ED465213 - P-16 Education. ERIC Digest - ERIC-ED465213 | Content Details

ED465213 - P-16 Education. ERIC Digest

Source Institution: ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Eugene, OR

Sponsoring Agency: Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), Washington, DC

Subject: Curriculum Development, Developmental Continuity, Elementary Secondary Education, Postsecondary Education, Preschool Education

Abstract: P-16 education is an integrated system of education stretching from early childhood through a 4-year college, emphasizing continuity of student learning and alignment across school levels. It seeks to address problems with the present educational system, considering, for example, that "A" students in high-poverty schools score at the same level as llCfl and ItD"students in affluent schools, and 29 percent of college freshmen take one or more remedial courses in reading, writing, or mathematics. P-16 education has five central goals: to have every child ready for school by age 6, proficient in reading by 8, proficient in geometry and algebra by 13, completing a rigorous core curriculum by 17, and expected to complete the first 2 years of college by 21. P-16 strengths are inclusiveness, alignment, removal of artificial barriers, and reductions in level of remediation. Challenges include reliance on individual leaders, too little time, too much turf consciousness, lack of evidence, and lack of a common language.. However, 25 states have passed P-16 legislation, implementing the system either as a broad, sweeping reform, or as a continuum of incremental changes. Further research is needed on the impact of P-16 on student achievement and appropriate forms of governance and finance. (Contains 12 references.).