Step Three: Defining Postsecondary Expectations for Credit-Bearing Coursework

First, staff from The Education Trust assembled English and mathematics faculty members from K–12 systems and from two- and four-year colleges and universities in each of the ADP partner states (Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nevada and Texas). The faculty members examined the content of partner state high school graduation tests; national college admissions and placement tests (SAT, ACT, COMPASS, Accuplacer); a sampling of postsecondary placement tests; and the GED to codify what the de facto standards are for students by evaluating the content of the various assessments they are asked to take.

Then, ADP examined the alignment between partner state high school standards for English and mathematics and their assessments.

Next, ADP asked faculty members from two- and four-year colleges, representing a broad range of content areas, to define the English and mathematics content and skills necessary for success in freshman, credit-bearing courses and to identify gaps between the content and skills they identified and the state high school standards and assessments.

For results of the study on partner states' postsecondary expectations, see available PDF files for:

For a complete report on the status of 2004 high school graduation requirements in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, see Survey of High School Graduation Requirements.