Achieving the Possible: What Americans Think About the College- and Career-Ready Agenda

EVENT ALERT

CONTACT:

Sandy Boyd, (202) 419-1542, sboyd@achieve.org

While policymakers and education leaders have embraced goals and policies that aim to ensure all students graduate from high school ready for college-level coursework and entry into the 21st century workplace, it is unknown whether the general public – or more specifically, voters – agree with these goals and the related policies.

With the college- and career-ready agenda now driving much of federal, state and local education reform policy – as evidenced by Race to the Top, the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and states’ progress on the college- and career-ready agenda over the past five years through the American Diploma Project Network – Achieve commissioned Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research to conduct a survey of registered voters to better understand their views on policies related to graduating all students ready for college and careers.

On Tuesday, August 10, 2010, Achieve will release the findings from this nationwide survey, which will answer the following questions and more:

• Does the American public believe students need education and training beyond high school?
• How does the American public feel about common standards, assessments and rigorous high school course requirements?
• At a time when partisanship is as sharp as ever, how does party affiliation impact attitudes on high school graduation requirements?
• Do voters view these issues differently depending on where they live or whether they are parents of school age children?
• Does a voter’s own educational background, income level, gender or ethnicity make a difference in his or her views?   

WHAT: Release of results from Achieve’s nationwide survey: Achieving the Possible: What Americans Think About the College- and Career-Ready Agenda

WHO:

Governor Phil Bredesen, (D-TN) and Achieve Board co-chair

Governor Dave Heineman, (R-NE) and Achieve Board member

Sandy Boyd, Vice President, Strategic Communications and Outreach, Achieve

Neil Newhouse, Public Opinion Strategies Dave Walker, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research

WHEN: Tuesday, August 10, 2010 1:00PM EST

WHERE: Via Conference Call 877-212-6078 Access code: 89325764

RSVP: Please confirm your attendance in advance by contacting Vernitta Cooper at vcooper@achieve.org or 202-419-1568.

Materials will be sent to registered participants. For additional information, please contact Sandy Boyd at sboyd@achieve.org or 202-419-1542 or Kate Blosveren at kblosveren@achieve.org or 202-419-1551.

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Created in 1996 by the nation’s governors and corporate leaders, Achieve is an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit education reform organization based in Washington D.C. that helps states raise academic standards and graduation requirements, improve assessments, and strengthen accountability. Achieve is leading the effort to make college and career readiness a national priority so that the transition from high school graduation to postsecondary education and careers is seamless. To make college and career readiness a priority, in 2005 Achieve launched the American Diploma Project Network. Starting with 13 original states, the Network has now grown to include 35 states educating nearly 85 percent of all U.S. public school students. Through the ADP Network, governors, state education officials, postsecondary leaders and business executives work together to improve p ostsecondary preparation by aligning high school standards, assessments, graduation requirements and accountability systems with the demands of college and careers. For more information about the work of Achieve, visit www.achieve.org.