SB0858 Engrossed LRB095 05587 NHT 25677 b

1     AN ACT concerning education.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by
5 adding Section 2.24 as follows:
 
6     (110 ILCS 805/2.24 new)
7     Sec. 2.24. College and Career Readiness Pilot Program.
8     (a) The General Assembly finds that there is a direct and
9 significant link between students being academically prepared
10 for college and success in postsecondary education. Many
11 students enter college unprepared for the academic rigors of
12 college and require noncredit remedial courses to attain skills
13 and knowledge needed for regular, credit coursework.
14 Remediation lengthens time to degree, imposes additional costs
15 on students and colleges, and uses student financial aid for
16 courses that will not count toward a degree. All high school
17 juniors take the Prairie State Achievement Examination, which
18 contains the ACT college assessment exam. ACT test elements and
19 scores can be correlated to specific course placements in
20 community colleges. Customized ACT test results can be used in
21 collaboration with high schools to assist high school students
22 identify areas for improvement and help them close skill gaps
23 during their senior year. Greater college and career readiness

 

 

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1 will reduce the need for remediation, lower educational costs,
2 shorten time to degree, and increase the overall success rate
3 of Illinois college students.
4     (b) Subject to appropriation, the State Board shall create
5 a 3-year pilot project, to be known as the College and Career
6 Readiness Pilot Program. The goals of the program are as
7 follows:
8         (1) To diagnose college readiness by developing a
9     system to align ACT scores to specific community college
10     courses in developmental and freshman curriculums.
11         (2) To reduce remediation by decreasing the need for
12     remedial coursework in mathematics, reading, and writing
13     at the college level through (i) increasing the number of
14     students enrolled in a college-prep core curriculum, (ii)
15     assisting students in improving college readiness skills,
16     and (iii) increasing successful student transitions into
17     postsecondary education.
18         (3) To align high school and college curriculums.
19         (4) To provide resources and academic support to
20     students to enrich the senior year of high school through
21     remedial or advanced coursework and other interventions.
22         (5) To develop an appropriate evaluation process to
23     measure the effectiveness of readiness intervention
24     strategies.
25     (c) The first year of the program created under this
26 Section shall begin with the high school class of 2008.

 

 

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1         (1) The State Board shall select 4 community colleges
2     to participate in the program based on all of the
3     following:
4             (A) The percentage of students in developmental
5         coursework.
6             (B) Demographics of student enrollment, including
7         socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and
8         enrollments of first-generation college students.
9             (C) Geographic diversity.
10             (D) The willingness of the community college to
11         submit developmental and introductory courses to ACT
12         for analysis of college placement.
13             (E) The ability of the community college to partner
14         with local high schools to develop college and career
15         readiness strategies and college readiness teams.
16         (2) The State Board shall work with ACT to analyze up
17     to 10 courses at each participating community college for
18     purposes of determining student placement and college
19     readiness.
20         (3) Each participating community college shall
21     establish an agreement with a high school or schools to do
22     all of the following:
23             (A) Create a data-sharing agreement.
24             (B) Create a Readiness Prescription for each
25         student, showing all of the following:
26                 (i) The readiness status for college-level

 

 

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1             work.
2                 (ii) Course recommendations for remediation or
3             for advanced coursework in Advanced Placement
4             classes or dual credit and dual enrollment
5             programs.
6                 (iii) Additional academic support services,
7             including tutoring, mentoring, and college
8             application assistance.
9             (C) Create college and career readiness teams
10         comprised of faculty and counselors or advisers from
11         the community college and high school, the college and
12         career readiness coordinator from the community
13         college, and other members as determined by the high
14         school and community college. The teams may include
15         local business or civic leaders. The teams shall
16         develop intervention strategies as follows:
17                 (i) Use the Readiness Prescription to develop
18             a contract with each student for remedial or
19             advanced coursework to be taken during the senior
20             year.
21                 (ii) Monitor student progress.
22                 (iii) Provide readiness support services.
23             (D) Retest students in the spring of 2008 to assess
24         progress and college readiness.
25         (4) The State Board shall work with participating
26     community colleges and high schools to develop an

 

 

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1     appropriate evaluation process to measure effectiveness of
2     intervention strategies, including all of the following:
3             (A) Baseline data for each participating school.
4             (B) Baseline data for the Illinois system.
5             (C) Comparison of ACT scores from March 2007 to
6         March 2008.
7             (D) Student enrollment in college in the fall of
8         2008.
9             (E) Placement of college and career readiness
10         students in developmental and regular courses in the
11         fall of 2008.
12             (F) Retention of college and career readiness
13         students in the spring semester of 2009.
14         (5) The State Board shall work with participating
15     community colleges and high schools to establish
16     operational processes and a budget for college and career
17     readiness pilot programs, including all of the following:
18             (A) Employment of a college and career readiness
19         coordinator at each community college site.
20             (B) Establishment of a budget.
21             (C) Creation of college and career readiness
22         teams, resources, and partnership agreements.
23     (d) The second year of the program created under this
24 Section shall begin with the high school class of 2009. In the
25 second year, the State Board shall have all of the following
26 duties:

 

 

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1         (1) Analyze courses at 3 new community college sites.
2         (2) Undertake intervention strategies through college
3     and career readiness teams with students in the class of
4     2009.
5         (3) Monitor and assist college and career readiness
6     graduates from the class of 2008 in college.
7     (e) The third year of the program created under this
8 Section shall begin with the high school class of 2010. In the
9 third year, the State Board shall have all of the following
10 duties:
11         (1) Analyze courses at 5 new community college sites.
12         (2) Add college and career readiness teams at 3 new
13     sites (from year 2 of the program).
14         (3) Undertake intervention strategies through college
15     and career readiness teams with students of the class of
16     2010 at 7 sites.
17         (4) Monitor and assist students from the classes of
18     2008 and 2009 in college.