New college, career and military readiness data signals progress

The number of high school graduates both demonstrating college, career and military readiness (CCMR) and enrolling in or completing a postsecondary program of study has grown slightly statewide, according to new data released today by the Texas Education Agency.  

Growth in Dallas County outpaced the state average, with the amount of local seniors meeting the more rigorous outcomes-bonus funding criteria growing 2 percentage points compared to half a percentage point for the state of Texas. Importantly, these “early counts” do not yet include students who completed level I or II certificates or their associate in high school, meaning this percentage will be revised upward later in the school year.  

“Ensuring our students are truly ready for the next step following high school graduation requires numerous stakeholders working in alignment,” says Commit Partnership Founder and CEO Todd Williams. “Effective educators, high-quality advising, robust data systems and outcomes-focused leadership: all of these are necessary enabling factors, and the progress shown in today’s CCMR early counts shows they are being put in place by our public school systems here in Dallas County.”

Since the passage of House Bill 3 in 2019, Texas has awarded public school systems with outcomes-based funding for every student that demonstrates college, career and military readiness, with more funding awarded for support students in special education or experiencing economic disadvantage. But in order to qualify, students must not only pass a college readiness assessment (such as the SAT, ACT, or Texas Success Initiative Assessment) but take specific actions aligned to future success, such as enroll in college, earn a workforce certificate, or enlist in the armed forces.

This distinguishes the outcomes-bonus funding definition of college, career and military readiness from the one used in our state’s accountability system, which requires only that students meet one of a list of college, career and military readiness benchmarks that range from completing three hours of dual credit to the attainment of an associate degree in high school. This means that while 82% of Texas’ class of 2024 is considered college, career and military ready under current accountability ratings, that percentage drops to 32% of Texas seniors qualifying for outcomes-bonus funding using these early counts.

We commend Texas Education Agency for publishing this initial data set earlier than in previous years, when school systems had to wait two years to learn how much outcomes funding they had earned. The Agency should also be applauded for taking steps toward increasing the rigor of the CCMR definition used in accountability in the Preliminary 2028 A-F Refresh Framework, also released today.

The Framework outlines a plan to begin providing differentiated weights to different CCMR indicators within the accountability system, in order to better reflect the different levels of effort required to reach different outcomes. This proposal, which will not go into effect until the graduating class of 2032, strikes a thoughtful balance between the need for transparency and robust implementation while also ensuring our state’s definition of CCMR matches the expectations of the 21^st century economy.