsecondary education and training, e.g., computerscience technician, office machine service technician, engi-nccring-tcchnician, banking and insurance personnel. Onlytwo of the twenty require a baccalaureate degree for entry.Private-sector employment growth in the future will be incompanies with fifty or fewer employees.The associate degree is becoming the preferred degree forentry into many technician occupations.American private-sector business and industry spend an esti-mated thirty billion dollars a year on the education andtraining of eleven million employees.All- who will be in the work force by the year 2000 are alivetoday.A recent -Penn -State University study indicates that ninetypercent of entering college students in 1982 and 1983 expecta B average in college. Sixty-one percent estimated theywould study fewer than twenty hours per week.The same Penn State study found that eighty percent ofentering college students said they knew little or nothingabout their choice of major.

The Tech-Prep/Associate-Degree Program:A Liberal-Technical Education

The four-year 2 t 2 tech-prep/associate-degree program isintended to run parallel with and not replace the current college-prep, baccalaureate- degree program. It will combine -a commoncurt of learning and technical education and will rest upon afoundation of basic proficiency development in math, science,

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communications, and technologyall in an applied setting, butwith the tests of excellence applied to these programs as well asothers.

Beginning with the junior year in high school, students willselect the tech-prep program (even as they now select the college-prep program) and continue for four years in a structured andclosely- coordinated high-school/college curriculum. They -willbe taught by high-school teachers in the first two years, but willalso have access to college personnel and-facilities when appro-priate Starting with a solid base of applied science, applied math,literacy courses, and technical programs, the high-school portionof the career program will be intentionally preparatory in nature.Built around career clusters and technical-systems study, such atech-prep approach will help students develop broad-based com-petence in a career field and avoid the pitfalls of more short -termand narrowly delineated-job training. It is the responsibility ofthe high school to open up the world for the high-school studentrather than close it down through narrow and specific lob train-ing.

Based upon locally developed agreements, the tech-prep/asso-ciate-degree program can be developed with many options for thestudent. The high-school experience can be primarily in the lib-eral arts, leaving the technical- education -for the postsecondaryschool years. The reverse of this pattern can also be developed,depending upcn high-school equipment and facilities. The usualscope and sequence of the tech-preplassociate-degree programwould in2icate leaving the highly specific areas of the technical-education program for the latter two years. However, it is not soimportant where, or even when, the student. gains therequiredlearning What is important is that the student see theprogram-spelled out and see the "gestalt" of the entire four years.

This high-school tech-prep program must. dovetail with-spe-cific technical education programs on the postsecondary level.More intense technical specialization will be developed at thecollege level, always in tandem with broad technical competenceal.(' broad educational competence aimed at working in a wide-technology society. The community college technical-educationprograms include law enforcement, nursing, electronics, COM-

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THE 2 4- 2 TECH-PREP/ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

putcrs, business, marketing, entrepreneurship, agricu' are, elec-tron microscopy, construction trades ;usually in cooperation withthe apprenticeship program), mechanical technologies, and manyothers.

It is anticipated that one result of this program will be theenhancement of the associate degree so that it will become thepreferred degree for employers seeking to fill a broad range ofmid-level occupal..ans. As a result of- employer demand, manystudents are now seeking the associate degree as a preferred careerdevelopment goal. Over 400,000 of these degrees were awardedin 1984 and the trend is upward.

Making the Partnership WorkThe tech-prep/associate-degree program will require close cur-

ricular coordination. Most of all, it will require high-school andcommunity college leaders and faculty members to talk regularlywith one another and with employers.

The tech -prep:associate-degree concept provides a dramaticmodel for educators wishing to avoid slippage and loss of con-tinuity in learning. Most important, it brings program structureand substance to the ordinary student.

Students will develop sound basic skills and knowledge.Students will obtain first -rate- technical- education prepara-tion.High schools will motivate more students and perhaps losefewer students between grades ten and eleven because theycan see a futurea "why" for their efforts.Colleges will gain better-prepared high-school_graduates.The tech-prep/associate-degree program will encourage morehigh-school students to continue their education in mean-ingful ways.Employers will gain better prepared employees to work in awide-technology society.

The history of cooperative and coordinated program articula-tion between high schools and community colleges would noteven fill- a slim book. But there are signs that progress is beingmade. The National Commission on Secondary Vocational Edu-

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Figure 19

The Current Typical Comprehensive High-SchoolProgram Enrollment

College-Prep/Baccalaureate General Education Vocational EducationDegree Program Program Program

37% 42% 19%of the students of the students of the students

cation gives its stamp of- approval- to- the tech-prep/associate-degree program:

Secondary and postsecondary-levels must also coordinate theirprograms. The "tech-prep" curriculum being developed in somecommunities between high schools and community colleges illus-trates how -this can be done effectively. The program is solidlybased in applied sciences, applied math, literacy courses, and tech-nical programs. The high-school vocational-education part of theprogram covers career clusters and systemselectrical, fluid power,business, and mechanical. Study in such clusters and systems casesthe transition to technical education programs in community col-leges and other postsecondary institutions. iNatiunal Commissionon Secondary Vocational Education 1984)

It must be understood by all concerned that the tech-prep/associate degree is flexible enough to meet the needs of a greatdiversity of human talent. There can be many options for stu-dents within this program depending upon student strengths and

Figure 20

The Future "typical Comprehensive High-School ProgramEnrollment

College Prep:Baccalaureate Tech-Prep;Associate Vocational Education,Degree Program Degree Program High School Diploma

Program

VI of the Vi of the Vi of thehigh school student high school student high school student

body body body

Th_ number of stul.nts chuusing each major will vary great!} frum high schuul to highschool and a common core of learning must undergird all programs.

146


weaknesses, faculty expertise, and the facilities of the partici-pating institutions. Following are some options:

Figure 21

Tech-Prep/Associate-Degree Options

High Schools Community Colleges

Option #1

Tech-Prep/Associate

of ScienceDegree

Option #2

Tech-Prep/Associate

of ArtsDegree

Option #3Tech-Prep/

Associateo_ f Applied

ScienceDegree

Option #4Tech-Prep/Associate

DegreeB.A. -or

B c Degree

Tech TechEd. Ed.

A major challenge for the tech-prep/associate-degree programis the development of a rigorous program in applied science andmath. In this regard the State Directors of Vocational Education,representing some thirty-two states, retained the Center forOccupational Research Development in Waco, Texas, under theleadership of Dan Hull, and the Agency for Instructional Tech-nology, under the leadership of Bennie Lucroy, to develop a -newhigh-school applied-physics course called Principles of Technol-ogy. The goals of this course are to help students learn technicalprinciples and concepts, improve science and mathematics skills

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and knowledge, and provide hands-on laboratory experience fortechnicians. Principles of Technology is now being field-testedin classrooms across America and will be available for generaluse in the 1985-86 school year. Video tapes and instructionalmanuals are being prepared to supplement the instructionalmaterials to be utilized in 169 classes per yeai over the two yearsof grades eleven and twelve. Fourteen units of study form thefoundation for the course, each focusing upon the scientific prin-ciples that are the foundation of today's technological develop-ments:

1. Force2. Work3. Rate4. Resistance5. Energy6. Power7. Force Transformers

8. Momentum9. Energy Converter

10. Optical Systems11. Transducers12. Time Constants13. Vibrations14. Radiation

These units deal with these principles as they apply to mechan-ical systems, fluid systems, thermal systems, and electrical -sys-tems.

The Principles of Technology course of study is an applied-physics course based upon the time-honored principles of physicsbut dressed in the clothes of modern technology. After viewingseveral of the video lessons, this writer has concluded that thisis an information-rich and an experience-rich science curriculumwhich will motivate- ordinary students to learn more physicsthan they might learn in a traditional theoretical physics courseof study. The curriculum of the future must so integrate theinstructional program that students can easily connect whatthey are learning with real-life issues.

In general, though, change comes slowly to a school or collegecurriculum. If you don't believe that, ask John Saxon, math-textbook author and junior college math professor. His requestfor space to continue advertising his new algebra textbook wasrefused by The Mathematics Teacher, a journal for math teach-ers, because the editor thought his advertising had become too

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inflammatory. The state textbook commission refused to approvehis algebra textbook despite enthusiastic praise from-math teach-ers such as Barbara Stross, a Portland, Oregon, high-school mathteacher, who states about the Saxon approach. "This is whatteachers dream about . . . its a combination of measurable aca-demic achievement and a blossoming of confidence, pleasure andexcitement in learning and practicing math." (Armbrister 19851

Saxon's theory is simple. He is convinced that ordinary stu-dents not only can learn complicated mathematics, they can alsoenjoy it, math- anxiety is produced by textbooks that are toostilted and too theoretical. Essentially the Sakon math-teachingapproach focuses on practice and repetition while it helps stu-dents understand the "why" of their learning. According to Saxon,"Algebra is a skill like playing the piano . . . you do not teach -achild the piano by teaching him music theory. Van album andVladimir Horowitz practice. This is the way skills are mastered."(Armbrister 1985)

After some fourteen years of pushing and crusading, the Saxonalgebra textbook is becoming widely used in junior and seniorhigh schools across the country and ordinary students are learn-ing algebra.

Jaime Escalante, a Bolivian immigrant who came to the UnitedStates twenty -une years ago unable to speak English, was honoredat the 1985 convention of the American Association of Com-munity and Junior Colleges as the distinguished faculty memberof the year Escalante completed an associate degree in electron-ics technology and a bachelor's degree in mathematics in orderto pursue his first-love--- teaching. He chooses to work in a jointappointment teaching assignment between the inner-city Gar-field High School and East Los Angeles College.

Escalante's goal is to make math winners out of ordinary -stu-dents, and his students have experienced extraordinary successin the advanced placement calculus examination. Sixty-three ofhis high-sehoul math students received advanced placement creditin 1984. He anticipates that more than one hundred will receivecollege credit in 1985. This success is so astounding that theEducational Testing Service retested several of the students, theresults were the same.


John Saxon and Jaime Escalante are symbolic of many otherteachers in America who are proving on a day-to-day basis thatordinary students can experience excellence in learning as longas they are taught by those who understand one important con-cept. "Education has two roles. Its first is to prepare our youngto be productive members of society. That means skill trainingand preparing people for the jobs of the future. Education's secondpurpose is more general, and that is to prepare young peopleregardless-of their eventual- career choicesto understand thesociety in which they live." (Young 1985)

Meeting the Nation's Career NeedsThe following lists reflect a growing trend in America today.

the increasing number of occupations that require more thanfour years of high-school training but less than a baccalaureatedegree. Those high schools and colleges which have articulatedprograms are best suited to meet the needs of America's workforce, both now and for the future.

Some Occupations Related to the Physical Sciences.Hach school graduationulually necessary orrecommended

Construction helperConstruction laborerCookElectrotyper and

stenotyperElectroplaterElectronic assemblerGuardjanitor and custodianLaundry and dry-cleaning

operatorMachine operatorTruck driver

150

Two years of college orapprennceship or.specuilized school usuallynecessary or recommendedAviation inspectorAerospace technicianAirborne and power

plant technicianBrick masonBroadcast technicianCarpenter and contractorComputer programmerComputer operatorChefDrafterEngineering technicianElectricianElectronic technicianElectron microscopistGraphic artist

technicianHeating and air-

conditioningtechnician

InspectorInstrument and

appliance repairtechnician

15 6

Four or more years ofcollege usually necessaryor recommended

Aerospace engineerAnesthesiologistAnthropologistArchaeologistAstronomerAstrophysicistBiochemistCartographerChcmistCivil engineerComputer engineerElectrical engineerEnvironmental

scientistFood and drug

analystGeographerGeologistGeophysicistIndustrial engineerMechanical

engineerMetallurgical

engineer


Law technicianLaw enforcerMachinistMillwrightNuclear technicianPlumber and pipefitterQuality control

technicianRobotics technicianSheet metal technicianScience technicianTool and die makerTravel agentSystems analystWelding technician

MeteorologistNuclear engineerPetroleum

engiorerPharmacologistPhysicistQuality control

engineerSafety engineerTraffic engineer

Some Occupations Related to the Life Sciences

Animal caretaker Agricultural technician AgronomistCustodian Agricultural business- AnthropologistDog trainer person Athletic trainerFarmer Biomedical equipment AudiologistFlorist technician BacteriologistGardener Cytotechnologist BiologistGamekeeper Dental ceramist BotanistGroundskeeper Dental hygienist CuratorHunting and fishing Dental lab technician Dentist

guide EEC technician DieticianLab assistant Electrologist EntomologistMedical secretary Fingerprint classifier Food and drugMuseum worker Fish and game warden inspectorNurse, aide Food service supervisor ForesterNursery manager Forestry technician Health educatorOrchardist Greenskeeper HorticulturistOrderly technician IndustrialRecreation worker Health inspector hygienistTaxidermist Histologic technician Landscape arch'.Waiter and waitress Inhalation therapist tect

Medical lab worker Medical librarianMortician MicrobiologistNurse, assoc. degree R.N. Nurse, B.A.Nurse, practical OccupationalOrnamental horti- therapist

culture technician OptometristOccupational therapist Physical therapist

assistant PhysicianPar: medic PodiatristRadiologictechnologist PsychologistRespiratory therapy Public health

technician officerRecreation assistant RecreationWater and waste director

treatment technician TaxonomistSanitarianTeacher/professorVeterinarianZoologist

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These ten mythical help-wanted ads typify the shifts that futur-ists predict for the nation's job market, changes that are boundto affect the education and training of the work force of the future.

Geriatric Social Worker: Inner-city private nursing home,immediate opening for capable, reliable person. Must be L.P.N.or have equivalent education. Salary $16,000 to $22,000depending on experience. References required. Equal Oppor-tunity Employer. Associate degree preferred with broad edu-cation background.

Laser Process Technician. Hightechnology firm needs depend-able, experienced laser technician. Should have two years relatedlaser cutting machine experience or will train. Flex time andday care available. job sharing and shared dividends. Salary$16,000 to $25,000 negotiable. E.O.E. Associate degree pre-

. ferred with solid math and science background.

Genetic Engineering Technician. Positions available for bothprocess technicians and engineering technicians. Relocation.Must have two years technical education and training. Addi-tional education paid by company. Moving expenses paid byfirm. Company will buy your present home. Salary $20,000 to$30,000. E.O.E. Associate degree preferred with broad sciencebackground.

Battery Technician: Large oil firm needs five technicians withprevious experience in fuel cells or high-energy batteries. Shiftwork, O.T. available, dressing rooms and private locker, dis-count on all corporate products. Educatioa and managerialtraining available. $15,000 to $20,000. E.O.E. Associate degreepreferred.

Staff Assistant: County tax assessor needs dependable execu-tive secretary skilled in use of word processor and microcom-puter. Must have good interpersonal skills with ability to remaincalm in conflict situations. Salary range. $16,000 to $24,000.E O.E. Associate degree preferred with broad educational back-ground.

Electronic Technicians: Small electronics company needsdependable and broadly educated technician. Must be knowl-edgeable of fluid power systems, mechanical systems, as well

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THE 2 + 2 TECH-PREP /ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

as electrical syste.ns. Flex time available. Company stock planavailable. Salary $18,000 to $28,000, negotiable. E.J.E. Asso-ciate degree preferred.

Police Officer: City of Serenity needs police officer who hascompleted an associate degree law enforcement training pro-gram or is graduate of a police academy. Excellent communi-cation skills required. Preference in point system will be givento those candidates able to communicate in Spanish. Salary$20,000 to $30,000 with excellent fringe package. E.O.E.Nurse: General Hospital needs dependable registered nurse foralternating shift work. Must have good interpersonal skills aswell as technical nursing competencies. Salary range $18,000to $25,000 with excellent fringe benefits package. E.O.E. Asso-ciate degree preferred.

Marketing Representative. Small computer-related firm needsdependable individual with sales education and training orequivalent experience. Must be knowledgeable of computersystems and electronics. Some on-the-job education and man-agerial training available. Associate degree preferred. Salarybegins at $18,000 with additional commission based on salesvolume. E.O.E.

Bookkeeper: Small business needs bookkeeper with experiencein automated bookkeeping systems. Must have two years tech-nical education and training with associate degree preferred.Flex time and day care available. Salary $18,000 to $25,000.E.O.E.

The Tech-Prep/Associate-Degree Program in ActionSeveral community college and high-school systems are begin-

ning to talk about and experiment with the 2 + 2 tech-prep/associate-degree program or similar articulation arrangements.Two such programs come from Newport News, Virginia, in theeast and Bakersfield, California, in the west.

VirginiaUnder the leadeithip of Thomas Kubala, Piesident of Thomas

Nelson Community College in Virginia, the leaders of the Pen-insula Public Secondary Schools and the Peninsula Vocational-


Technical Center came together with the leaders of the com-munity college to establish a four-year technical- education cur-riculum designed to prepare technicians for new advanced-tech-nology occupations such as elcctrcnic and telecommunicationtechnicians. The emphasis was placed upon a comprehensiveand coordinated tech-preplassociate-degree curriculum spanninggrades eleven through fourteen.

The aim of the program is to develop master technicians whoarc broadly educated. An interdisciplinary approach to technicianeducation is utilized as well as a-competency jbased1CBE) com-ponent. The- secondary school program develops basic proficien-cies in =mathematics, applied sciences, communication skills,and trains students to apply these basic disciplines to tools, -mate-rials, processors, controls, and energy-conversion systems.

Ftgure 22

Postsecondary Curriculum StructureGeneral Philosophy

SPECIALTYAREA

TECHNICALCOREAREA

Six courses selectedfor specialization inappropriate HI-Tech area

Electricity FluidsElectronics ThermicsMechanics GraphicsEiectromechanics ControlsMaterials Computers

z0

9A

to

BASICSKILLSAREA

1MathematicsScienceCommunications

Computer LiteracySocioeconomics

Svun.c. Lenv S. redrutti. Redesigning I. mativnal 4...arrii.a;aPwwi.andary ...arm-alum DesignPresernauvn at the Amcn.an vt.atianal it3i1XidilUn-t-cnict lur uA,aput4 anal Pescara.

and Development Regiunal Workshvp. Harper s Ferry. West Virginia. May 3-4. 1983.

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The program is designed so that students can progress smoothlyfrom the preparatory high-school level to a specific, yet flexible,technician program at the community college. The communitycollege program consists of three parts. a common core of learn-ing, a technical core of learning, and several specialty sequences.Figures 22 through 25 arc models for the structure of such apostsecondary program.

The initial target population for this technician program includedthe senior -high- school students who were enrolled in the occu-pational areas of Clerk Typist and Occupations, Mechan-ical Drafting, and Machine Shop. The facu) y, counselors, andadministrators of the participating institutic, , who were respon-sible for the above-mentioned program areas were also directlyinvolved in the program.

Schools Number of Students Involved

Hampton City Schools 1500

Newport News City Schools 2400

Poquoson City Schools 136

Williamsburg-James City County 164

Public SchoolsYork County Public Schools 300

Peninsula Vo-Tech 100

Thomas Nelson Community College 500

Total 5090

A written agreement was executed between the communitycollege and the other participating schools. A sample of such anagreement follows:

Articulation AgreementThis agreement is made between Thomas Nelson Community Col-

lege and Hampton City School Division.

We hereby agree to the following:1. Participating instructors at the secondary and postsecond-

ary level will formally adopt and teach frem a listof com-petencies (task list) based on job entry-level task require-

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Figurc 23

Postsecondary Technology Curricula

Laser/Electro-OptIcs

chnician

instrument& ControlTechnician

Robotics/AutomatedSystemsSyTechnician

Micro-ElectronicsTechnician

-41p- -dr Air Alb-Laser/EiectroOpticsCourses

(5 or 6)

instrument& ControlCourses

(5 or 6)

Robotics/AutomatedSystemsCourses

(6)

Micro-ElectronicsCourses

(5 or 6)

COMMON BASE

TECHNICAL CORE BASIC CORE

Source- Pedrurn

156

ments, Criteria for evaluation and recording levels of com-petency will also be formally adopted.

2 Prior to the beginning of each academic year, a meetingwill be scheduled to review each occupational area- andamend, as necessary, the occupational task lists, gradingsystems, recording forms, and objective reference tests orcriterion-referenced measures to establish levels of com-petency. The directors of vocational education of eachparticipating school division and the Virginia PeninsulaVocational-Technical Educational Center, theappropriatedivision chairman at Thomas Nelson Community Col-lege, program heads, supervisors, and teacher representa-tives (as required) will attend.

3 The school division will maintain a competency recordfor each student which identifies areas and levels of taskachievement. This record will become a part of the stu-

162

THE 2. + 2 TECH - PREP /ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

Figure24

Postsecondary Curriculum Model for Robotics/AutomatedSystems Technology

LApplled Mathand Science

AlgebraTrigonometryGeometry/CalculusTechnicalPhysics

Communications Socioeconomic

TechnicalCommunicationsComputer Basics

o EconomicsIndustrialRelations

Electives

Technical Cora

Electricity. ElectrumbAnalog Circuits and DevicesManufacturing ProcessesGraphicsProperties of MaterialsMechanical Devices &Systems

Industrial Electrical Puwcz and EquipmentDigital ElectronicsFluid PowerInstrumentation and ControlComputer Applications

Specialty

Fundamentals of Robotics and Automated SystemsAutomated Systems and Support ComponentsControllers for Robots and Automated Systems

c Robotics/Automated Systems interfacingRobotics/Automated Systems in the WorkplaceAutomated Work Cell Integration

Source_ redrutri.

dent's official record and will be forwarded to ThomasNelson Community College as part of the student's high-school transcript.

4. Credit at Thomas Nelson Community College will begranted for competencies mastered at an achievement levelof 3.0 or better on a scale of 0.4, as defined in the respectiveinstructional resource guides, providing continuation ofstudy in the program area- begins within two academicyears after graduation from the secondary school.

157

163


Figurc25

Postsecondary Curriculum Model for Computer Technology

Applied Mathand Science

AlgebraTrigonometryGeometry!CalculusTechnicalPhysics

Communications Socioeconomic I Electives]Technical EconomicsCommunications IndustrialComputer Basics Relations

Technical Core

Electricity/ElectronicsIndustrial ElectricityGraphicsProperties of MaterialsMechanical Devices

Electromechanical Devir:esHeating and CoolingFluid PowerInstrumentation and ControlComputer Applications

Specialty

Circuit AnalysisDigital FundamentalsActive Devices and CircuitsDigital Devices and TechniquesAnalog Devices and SystemsComputer Circuits and ProgrammingDigital Computers

Source Pedrozm

158

S The college will provide a list of current courses for whichadvanced credit (in total or in part) applies.

6 No examinations will be required for granting credit forachievement of a competency and no ice will be requiredfor advanced credit.

7 All participating new faculty and administrators, full-timeand part-time, will have training in competency-basededucation and will receive orientation on the articulationprocess described herein.

8 This agreement will be reviewed annually as stated innumber two above and, in addition, will be reviewed by

164


the President of Thomas Nelson Community College andthe Superintendent of Hampton City School Division, ortheir designees, every three years.

PresidentThomas NelsonCommunity College

Superintendent ofHampton City Schools

Date Date

CaliforniaWith the assistance of an employers advisory committee, the

Kern High School District and the Kern Community CollegeDistrict have developed a 2 -t- 2 tech-prep/associate-degree pro-gram in agriculture_education. Business-education coordinationis also under development.

These-two districts serve-most of Kern County, California, andboth have had agriculture programs for years. Kern County is oneof the top three productive agriculture counties in the U.S. Agri-culture accounts for about twenty percent of the wages and sal-aries earned in-that region. The modern agribusiness enterprisefinds itself in need of trained technicians in agriculture mechan-ics and in the application -of computer science to production andmarketing. Other-needs relate to the training required -in -the useof chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and soil analysis.

The agriculture employers have been most critical of the high-school and college programs on two points. (1) they noted asignificant lack of congruence between what is taught and whattheagriculture industry needs, and (2) they were outspoken aboutthe Lick of communisation within the educational institutionsand with the agricultural- employers of -the county. With thatimpetus from the employers, the Boards of Trustees of the KernHigh School District and Kern Community College-District passeda joint resolution authorizing the formation of a joint advisorycommittee to make recommendations to the two districts withrespect to the development of an agricultural instructional pro-gram that would be coordinated from high-school through com-munity college level.

159

65


Under the leadership of Jim Young, Chancellor of the KernCommunity College District, and Don Murfin, Superintendentof the Kern High School District, and key faculty members, alongwith the motivation of key agribusiness leaders, a 2 + 2 tech-prep 'associate-degree program has been developed in AgricultureBusiness, Crop Science, Mechanized Agriculture, and Ornamen-tal Horticulture. One of the interesting aspects of this programis the awarding of a competency certificate at the conclusion ofeach of the four years of study.

Other interesting features of this program include:

o A four-year emphasis on communication skillsA four-year emphasis on mathematics and problem solvingA. greater depth of-training in technical skills

Figure 26

Kern High School District and Kern Community College DistrictOrganizational Model

SuperintendentKern HighSchool District

President Bakersfield- College

PrincipalROP

CoordinatorAgriculture Center

Agriculture IndustryAdvisory Committee

Assistant CoordinatorAgriculture Center

High SchoolAgriculture Department

FacultyAdvisory Committee

160

Bakersfield CollegeAgriculture Department

IntegratedAgriculture

Program

166

THE 2 4. 2 TECH-PREP/ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

Work experience opportunities as a result of job entry-levelproficienciesAn integrated introduction to the humanities and a commoncore of learning.

The Dallas County Community College District in Dallas,Texas, has been working for several years on coordinating thecommunity college vocational-education programs with feederhigh-school programs. Program articulation guides have beenpublished in the following areas:

Auto mechanicsChild developmentDrafting and design technologyOffice careers

Building tradescarpentryDigital electronics technologyLegal assistantMedical lab technician

Figure 27

Kern High School District andBakersfield College Agriculture Business

GRADE 11 MU.

COURSES SITE

Amman Ilistoty IISEnglish IISMathematics IISPhysocal Siltnat.

Chemistry HSTyping/Comp hobo ROPAg But Intro to

Cal Ag it) 110C

GRADE 11 SPRING

COURSES SITE

Ammo:11110.0 INEnglishMathematics IHPhysical Science of

ChemistryTyponiCompuott ROI`Ag Bus 2Ag-But

Management t,F BC L

GRADE 12 FALL

COURSES SITE-

Amerman c.ostonmenoinglmhConceositonal SpanPE 01 Ilestosclethnocel Math) PAg Bus 1AK Mko

es Lam III

1kIISIISC

11(-44

GRADE 12 SPRING

COURSES SITE

AllItIltVICancinment 11%

Conscootional Spa n IISPL of Elective IISTechnical Math tAl Bus 3 --Al Acct

h Faun Mn* 01 RCS;

GRADE 13 FALL GRADE 14 MU.

COURSES SITE COURSES SITEEnglish ornpos000n t1 IL 'Enelish-TscholcalIlumanoties 1 It RC Wooing Ot BCAK Bus S AK Itehayootal Selenee131 BC

luminous 11 BC C l'hytoot fitness BCmgog SSA Into to Ag_ Bus-Ic,m

Accounting I P BC Agocultute Last BCLlettosetlt BC, V Elective Ell BM

GRADE 13 SPRING GRADE 14 SPRING

COURSES SITE COURSES SITEEnglish Speech oU BC Humanities III BCAt Bus hAK_Lahoos rine Ant. III SE:

Adam...30J RC Nigro CV PersonnelPhysical I ones. oti BC Management III BCAwe S-111111 to Llectoye III BC

Accounting BC Moose 111 BCElectoral BCC

Certificate of competence IttAh chat! diploma ancl.ut Lettificate of competency In Assoosoe of science degreein typing certificate of competency in the use of computers in on agriculture business

agritultute agriculture

Nolan la/Certificate/Deuce

SUGGESTED ELECTIVES

AN S I lotto ft. Animal Nutt-wove c_kr sc Advan.rd TICCS A VuncsAN S 2 Beef Poodustoon ML431 AS, 1 into Agos IstechAN Si Shop Pt:Ammon Mesh AR 2Ag_ Equipment Set & OpelCRP S I Porooples Crop Production Ornamental Iloilo. 411lIft 2- N WWI)CRP S 2Alfalfa & lox Loopy MemoCRP S 1- Trees & Vanes Ornamental I hoticult um-IPlant I Is

Om I toot 4Plant Iclentofieation

But A- I APontoples of Accounting IIIBut_ A_ 111Plinciples tit Accountings])Awl S1.Paytoll Accounting cifAcstg 3To AccountingBus A IgABusio,ess Lasc(31Insur 21Ponciples of Instornee

'Cow.. m tr IltuintJ

-WhOte course will be taught (lets): No. of college units Indicated Ir.: ( )Olculturt Center (7

Bakentichl College BCHigh School tempos --HSRegional Occupational ProgramROI`

161

1 6 7 BEST COPY AVAILABLE


Welding technology Ornamental horticultureAuto body technology technologyThese guides identify the competencies a student must possess

to receive credit for specified courses in the community colleges.There is much activity across the nation directed toward pro-

gram coordination. The Illinois State Board of Education hasspent considerable effort over the past two years in attemptingto clarify the relationship between the secondary and postsec-ondary vocational-education delivery systems. By July 1, 1987,regional secondary-school systems and -the community collegesmust meet and define articulation agreements and/or cooperativearrangements.

Figure 28

Kern High School District andBakersfield College Crop Science

GRADE 11 FALL

COURSES

American HistoryEnglishMathematicsPhu teal Sciences,.

Chemist's,Tt pinktaimputer

IntimAg Bus I Intro to

Cal lig LA'

SITE

IIStiC

IIS

He

WI`

-GRADE 12 P.11.

COURSES

American UM unmcntEnglishConversational

SpanishPE or Elect's(technical Math it,ttor 5 I rttn .4

Cult P,..dvsu,xttti

SITE

Its

Itc

Itc

us

C

GRADE 13 FALL

COURSES

English tOm row ion

CropS 4.TreesVines

Ag Bus 2 ---Ac Busnigcmcut i

[Iroise st,

SITE

DCBC

BCI. C

GRADE 14 FALL

COURSES

EnglishBehavivial Spence t2IPhysical Fitness illClopS_SssWeed

CO11110101Crop_S 6S014131Liectivc

SITE

BCBCBC

CC

ncic

GRADE 11 SPRING GRADE 12 SPRING GRADE 13 SPRING GRADE 14 SPRINGCOURSES SITE COURSES SITE COURSES SITE COURSES SITEAmerican lhafOraEnglish

IICIIS

Amensan t.osernmentEnglish

IlcIIS

English Speech illCI or% 4Ad Dees

Et, Humanities 411fine Atts

BCBCMathematics IIS Consetsmional Ifs Crops 4. Vine, 01 Maul I it nos III BCPhysical Science of Spanish Mesh Ag O--latm C ap_S CChemistry Ik PL or Elective IIS abusation tar Entomology 01 CCrop S C Icahn Kali Math t Elective ill DC,C Mesh Ag

Mesh -At 2Equip Crop S 1Alialls its Elective t BC,C Power all CScr 6. Opt tit for Crop tl' Elective Id) ItC/CTsping,CumputerIntro IOP

Certificate of competency High school diploma ancCutin typing tettificate of competency in

field crops production uponcompletion of grade 12spring semestet

Diploma/Certificate/Degree

Certificate of competency in Associate of sctencedegreeINC and sine mops at the end sn crop production certificateof grade 13 in agronomy

SUGGESTED ELECTIVESAgriculture Business I Au.soitutc Mann Cs bottom's,.Assicuttutt Business 4 Ai...miming ass /JIM AlanascmcAgriculture Business Agetcuttutc ComrwctsAtdisultutc Austnws 6 Alltsultutc Libor !idiomsAnimal St:mix I InttoductIon to Animal SacnceMcchant:c3 Atvicultuir 4 Farm Engines

Whore courses will be taught {sits)Apiculture' CenierCBakersfield CollegeBCIligh School Campus I ISRegional Occupational ProgramRor

162

Mesh/nun! Apiculture? fluid & Pneumatic PowerBleclunired Atneultine , --Farm TractorsMechanized Apiculture Sfarm Small EnginesOrnamental Horticulture IPlant PropagationWelding 1-0sytiteetyleneWelding SigARC

168 BEST COPY AVAILABLE

THE 2 1- 2 TECH -PREP /ASSOCIATE DEGREE PROGRAM

For many years the Hagerstown Junior College in Hagerstown,Maryland, has maintained program-coordination agreements withfeeder high schools in the areas of business education/secretarialscience, licensed practical nursing /associate- degree nursing, dis-tributive education/cooperative education. Three different typesof procedures are followed in assessing competenz.e: advancedplacement, awarding college credit, and challenge examinations.Students following the articulation agreements have been trackedas they complete the associate-degree program. They make highergrades than those- not following- the articulation program andthey tend to complete degree requirements earlier.

Finally, Sacramento City College President Doug Burris (nowserving as Los Rios District's Vice Chancellor) and Sacramento

Figure 29

Kern High School District andBakersfield College Mechanized Agriculture

GRADE 11 FALL

COURSES SITE

Aramaean Ilistory HS

GRADE 12 FAO.

COURSES SITE

American coavetnment HS

GRADE 13 FALL

COURSES MEEnglish- cottittnition BC

GRADE 14 FALL

COURSES SITEEnglishtTrehnical

English IIS English IIS 01 BC Writing Oa BCMathematies Its Convet iguana, HS I lummaties IS, Ikhaironal &mutat/ BCPhysical Science au Spanish HS Mesh At: S-flutd C Physical Fitness ill BC

Chemistry IIS PE_ ot [lame C Pneumatic Paoact tkl BC Meth Ag 7-LitmAt -Bus I --Intro to Technical Isiah a ll Welding OS---ARC t I` BC It actot$ CP CCal Ag IP t t Slech Ag 3-tatm C Auto I -Basic-Auto a la BC C License ill BC/C

Posterns Mune t l! [let Inca P BCCGRADE 11 SPRING GRADE 12 SPRING GRADE 13 SPRING GRADE 14 SPRiNG

COURSES SITE COURSES SITE COURSES SITE COURSES SITE

AntellMIllsitIV its Amman cower nment Ii. English speech al, BC_ I lumanitics Oa BCEnglish IIS English HS Slcch- Ag- 6---Parm tine Antall BCSlathernatics IIS Convoutional Fabrication t It C Phs slot titness III BCPhysical Science sr swish IIS Mach Shop I -Elan Slech Ag_8-tratm

Chemistry Its PE or Llecine It' tl` BC C Small Engines akt CWeb_ Ag 1-Intro7t.,

Ag-Mech al! CTechmeal Math , I` CMeth Ag -1Ialtfi

Ekon e t V BCCLICtint II'

theme ell RC/'C

Meth AK-INUM C111111(0, CSc, ti. Opt all C

Certafiesic of competentin stone and operationupon completion of gradeI I, spring semester

High school diploma and.ut Lettifkatc cal sumpettnss in AsuCiAt U1 science degree..:atifisate of .ompetenst in labitattun and rcp.nt an mechanized agnculturcmit) level farm mechanics


SUGGESTED

Agriculture Business 2- Agriculture Business ManagementAgracultutt Business s-Agnsulture ComputersAnimal Suenst I-Introdustron c. Animal SUMSCtopS I -1"finciples Crop PloductionCrop S 1 -Trees Cs VinesCrop S e. -SoulsCrop S /-fingation

ELECTIVES

Crop S g-EntomalooOrnamental Hortieultute a- -Plant IdentificationAutomobile WA B-Automobile [nines MachineryMachine Shop SCO--Advanced Machine ShopMechanical Technical S9A-Basiellydraulle Fluid MechanicalWelding I -On'AccorleneVa'eldine 71-Tae and She

When courses will Oe Dwight WhitAgnculture Center -CBakersfield College-BCHigh School Campus-IISRaton,' Occupational Program -ROP

BEST COPY AVAILABLE

No. of college units Inclicatul In:

169163


City Unified School District Superintendent Tom Guigni havecreated the Sacramento City College-Sacramento City UnifiedSchool District Articulation Council. The Council is composedof administrators, including deans of ir.struction from each seg-ment, who meet monthly. Special articulation committees workin the following areas. English, English as a Second Language;Counseling Services, Occupational Technology; Math, Science,and Computers, Core Assessment. Soon to become involved areHumanities, Fine Arts, and Social Sciences.

Four objectives were set for the project. to integrate the twosystems' curriculum, to develop a core assessment/placement

Figurc .30

Kern High School District andBakersfield College Ornamental Horticulture

GRADE 11. MU.

COURSES SITE

Americanllistory IISLngltsh ItSMathematics HSPhysical %erste or

Chemistry IISAt -Bus 1Intro to

Cal At 10 C

GRADE 12 MU.

COURSES SITE

American Government IISEntlish HSConvetsaminal

Spanish IISPE_ or Elective 115"{ethical Maths-II CAt Bus. 2 At Bus

Management 1.11 BC

GRADE 13 MU.

COURSES SITE

English.. (.M1,011110(1 BC131

I lumanitaes IleOin_l lint 4Plant

Identification sli BCCrop S f.SoilstU CMeth At 1 --tour to

At Meth Ill C

GRADE 14 MaCOURSES SITE

EnthshTec hnic al (31 BeBeluvun al Science I31 BCPhysical Seience131 ICOin Hort_ 6

Landscape ContiMaim.131 BC

Crop S 7Irritation in CMeth, At,6-4arm

f abncation131 CGRADE 11 SPRING -GRADE 12 SPRING GRADE 13 SPRING GRADE 14 SPRING

COURSES SITE COURSES SITE COURSES SITE COURSES SITEAmerican Rotors IIS Arnetican Guyon menu IIS Entlishpeeth it} BC I lumanines131 BCLittlish 115 English I1S Urn Ilon SLand Pint Arts 131 BCMathematics IIS Conversational DesitnIG BC Physical Fitnessll I BCPhysical Science or Sp.innli IIS Crop S B... Om. Iron 7Tull

Chemistry 11S PE or Elective 11S EntolomogytU C Management 131 BCUrn Ma IPlant Technical Math 01 C Meth At 2 At Meal A&4.FarmPtopatation 01 BC Otn Hort 3Plant Equip Set &Wet 13l Engines131 CUrn lion 2 Nursery Identification BC At Bus 3At C At. Bus S.Agrieul.Management II) BC Marketing tare Computent13) IC

& Economies r11 BC Elective131 BC/CElmore 131 BC/C

Certificate of competency Mei school diploma saw Cettificale of competency in Associate of science degreein plant Cart and certificate of competency in landscape design in ornamental horticulturemaintenance nursery :ornate ment upon

completion of trade 12sprint semester

and/or certificate orcompetency In landscapemaintenance/turf


SUGGESTED ELECTIVESAgriculture Business t Aviculture Accountint &Dun Mechanical AvicultureS fluid&PneumaticPower

Aviculture Business 6Agne ulture Labor RelationsWelding 1-0syMettyleneManagement

WeldingS311 ARCClop- S SWeed ControlMechanical Aviculture 3Farm PowerSOY/ mm COMPOOWY COtifjf&unit

When courses will be taught (sit.):Agracultute CenterCBakersfield CollegeBCHuth School Campus HSRegional Occupational Program -4101'

164

170

No. of college units Indicated In: ( )

13EST CUI'y AVAILAB,LE

THE 2 ÷ 2 TECH-PREP/ASSOCIATE-DEGREE PROGRAM

Figure 31

Dallas County Community College DistrictStudent Profile

DALLAS COUNTY COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICTDIGITAL ELECTRONICS PROGRAM ARTICULATION

STUDENT PROFILE

School

VerificationSignature

School eekial

DateStudent's Name Birthdate SS#Address City State ZipPLEASE. TRANSMIT STLDENT PROFILE TO C.OLLEGE REWSTRAR AS SwMN AS IT IS READY FOREVALUATION.

Date Instructor'sSignature

1. DC CIRCUITSIntroduction to Electricity

1.01 Define terms of sketch symbols for terms related toelectricity

1.02 List major characteristics of a substance which govern itsconductance

1.03 ' Describe creation of a potential difference

1.04 ' List possible effects of applying a potential difference to aconductor

1.05 Describe an clement

1.06 ' Draw schematic symbol fora battery and label polarity ofterminals

1.07 List most common causes of laboratory accidents and waysto prevent them

1.08 List general precautions to prevent lab accidents

1.09 List steps to take if lab paltrier receives electrical shock

1.10 Practice good safety habits and correct laboratoryprocedures

Voltage, Current, and Resistance

1.11 ' Define and sketch lab and formula symbols for voltage,amperage. and resistance

1.12 Describe electron current flow and conventional currentflow philosophies and state difference between them

1.13 List the 4 factors affecting conductor resistance and statehow each affects the resistance

1.14 ' Prepare for reading resistors

1.15 Read values of 10 resistors

1.16 ' Idcntifv linear and nonlinear portions of a scale

171

continued

165


Figure-31

Student Profile (continued)


1. DC CIRCUITS (Continued)1.17 Identify value of picket1,18 Define knob terms

Scientific Notation and Metric Prefixes1-.19 Convert numbers1.20 Complete test on number formsh21 Define and write symbol for metric prefix tamsL22 - Read 20 standard fourbanded colopcoded resistors1.23 Write standard color code for resistors

-Ohm's Law and Power

1.24 Calculate20 Ohm's Law problems1.25 Enter number into calculator1.26 Perform-mathematical operations with calculatorL27 Predict effect on the unknown quantity1.28 Convert schematic drawing into working circuitL29 Define "polarity" and list effects of incorrect polarity on

voltmeter1:30 List and use techniques for avoiding meter movement

damage when using VOM1.31 Read 6 voltage values from a VOM Scale

1,32 Pass test on VOM reading

1.33 ' Define and identify a series circuit_..

1_34 Describe behavior of voltage, current, and resistance in aseries circuit

1.35 ' Pass test on unknown values of series circuitL36 Define terms related to series circuits137 Construct a series circuit with ammeter and read current

value

Introduction to Parallel Circuits1.38 Pass test on unknown values of parallel resistances1.39 Define terms related to parallel circuitsL40 ' Describe the 3 laws governing parallel circuits1.41 Calculate total resistance values of circuits with unlike

resistors

1.42 Calculate total resistance of parallel circuit with twounlike resistors

1.43 Calculate total resistance value of circuit with severalresistors of the same value

1.44 Calculate and measure value of resistance, current, andvoltage

166

172


Figure 31

Student Profile (continued)


Parallel Circuit Analysis1.45 Describe behavior of voltage, current, and resistance in a

parallel circuit1,46 ' Pass test on unknown values of parallel circuits

1.47 Calculate and measure total resistance of circuit

ParallelSeries Circuits

1.48 Define and identify paralleenes circuit and senesparallelCircuit

1 49 Reduce paralleenes circuit to one equivalent resistor1.50 Reduce circuit to single resistor, and draw each equivalent

Circuit

1.51 Calculate all voltage and current values for each reducedcircuit component

152 ' Calculate all unknown values in paralleenes circuits1 53 ,Measure resistance, voltage, and current at any point in

parallel circuit with four or more branches

SetiesParallel Circuits1.54 Reduce scriesparallel circuit to one equivalent resistor155 Reduce circuit to one equivalent resistor, showing each

reduced circuit

136 ' State values of current and voltage for each resistor inoriginal circuit

137 ' Calculate all unknown values of senesparallel circuits1_58 Identify switches

139 Define terms related to seriesparallel circuits1.60 Connect-two.way and threeway switching arrangements

Voltage Dividers and Power

1.61 ' State the 9 formulas for power in a DC Circuit162 Write lab and formula synibols for power in electrical

Circuit1.6.3 Define "one watt of electrical power"1.64 Dzfineand perform, with a calculator, "squaring a number"

and "square root of -a number"

1.65 ' Pass power test

1.66 ' Calculate voltage, current, and resistance for all parts ofcircuit and prove calculations

Source Dallas County Community College District

The student must complete the 66 core competencies-

167

1 73


model, to plan an articulation program for instructional programsand students services, and to disseminate information about theseactivities. Some accomplishments of the council thus far.

A process to exchange course outlines, teaching materials,faculty rosters, and educational filmsCurriculum guides for teachers and studentsArticulation agreements which specify student competencylevelsAn inter-institutional=directory of English teachers.

Additionally, -the Sacramento articulation project has beenregarded as a vehicle for assessment and research on studentperformance and learning problems, as well as a colloquium forteachers. The Articulation Council has- extended the college'scomprehensive assessment testing program to selected groups ofstudents in the high schools, evaluated the results, and formed apermanent Research and Evaluation Committee.

168

Epilogue

Some Suggestions forCultivating Excellence

In the _conditions of modern-life,-the rule is absolute. The racewhich does not value trained intelligence is doomed. Today wemaintain ourselles. Tomorrow scienct, will have moved forwardyet one more step, and there will be no appeal from the judgmentwhich will be pronounced_on the uneducated.

Alfred North Whitehead

17

It is important to review the major-focus of this book. It isnot a book about the comprehensive high schools. It is nota book about the comprehensive community colleges. Noattempt has been made to review the comprehensive mis-

sion of these great American institutions. The college-prep/bac-calaureate-degree program remains an important part of the high-school and community college programs. However, this bookthrows -thespotlight upon some real-life people called "ordinarystudents" and upon how high schools and community collegesmight work together on behalf of this middle quartile of students.The non-baccalaureate-degree students deserve and need anexcellent educationand in most cases require a better educa-tion than they are now experiencing. By and large the educationreform reports are silent on this subject.

Excellence -in education will not be achieved by-- pronounce-ments, politics, or postulates. It will= not even be achieved bypursuit of excellence. Excellence in education cannot be caught.It can only be cultivated, challenged, and celebrated.

To pursue means -to follow for the purpose of overtaking orcapturing to chase something. It is not uncommon to hearschool and college personnel talk about the pursuit of excellenceas though excellence were an object to be caught. The metaphoris inappropriate. How many educators across the land arc breath-less from chasing an elusive excellence?

To cultivate means to prepare for growthto promote or improvethe growth of something by labor and attention. How many timeshave you-heard schools and colleges use the slogan "CultivatingExcellence"? My guess is not often. Here is the crucial question.Is your .school or college chasing excellence or cultivating excel-lence?

Whether a high school sends all or most of its students tocollege, whether a community college specializes in university-

171

176


parallel courses, or technical education, or developmental edu-cation, whether a university stresses professional courses overthe liberal arts, whether the students are old or young, black orwhite, full time or part time, arc not the issues in cultivatingexcellence in education. What does matter is how faithfullyschools and colleges are seeking the best in all their studentsrather than in just some of them, and how closely they arefollowing their own institutional beliefs, articles of faith, andsense of mission.

How do we evaluate an excellent society? By the computers inour businesses, the cars in our garages, the money in our banks?I think not. History willgauge this generation primarily by whatwe have done with our human resources and our human values.If we do" not cultivate the bestin our people and fully utilize ourhuman resources, we become a wasteful society regardless ofwhat else we do.

The waste of our human resources is not only a national embar-rassment, but in a rapid!), changing world it is also a threat tothe United States, placing it at a disabling disadvantage in theworld economic competition. In many ways, our economic sys-tem has been extraordinarily successful. But let us not be fooledby past successes into thinking that we can continue to wasteour most precious resources. The path to the Great Society was"more of everything." We are now learning, the hard way, thatquantity is no substitute fot quality. Any new attempt to revi-talize our economy or our educational system will fall far shortof its goal unless we place a high value upon cultivating excel-lence and the full development of our human resources.

How do we begin to ensure that excellence is cultivated in ourschools and colleges? We are advocating that roundtable discus-sions be initiated across the country, with high- school -and com-munity college leaders developing local plans of action for coop-erative efforts. The continuity and coherence of a student's edu-cation depends in large measure upon the success of such aventure. Seven specific recommendations are offered here forconsideration in these discussions:

1. All students need a student-centered curriculum.

172

L77

SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR CULTIVATING EXCELLENCE

We must rethink our definition of excellence in high schoolsand colleges. Can- one program or one definition of excel-lence be applicable fox all aspects of education and for allstudents? Can we develop winners from ordinary people aswell as from the academically talented and gifted? Or iseducation only a process of sorting out and selecting thewinner? We must begin to identify and remove the barriersto achieving excellence in education for all students. Whatare some barriers in your schools and colleges?

2. All students must experience greater structure and sub-stance in their educational programs.

When all the rhetoric is blown away from the various reportson improving education, one would not bc far off the markto summarize the- recommendations as calling for greaterstructure and more substance in the high school. Unfocusedlearning simply will not produce excellence. How muchunfocused learning is going on in your schools and colleges?

3. Students must seecoherence in their educational programs.

Clear signals must be given high-school faculty, students,and their parents about the role of preparatory requirementsfor succeeding in a community, technical, or junior college.Open admissions and open doors cannot be interpreted to-mean -that preparation is unimportant. Much greater atten-tion must he given the exit requirements of these collegesin communicating with high-school students. Much greaterattention must also be given to coherence in the curricu-lum, calling for closer program articulation between highschools and colleges. How much program coordination- isgoing on between your high school and the communitycollege: How much do your students know about associatedegrees?

4. Students must see connectedness between whatthey doand -the larger wholebetween education and the rest ofthe real world.

It is time to review the concept of career education. Such a

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review may provide the connecting link between the liberalarts and vocational education as well as a new definition ofexcellence in education. The walls must come down betweenvocational education and the liberal arts. Students preparingto meet the demands of the information age need both. Cana tech-prep/associate-degree program help provide connect-edness?

5. Students must experience continuity in learning.The loss- of continuity in learning is profound for manystudents. This loss is often the result of a highly mobilesociety where people move from one community to another.More often, loss of continuity in learning can be attributedto student absenteeism or to just plain disinterest in theschool program. However, schools and colleges must sharesome of the blame for loss of continuity in learning. Littleattention has been given to the connecting links and coor-dination of the curriculum between high schools and col-leges. Although the reform reports give little attention tothis subject, loss of continuity in learning may be one ofthe significant barriers to achieving excellence in educationCan a clearly foctued tech-prep/associate-degree programprevent loss of continuity in learning?

6 Students must be offered a larger range of choices, so thattheir lives and work are not unnecessarily degrading, orboring, or limiting.

The information age and the demands of technical educa-tion require some new thinking about the vocational-tech-nical programs in high schools and community colleges.The high-school vocational-education cuiticulum must aimat preparing students for broad careers rather than for spe-cific jobs. This book recommends a 2 + 2 tech-prep/asso-ciate-degree approach for at least some students What isthe program for your non - baccalaureate- degree -Bound stu-dents?

7. Students must see the necessity to continae to learn

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-SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR CULTIVATING-EXCELLENCE

throughout a lifetime to avoid obsolescence and to developthe competencies to become life-long learners.

Community, technical, and junior colleges have come ofage. It is time to recognize these institutions as colleges ofexcellence and to value the role they play in meeting thelife-long learning needs of an adult America. It is funda-mental to the schooling process that it help individuals todevelop the capacity to grow and to change throughout theirlives. How much do your high-school students know aboutlife-long_learning and the opportunities found in commu-nity colleges?

Excellence in education ..s inevitably linked to the larger issueof humanresource development in our country. If we do notknow how to seek the best in all our citizens and to fully utilizeour human resources, we become a wasteful society regardlessof what we do elsewhere.

THE-NEGLECTED -MAJORITY

ReferencesAdelman, Clifford. 1983. Devaluation, diffusion and the college connection.

Unpublished paper prepared for the National Commission un Excellence inEducation.

1984. The school-college connection. NASSP Bulletin. October, 5-18.American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. 1983. Women, wel-

fare and enterprise. Conference, Washington, D.C.Armbrister, Trevor. 1985. Thc teacher who took on the establishment. Reader's

Digest March, 23-28.Association of American Colleges. 1985. Integrity in the college curriculum. a

report to the academic community.Astin, Alexander. 1982. The American college freshman, 1966-81. Commis-

sioned paper fur thc National Commission on Excellence in Education.Boyer, Ernest. 1985. High School. New York. Harper and Row, Colophon ed.Cohen, Arthur. 1984-85. Helping ensure thc right to succeed. an ERIC review.

Community College Review 12:4-9.Coleman, James S. 1972. The children hare outgrown the schools. Psychology

Today February, 72-84.Coleman, William et al. 1983. Educating Americans for the 21st century. National

Science Board Commission on Pre College Education in Mathematics, Sci-ence and Technology. Washington, D.C.. Government Printing Office.

Cross, K. Patricia. 1984. Societal imperatives. need for an educated democracy.Unpublished paper presented at the National Conference on Teaching andExcellence, Austin, Texas.

Echternacht, G. J. 1976. Characteristics distinguishing vocational educationstudents from general and academic Students. Ala/tit, arate Behavior Research11:477-490.

Ehrenrcich, Barbara and Karen Stallard. 1982. Thc nouveau poor. Ms. MagazineJuly/August, 217-224.

Fetters, William. 1975. National longitudinal study of the high school class of1972. student test results by scx, high school program, cthnic category andfather s education. Washington, D.C.. National Center for Education Statis-tics.

Frankl, Victor E. 1984. Man's sean,h for meaning. New York. WashingtonSquare Press, 1963.

Gardner, David P. et al. 1983. A nation at risk. the imperative for educationalrejurm. National Commission on Excellence in Education. Washington, D.C..Government Printing Office.

Gardner, John W. 1984. Excellence. New York. Harper and Row, 1961.Goidhammer, Keith and Robert Taylor. 1972. Career education, perspective

and promise. New York: Charles E. Merrill.Grant, W. Vance and Leo J. Eden. 1982. Digest of Education Statistics, 1981.

National Center for Education Statist,cs. Washington, D.C.. GovernmentPrinting Office.

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Hechinger, Fred M. 1984. School college collaborationan essential to improvedpublic education. NASSP Bulletin October, 69-79.

Honig, Bill 1985 The educational excellence movement. now comes the hardpart. Kappan June, 675-681.

Kelly, James J 1983. Freshman survey. Unpublished paper. rennsylvania StateUniversity.

Koltai, Leslie 1984. Redefining the assotaate degree. Washington,D.C.. Amer-ican Association of Community and Junior Colleges.

Levine, Sol 1984. College admission requirements and the high-school pro-gram. NASSP Bulletin October, 19-25.

Maslow, Abraham. 1954. Motivation and personality. New York. Harper andRow.

Moore, David 1984. The English educational system. Unpublished paper pre-sented to Regional and Community Colleges as Agents of Change. An Inter-national Symposium, Negev, Israel.

Naisbitt, John. 1984. Megatrends. New York: Warner Books.1984: The year ahead. 1985. Washington, D.C.. The Naisbitt Group.

National Commission on Secondary Vocational Education. 1984. The unfin-ished agenda the role of vocational education in the high school. NationalCenter for Research in Vocational Education, Ohio State University.

Occupational Outlook Handbook, 1984-85 ed. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wash-ington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Pedrotti, Leno S. 1983. Redesigning vocational criteriapostsecondary curric-ulum design guidelines. Unpublished paper presented at American Voca-tional Association!Center for Occupational Research and Development regionalworkshop, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Peng, Samuel S., William B. Fetters and Andrew J. Kolstad. 1983. -A capsuledescription of high school students. High school and beyond. a nationallongitudinal study for the 1980's. National Center for Education Statistics.Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.

Plesko, Valena White and Joyce D. Stern, eds. 1985. The condition of education1985 National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C., Govern-ment Printing Office.

Press, Pat. 1984. It's not dirty work. Washington Post May 2.7.Pyatt, Rudolph A. Jr. 1985. On jobs in the future. Washington Post March 8.Raspberry, William. 1984. Skimming the underclass. Washington Post Novem-

ber 28 t' 1984, Washington Post Waters Group. Reprinted with permission.Riday, George, Ronald Bingham and Thomas Ha,vey. 1984-85. Satisfaction of

community college faculty. exploding a Livyth. Community College Review12:46-50.

Two years after high school, a capsule description of 1980 seniors. 1984. Highschool and beyond a national longitudinal study for the 1980's. NationalCenter -for Education Statistics. Washington, D.C.. Government PrintingOffice.

Vaughan, George 1983. Historical perspective. President Truman endorsed

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REFERENCES-

community college manifesto. Community and Junior Cullege Journal April,24.

Wagenaar, Theodore. 1981. High school seniors' view of themselves and theirschools: a trend analysis. Kappan September, 29.32.

Washington Post 1985. Flaws in education of Hispanics cited. January 29.Washington Post 1985. Jobless rate dips to 7.3%. March 9.Washington Post 1985. February 2.Weinstein, Robert V. 1983. lobs fur the 21st century. New York. Macmillan,

Collier Books.Whitlock, Baird. 1978. Don't held diem ba-k. New York. College Entrance

Examination Board.Young, John A. 1985. Defining education to fit the advances of the future.

Spring High Tech '85, Washington Post, May 5.

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183

Index of Proper Names and Institutions

Abbott Laboratories, 137Adelman, Clifford, 25, 41, 113,

115Agency for Instructional

Technology, 147Alamo Community College

District, 121American Association of

Community and JuniorColleges, 84-85, 100-106,116, 149

American Electronic Association,12, 143

American Enterprise Institute forPublic Policy Research, 31

American VocationalAssociation, 155

Aristotle, 57Armbrister, Trevor, 149Association of American

Colleges, 133Astin, Alexander, 38

Babbitt, Bruce, 107Baker, Howard H., Jr., 85Bakersfield College, 121,

160-164Bell, Terrel, 5Belushi, John, 5Bettelheim, Bruno, 43Beverly Hills High School, 111Bloom, Benjamin, 54Boyer, Ernest L., 51, 101, 119Burris, Douglas, 167Byrd, Robert C., 87

Carnegie Foundation for theAdvancement of Teaching, 101

Caterpillar Tractor Company, 137

Center for Occupational Researchand Development, 147

Central Illinois Light Company,137

Central Piedmont CommunityCollege, 47

Charlotte Observer, 47Citicorp, 137Citrus Community College, 94City University of New York,

111, 120Cliburn, Van, 149Cohen, Arthur, 93Coleman, James S., 25, 59Coleman, William, 10, 14College Board, The, 6, 100College of DuPage, 101College of William and Mary, 99Colorado State Department of

Education, 75, 80Council for Advancement and

Support of Education, 100Cross, K. Patricia, 7, 131

Dade County Public SchoolSystem, -120

Dallas County CommunityCollege District, 75-77, 121,162, 165-167

Deutsch, Shea and Evans, Inc., 96Dewey, John, 56Drucker, Peter, 27DuBois, W.E.B., 58

East Los Angeles College, 149Echternacht, G.J., 38Eden, Leo J., 24Educational Testing Service, -149Ehrenreich, Barbara, 31

1 0 AAL i -i181


Ensworth, Jack, 54Erlenborn, John, 86 .Escalante, Jaime, 149, 150

Fawcett, Farrah, 5Feldman, Marvin, 35Fetters, William, 25Florida State Board for

Community Colleges, 122Ford Foundation, 46Frankl, Victor E., 40Frazier, Calvin, 75Friedman, Carl, 114Frost, Robert, 118

Gardner, David P., 9, 25Gardner, John, 8, 45-46, 81Garfield High School, 149Goldhammer, Keith, 57-58Grant, Vance W, 24Green Robert L., 114Group Attitudes Corporation,

100Guigni, Thomas, 167

Hagerstown Junior College, 122,164

Hampton City Schools, 155-159Harpers, 30Harvard Graduate School of

Education, 20, 131Hatch, Orrin, 86Hatfield, Mark 0., 86Hechinger, Fred, 43Hoffer, Eric, 23Honig, Bill, 137Horowitz, Vladimir, 149Howe, Harold, 20Hudson County Community

College, 122Hull, Dan, 147

182185

IBM, 137Illinois State Board of Education,

163

Jefferson, Thomas, 87, 99Johnson, Wilmer, 114

Kelly, James, 109Kern Community College, 121,

159-164Kern High School District, 121,

159-164Koltai, Leslie, 100, 101Kubala, Thomas, 154

LaGuardia Community College,120

Lane Community College, 91Laubach, Frank, 47Lauper, Cyndi, 5Levine, Sol, 1 1 1Lieberman, Janet, 120Lloyd, Willie, 47Los Angeles Community College

District, 100, 101Lucroy, Benjamin, 147

Maddox, Lester, 87Manufacturers Hanover Trust

Company, 137Marland, Sidney P., Jr., 53Marshall, Peter, 88Maslow, Abraham H., 60Mathematics Teacher, The, 148McAninch, Harold, 101McCabe, Robert, 121MiamiDade Community

College, 120-121Moore, David, 7Moreno, Mary Lou, 32Murfin, Don, 160Murphy, Eddie, 5

Naisbitt, John, 10; 13, 16, 92National Association of College

and University BusinessOfficers, 91

National Commission onExcellence in Education, 2, 9,25, 35, 42, 113

National Commission onSecondary Schooling forHispanics, 9

National Commission onSecondary VocationalEducation, 145-146

National Council on EconomicOpportunity, 31

National Science BoardCommission on PrecollegeEducation in Mathematics,Science and Technology, 10,14, 20

Nelson and Colne College, 7Newbury, Don, 32Newport News City Schools, 155New York City Board of

Education, 120New York Fashion Institute of

Technology, 35Nietzsche, Friedrich, 40Norwood, Janet L., 29

Odetics, Inc., 136O'Neill, Thomas P., Jr., 85Oregon State Department of

Education, 62

Pedrotti, Leno S., 155-158Pell, Claiborne, 86Peng, Samuel S., 39, 40Peninsula Public Secondary

Schools, 154Peninsula Vocational-Technical

Center, 154, 155-159

INDEX

Pennsylvania State University,109, 143

Pepper, Claude, 86Perkins, Carl D., 86Piedmont Virginia Community

College, 84, 96-97Plato, 57, 64Plesko, Valera White, 115Poquoson City Schools, 155President's Commission on

Higher Education (TrumanCommission), 83-84

Press, Pat, 58Pyatt, Rudolph A., Jr., 140

Raspberry, William, 29Reagan, Ronald, 5Rhode Island, Community

College of, 122Riday, George, 94-95Roosevelt, Theodore, ixRose, Stephen, 30

Sacramento City College, 167Sacramento City Unified School

District, -167Sacramento City Unified School

District Articulation Council,167

San Antonio College, 121Santa Fe Community College, 97Saxon, John, 148-149, 150Shenker, Joseph, 120Simon, Paul, 85Social Graphics, 30Socrates, 57Southeast Florida Educational

Consortium, 121Southern Regional Education

Board, 142Southwest Forest Industries, 137Stallard, Karen, 3i-

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18 6

THE NEGLECTED_ MAJORITY

State Directors of VocationalEducation, 147

State Farm Insurance Company,137

Steelcase Inc., 137Stem, Joyce D., 115Stross, Barbara, 149

Taylor, Robert E., 58Thomas Nelson Community

College, 154, 155-159Thucydides, vToffler, Alvin, 135Truman Centennial Committee,

85Truman, Harry, 83-87

USA Today, 109U.S. Bureau of Census, 63U.S. Department of Defense, 137U.S. Department of Education,

NCES, 25, 38, 39-41, 42, 91,115, 135

U.S. Department of Labor,Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11,12, 15, 2.9, 30

U.S. Office of TechnologyAssessment, 136

U.S. Steel Corp., 91

184187

University of Florida, 97University of the District of

Columbia, 58, 114University of Virginia, 96-97

Valley National Bank ofArizona, 137

Vaughan, George, 83, 84

Wagenaar, Theodore, 38Washington, Booker T, 58Washington Post, 9, 29, 114Washington Technical Institute,

58Weinstein, Robert V., 136-137,

139Western Texas College, 32Whitehead, Alfred North, 169Whitlock, Baird, 118Williamsburg-James City County

Public Schools, 155Williamsport Arca Community

College, 122Wythe, George, 99

York County Public Schools, 155Young, Jim, 160Young, John A., 138, 150

Zook, George B., 84

Dale Parnell was born and raised inOregon, where he earned a D.Ed. at theUniversity of Oregon. He began his pro-fessional career as a secondary-schoolteacher, and has served as vice-principaland principal, superintendent of schools,Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruc-tion (an elected office), President of SanJoaquin Delta College in California, andChancellor of the San Diego CommunityCollege System. Since 1981 he has beenPresident and Chief Executive Officer ofthe American Association of Communityand Junior Colleges. Dr. Parnell is theauthor of numerous publications and isrecognized as an articulate national leaderin education and an insightful analyst ofthe contemporary educational scene.

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