1. The governor should establish a continuing workgroup to promote highly effective pre-K through 20+ education in Oklahoma, to clarify the state’s highest educational priorities and to facilitate work among the various components of Oklahoma’s education systems.
SB 982, the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act, established a 19-member ACE Task Force to study, hold public hearings and make recommendations regarding eighth-grade and high school curriculum and assessment. The Task Force will consider subjects to be included in curriculum, end-of-instruction tests, benchmarks, intervention strategies and remediation options. (2005)
The ACE Task Force is one example of the many ways in which highly effective pre-K through 20+ education is being facilitated among the constitutional and statutory components of Oklahoma’s education system. The state superintendent, a constitutional officer, chairs both the State Board of Education and the State Board of Career and Technology Education and is a member of the Board of Regents of Oklahoma Colleges. Oklahoma’s chancellor for higher education, selected by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, works closely with the state superintendent and the state director of CareerTech as ex officio members of numerous boards and commissions relevant to education in the state and region. (2004, 2005)
The Governor’s Council on Workforce and Economic Development is developing a collaborative framework for connecting and identifying career pathways in the state. This is a joint effort of the Council, Commerce, the State Regents, CareerTech and K-12 education. (2005)
In addition, the State Regents and CareerTech have collaborated to create an innovative cooperative alliance model that will enhance technical education, expand access to postsecondary education, produce more college degrees and use resources more efficiently. Three pilot projects were launched in fall 2005.
SB 1271 authorized technology center school districts to offer college preparatory programs that are aligned with the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS), taught by a certified teacher and are designed in cooperation with higher education institutions. The law allows 10th-grade students to attend technology centers and receive graduation credit for certain rigorous courses. (2004)
2. The State Department of Education and the State Regents should work together to improve basic K-12 education, particularly in mathematics and science and to reduce the proportion of college freshmen who are required to take college remedial classes.
The governor, state superintendent, the State Regents and the Oklahoma Business Education Coalition are working together on the American Diploma Project, a collaboration with the National Governors Association and Achieve, Inc. The project aims to:
Oklahoma’s academic standards, the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS), already align with the American Diploma Project benchmarks in mathematics and language arts. (2005)
As previously noted, SB 982, the Achieving Classroom Excellence Act, provides a framework for all public school systems to infuse standards, curriculum and assessments with the rigor and relevance necessary for Oklahoma students to be prepared for college and the world of work. The measure created the Achieving Classroom Excellence (ACE) Task Force to study and make recommendations about the testing requirements for eighth-grade students, such as subjects to be included, end-of-instruction tests, benchmarks, intervention strategies and remediation options. (2005)
The ACE law also provides that each high school senior who meets the eligibility requirements for concurrent enrollment shall be entitled to receive a tuition waiver equivalent to the amount of resident tuition for a maximum of six credit hours per semester. (2005)
In addition, the ACE law requires that all students shall complete a college preparatory curriculum, aligned to the current state standards, the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS), prior to graduation from high school. Beginning in academic year 2006-2007, all ninth-grade students will be enrolled in the college preparatory curriculum defined by law unless their parents request an exemption. (2005)
ACE also directs the State Department of Education to establish an Oklahoma Mathematics Improvement Program. The purpose of the program is to improve student mastery of the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) for sixth-grade math through Algebra I. (2005)
HB 1621 focuses on the standards of instruction in reading, language arts and mathematics for children in kindergarten through third grade. The law requires each public school district to ensure that instructional time each day in kindergarten through third grade is focused on reading and mathematics. Districts are encouraged to integrate the teaching of the other curricular areas in the Priority Academic Student Skills (PASS) with the instruction of reading and mathematics. (2005)
A $145 million increase in common education funding provides for teacher pay increases and health care premiums. Funding for higher education increased by $87 million, and a $475 million capital bond was approved. (2005)
The Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition has embarked on an analytical project to evaluate math performance in schools, identify best practices and share those techniques with other schools. (2005)
3. The State Regents should develop for the Legislature an effective and economical configuration of higher education campuses, including branch campuses and learning centers.
The State Regents and the Legislature have implemented a more efficient organization of branch campuses and learning centers. The Duncan Higher Education Center was converted into a branch of Cameron University by HB 2624 (2004), and SB 64 established a branch campus of Northern Oklahoma College in Enid and made McCurtain County Higher Education Center a branch campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University (2005).
The State Regents have conducted an evaluation of higher education needs in the Tulsa metropolitan region (2004) and funded a similar survey in the region surrounding the McCurtain County Higher Education Center (2005). In addition, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, the State Regents and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission have conducted a statewide analysis of employment needs with respect to education requirements (2005).
4. The State Department of Education and the private sector should design and advocate a state-of-the-art early childhood education program.
Development of Oklahoma’s early childhood education program has been an ongoing collaboration of state leaders, educators, Head Start officials, private day-care providers and others for more than a decade. In November 2004, the National Institute of Early Education Research again recognized Oklahoma as the national model in pre-kindergarten education. In 2005, Georgetown University studied early childhood education in Oklahoma for the third year in a row. Their results show pre-K programs provide readiness for K-12 education and close achievement gaps among racial/ethnic groups. The 2003 and 2004 Georgetown University studies are among the early childhood education resources available on the State Department of Education Web site at www.sde.state.ok.us.
HB 1094 created the Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness Act. Membership on this ongoing collaborative includes representatives of the Governor’s office, the State Superintendent, the Chancellor for Higher Education, CareerTech, legislators, and business and industry. Oklahoma First Lady Kim Henry is leading this collaboration, which is part of an overall strategy to strengthen opportunities in early childhood learning. (2004)
| Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten Number of Oklahoma students enrolled, 2004-2005 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Half-day |
Full-day |
Total |
|
Kindergarten |
18,735 |
28,409 |
47,144 |
| Percentage of Kindergarten Students | 39.7% |
60.3% |
100% |
| Pre-Kindergarten | 14,449 |
17,263 |
31,712 |
| Percentage of Pre-K Students | 45.6% |
54.4% |
100% |
SB 982 established that all-day kindergarten programs will be provided by all school districts beginning with the 2011-12 school year. Currently, 77 percent of school districts provide full and/or half-day kindergarten programs. (2005)
For fiscal year 2006, the Legislature provided an additional $949,000 for the SoonerStart Early Invention Program. This program provides services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and developmental delays.
5. Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities should offer a wider range of professional development options and continuing education courses that meet the needs of business and industry.
The formation of the Governor’s Council for Workforce and Economic Development puts unprecedented emphasis on collaboration and alignment of these efforts. The Council brings together 50 leaders across a variety of private and public sector organizations - business, government and education - to develop a strategy for accelerated economic growth and provide direction to state administration. (2005)
The Governor’s Council for Workforce and Economic Development completed an Employer Educational Needs and Satisfaction Inventory to identify employer needs for particular employee skills and to identify any gaps between employee supply and employer demand in Oklahoma. (2005)
The presidents of Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities have begun an analysis of professional development and continuing education courses and programs. These results will be used in conjunction with the education needs assessments described above to guide programs to be offered in the future. (2005)
The State Regents approved two technology-based bachelor’s degree programs to be offered at the two-year OSU-Okmulgee technical branch. (2005)