Dive Brief:

• A coordinated effort by school leaders in Spokane, WA, is pushing more students to undertake rigorous AP courses before completing high school. 
• The approach is bolstered by federal research, which found that "academic intensity" in high school helps students succeed in post-secondary education, according to a recent article from The Hechinger Report.
• At John R. Rogers High School in Spokane, the push has already been successful at raising the numbers of students going to college, especially those from lower-income backgrounds.

Dive Insight:

In recent years, college and career readiness has taken on new significance for schools as questions are raised on whether high school graduates are really ready for the challenges of college-level courses. Researchers have found, for example, that few students are taking adequate college prep or career readiness instruction before leaving high school. National research from the National Assessment of Educational Progress has found that only about a third of high school seniors are prepared for college-level work.  

As the Hechinger Report notes in its article on Spokane, the idea is not only to get students to pass the AP course and earn credit, but to learn valuable study and coping skills when taking higher-level courses. Higher academic standards, such as Common Core, may be one path to raising student achievement. However, a recent report from the Learning First Alliance makes it clear that a collaborative approach between state departments of education and school and district leaders — something previously lacking — is needed to raise the bar on college and career standards across the nation. 

Focusing specifically on students from lower-income backgrounds to undertake these courses, as Spokane has done, may boost college-going rates overall and be beneficial at helping these students envision themselves as prepared for college-level courses.