The College Ready in Mathematics and Physics Partnership (College Ready) is comprised of thirty-three school districts in Arkansas and Oklahoma, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, which will serve as the lead among these core partners. In addition, the following are supporting partners: the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT), American Physical Society (APS), College Board, Mathematical Association of America (MAA), Maplesoft, Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC), and the UAF Center for Mathematics and Science Education (CMASE). College Ready intends to build vertical and horizontal learning communities among school and college faculty in order to improve major articulation issues that impact the successful transition of students from high school to college. College Ready focuses its work on a number of critical junctures and therefore is centered on articulation issues between school and college - teacher preparation in college for work in schools and student preparation in school for college mathematics and science - and among colleges and disciplines.
The major intents of College Ready are to: 1) Prepare students for college success, especially in STEM Areas a. Smooth the transition to college by improved articulation b. Provide improved placement mechanisms for college mathematics 2) Enhance teacher capacity to deliver rigorous, successful courses and curricula a. Build learning communities of school and college faculty b. Sort out and negotiate competing standards and accountabilities 3) Build vertical and horizontal learning communities to improve articulation 4) Prepare teachers to serve as curriculum and pedagogy leaders who can a. serve as peer mentors to fellow teachers b. encourage pedagogy that is correctly connected to content, and c. create synergism between mathematics and science classes 5) Make effective learning resources available, including the production of supporting materials for ongoing professional development and embedded English Language Learner (ELL) instruction 6) Strengthen pre-service education 7) Improve the number of pre- and postsecondary teachers, including recruitment and retention.
Ultimately, College Ready will demonstrate an impact on student outcomes through decreases in college remediation rates in mathematics, increases in student proficiency scores on state assessments, increased numbers of students enrolling in Advanced Placement (AP) mathematics and physics courses and scoring 3 or better on the AP exams, and increased graduation and college-going rates.
College Ready will achieve these ends through a series of interconnected activities including vertical alignment of high school and college expectations, intensive content driven workshops, articulation conferences, university course revisions, the creation of professional learning communities, and the opportunity to earn advanced degrees and endorsements. It builds on and looks to establish synergy between established efforts of PhysTEC and PMET. The College Ready endeavors are complemented by a set of three research questions to be pursued: Is there a unifying construct in the way units are used in physics, economics, public discourse, and in 9-14 mathematics? What measures best determine college readiness and placement in mathematics, and how can placement testing in mathematics be better aligned with high school curricula? What educational opportunities influence students to choose a career in secondary physics teaching, and which elements are replicable?
