Achieve also supports the American Diploma Project Network states through timely webinars and cross-state meetings to address key challenges and strategies around implementing the college- and career-ready agenda.

March 26, 2013
ADP Network Webinar:  The Future Ready Project Website

After collecting feedback on and reactions to Achieve's advocacy resource center over the past year, The Future Ready Project, we are proud to present the new and improved Future Ready Project 2.0 website. With a sleeker design and more easily navigable pages the website provides research-based  communications and advocacy materials to support the sustainability of the college- and career-ready agenda and its related policies, including the Common Core State Standards, college- and career-ready assessments, rigorous graduation requirements and advances to state accountability systems.  On this webinar,  we walked through new features and resources available on the website, which represent all of Achieve's communications, outreach and advocacy resources.  We heard directly from Erin Hart with Expect More Arizona on how she and her colleagues have made great use of the site before and after the re-launch, how the website can and should be used by states in their communications and outreach efforts, and what our plans are moving forward to engage advocates through the site and related social media.

Please click on the link below to access a recording of the webinar.

1. ADP Network Webinar:  The Future Ready Project (Full audio and WebX component recording) [1]
2. ADP Network Webinar:  The Future Ready Project (audio recording) [2]

December 19, 2012
ADP Network Webinar:  Understanding the Skills in the Common Core State Standards

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are described as the academic knowledge and skills all students need to be college and career ready.  Content knowledge is fairly straightforward, but there has been less clarity on just what skills are embedded throughout the CCSS.  To that end, Achieve commissioned research to identify skills in the CCSS, using the Deeper Learning Standards and Career Cluster Essential Skills Statements as benchmarks:  Understanding the Skills in the Common Core State Standards.  The report identifies the types and ranges of college- and career-ready skills reflected in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in mathematics and English Language Arts/Literacy, using two sets of skills statements – the Deeper Learning Standards and the Career Cluster Essential Knowledge and Skills Statements – as benchmarks. Achieve deliberately selected two diverse sets of skills statements to ensure that the analysis focused on both broad, transferable “habits of mind” skills and skills more aligned with workplace and career readiness. These two skills statements -  selected from those currently in use across states -  are fairly representative of the universe of skills most valued by education, business and society.  On the webinar, we heard key findings and implications from the authors as well as stakeholders from ADP Network states and provided time for the audience to engage directly with the authors and ask questions. 

1. Understanding the Skills in the Common Core State Standards (PPT) [3]
2. Understanding the Skills in the Common Core State Standards (Recording) [4]
3. Understanding the Skills in the Common Core State Standards  (Full report) [5]
4. CCSS-CTE Classroom Tasks [6]
5. CCSS-CTE Task Alignment Workshop Planning Tools [7]
6. America Achieve’s Common Core Website (includes videos of teachers illustrating the shifts in the CCSS) [8]

October 10, 2012
ADP Network Webinar: The Future of the U.S. Workforce Series: The Economic Imperative for Postsecondary Education and Training

Anyway you crunch the numbers, securing a job with a family sustaining wage that offers pathways to advancement increasingly calls for education and training beyond high school. In an effort to add to the research base and provide state leaders with tangible resources to make the economic case for the advancement of the college- and career- ready agenda in their states, Achieve has produced a series of research projects that explore the link between a strong K-12 academic foundation and students’ ability to access and succeed in the careers of their choice. This webinar highlighted three new research projects from Achieve’s Future of the U.S. Workforce series, including a literature review on middle skills jobs and the growing importance of postsecondary education, new research on the limited career prospects for high school graduates without additional education and training, and results from a national survey of nearly 4,700 human resource professional from across nine industries to better understand how the skills mismatch affects companies’ hiring practices, conducted in partnership with the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). The webinar captured key findings and recommendations and provided time for the audience to engage directly with the authors and ask questions.

1. The Future of the U.S. Workforce Series [9] (PPT)
2. The Limited Career Prospects for High School Graduates Without Additional Education and Training [10]
3. Middle Skills Jobs and the Growing Importance of Postsecondary Education [11]
4. A Survey by Achieve/SHRM of Hiring Practices across Nine Industries [12]

June 25, 2012
ADP Network Webinar: CCSS Implementation Survey Questions

How will states know how implementation of Common Core State Standards is playing out in classrooms? Are key messages being heard? What instructional shifts are happening, and what is the impact on student learning? How can states identify roadblocks early and craft targeted interventions?  Achieve, Education First and EDI have released a Common Core Survey Tool, along with supporting materials, to help state and district leaders track the quality of implementation of the new standards.

Achieve, EDI and Education First provided this presentation via Webinar on June 25, 2012 to members of the American Diploma Project Network. It covers the purpose, content and potential uses of the tool.  The guidance document explains the context of the tool, methods for customization and use, and suggestions for how to use the data to make mid-course corrections.  The survey item bank includes survey questions tailored to teachers and school leaders. State leaders can use the item bank as a base for creating customized surveys.

1. Guidance for Surveys [13] (PDF)
2. ADP Network PowerPoint [14] (PPT)
3. CCSS Feedback Tool [15] (Doc. format)

June 13, 2012
Illuminating College & Career Readiness: State Report Cards for Districts & Schools

Reporting clear, actionable data is one of the most powerful strategies in a state’s toolbox for meeting college and career readiness (CCR) student performance goals. A state’s report card on districts and schools, in particular, has the visibility and accessibility to reach many people with interest in and influence on student outcomes. Given the high value that students, parents, and the public place on readiness and success in postsecondary education and careers, states are beginning to incorporate CCR indicators into their report cards on districts and schools.  Effectively communicating these indicators to these groups can lead to far stronger focus on improving readiness for all students.

• Guidance to States on Incorporating CCR Indicators into Report Cards [16] (PDF)
• Sample CCR Indicators for a School Report Card [17] (PDF)
• Achieve presentation [18] (PPT)
• Indiana Department of Education presentation [19] (PPT)

June 5, 2012
Linking the Common Core Math Standards to Higher Achievement: A Discussion with Dr. William Schmidt

• William Schmidt Common Core State Standards in Mathematics [20] (PPT) 

May 29, 2012
Common Core State Standards & Career and Technical Education: Bridging the Divide between College & Career Readiness

• CCSS-CTE ADP Webinar [21] (PPT) 

May 17, 2012
Twenty-Six States Release the First Draft of the Next Generation Science Standards for Public Review & Comment

• NGSS 101- Public release I- Final [22] (PPT)

April 16, 2012
A Strong State Role in CCSS Implementation

• Common Core State Standards Implementation Rubric and Self-Assessment Tool [23] (PPT) 

January 27, 2012
What Gets Measured Gets Done: Adding College-Course Completion to K-12 Accountability Systems

• Building College and Career Readiness into State Accountability Systems [24] (PPT) 

December 1-2, 2011
ADP Network Webinar

• Multi-State Collaboration: Curricular & Instructional Tools aligned to CCSS [25] (PPT)

October 19, 2011
Understanding the Shifts in the Common Core State Standards

• A Focus on Mathematics [26] (PPT) 

October 10, 2011
Discussion with David Conley About His Recent Report:

• Reaching the Goal: The Applicability and Importance of the Common Core State Standards to College and Career Readiness [27] (PPT)

October 1, 2011
Strong Support, Low Awareness: Public Perception of the Common Core State Standards

• Live Public Release of Achieve’s New National Poll: Public Perception of the Common Core State Standards [28] (PPT)