Overview
States have been exploring the concept of P16 in a variety of ways for the last 12 years. These entities may be referred to at P16 Councils, K16 Councils or P20 Councils. While there are slight differences in the levels of education included in these various systems, they all entail an effort to streamline various education systems into one coherent whole. These councils seek to ease the transitions between early childhood education, K12 and higher education by creating a single system whose standards are aligned so that success at one level indicates that students will be successful at the next. These systems encourage traditionally independent departments to collaborate with the goal of increasing levels of educational attainment and to encourage educators to dialogue with one another and with the local community in order to ensure the relevance of the skills and knowledge they emphasize.
States began experimenting with P16 councils back in 1995. Georgia, Oregon and Maryland were some of the first states to institute P16 councils, and now over 30 states have some type of P16 arrangement. The vast majority of P16 councils are created through voluntary collaborations, often involving the business and non-profit communities. Others exist through executive order, and only six actually have a legislative mandate. Florida is the only state that has introduced structural governance changes in the establishment of its P16 council. Georgia, Maryland and Wisconsin have funding and staff for their councils, and Hawaii just appropriated money for their P20 council during the 2007 session.
In addition to working on collaboration and the alignment of standards between various levels of education, many P16 councils have looked seriously at issues surrounding data and tracking. While many states are involved in an effort to create K12 longitudinal data systems, very few have begun to explore P16 data systems. Florida was an early leader in this regard and created data sharing systems that allowed students to be tracked from early childhood educational experiences, through higher education and eventually back into the teaching workforce. New York has pending legislation that would introduce a similar data system. More information on this aspect of the work of P16 councils can be found at the Data Quality Campaign.
State Highlight: Georgia
Georgia has one of the oldest and most well developed P16 Councils. Formed in 1995, the council has a current budget of $12 million and employs 50 people. The council is facilitated by the University of Georgia, and includes partners from all stakeholders in the educational system. It is broken down into 15 separate councils that take into account the regional diversity of the state. The stated goals of the council are:
- Improving student achievement, presechool through postsecondary
- Smoothing the transitions between the different levels of education
- Ensuring that students are prepared to succeed at the next level of education
- Closing achievement gaps between high- and low-income students and between white students and students of color
- Educating and training higher quality teachers
- Raising citizenship awareness in students and schools across the state
Georgia has seen some success in meeting the original goals of the council. While it is difficult to isolate the success of any one reform, initial reports indicate higher preschool enrollment, fewer high school dropouts and reduction in the achievement gap in terms of both poverty and ethnicity.
Recent P16 Legislation
Ten bills were enacted in 2007 related to P16 and P20 issues. Many of these bills were appropriations for councils or commissions which already existed, or were appropriations for newly created P16 or P20 endeavors.
Hawaii's SB 1931 established an educational workforce working group to report to the legislature; required the Department of Education and the University of Hawaii to create plans to ensure optimal use of technology for administration, data collection, and data sharing related to educational and workforce needs; and required individualized student learning plans that will have a direct link to economic and workforce needs. SB 688 appropriated funds to the P-20 Initiative to ensure an engaged, responsible, and productive citizenry in Hawaii in the twenty-first century that is the expected result of an education system and schools that are coordinated and articulated from earliest teaching to career and workforce preparation and that promote lifelong learning.
Illinois's HB 1648 created a P-20 Council to study and make recommendations concerning education at all levels to avoid fragmentation of policies, promote improved teaching and learning, and continue to cultivate and demonstrate strong accountability and efficiency and to leverage funding.
New York's SB 2701 tasked the Board of Regents with exploring the development of a P16 data system that will track students from pre-kindergarten through attendance at public colleges and universities in the state. This system should also link student and teacher data in order to effectively evaluate the effects of various teachers, professional development programs and various schools of education. The Commissioner of the Board of Regents is tasked with communicating with other social service agencies that deal with children in order to explore sensitive data sharing issues.
Ohio, through SB 119—the appropriations bill—created a P16 pilot project to assess how such a system could work in a few select counties. The program will be judged by its ability to increase the number of students pursuing higher education as well as create a unity of effort among schools, career centers, post-secondary programs, and employers. The goal is to help local communities create effective P16 learning systems.
Washington's SB 5843 authorized the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a longitudinal student data system to better aid research into programs and interventions that are most effective in improving student performance, better understand the state's public education workforce, and provide information on areas within the education system that need improvement.
At the Federal level, HR2272 created tax incentives to promote research, and contained various grant programs for states who wish to implement P16 data systems.
Key Questions for Policymakers
Policymakers might consider the following questions as they go about implementing, refining or creating P16 Councils:
- To what extent are our current standards aligned between early learning, K12 and post-secondary education?
- How successful are our students during key transitions in their educational careers?
- Are our standards aligned so that proficient students are assured of success at the next level?
- Should P16 Councils be funded through the legislature or exist as voluntary collaborations of executive branch agencies, business and educational organizations?
- To what extent should P16 Councils focus on the issue of data and data sharing?
- Is the P16 Council intended to be an advisory group, or do they have authority to implement policy?
- How decentralized should the P16 Council be in our state?
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