CROSS CUTTING ISSUES

Alignment

Alignment, coherence, coordination and similar words refer to a desire to make education at all levels work as one "seamless" system. As stated in P-16: The Next Great Education Reform (second entry below), "History and tradition have left us with a dysfunctional, disconnected American education system that lengthens the odds of success for the very students most in need of support and encouragement."

Alignment suggests that assessment, curriculum, instruction, educational materials, teacher preparation and accountability systems all need to be interrelated - and to "reflect and reinforce the educational program's objectives and standards." (EdSource Online Glossary)

"P-16," the idea of an integrated system from preschool through college, is much discussed. As the Working Group on Workforce Preparation and Business Linkages points out, however, linkages and information flows between schools and potential employers are also essential.

• P-16: Model to increase alignment, preschool through college (overview with links). See also Quick Facts (Education Commission of the States)
• P-16: The Next Great Education Reform (Education Commission of the States Clearinghouse)
• Why is K-16 Collaboration Essential to Educational Equity? (Chapter in National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education publication)
• Aligning California's Education Reforms: Summary of report on California's many major reforms and need for alignment. Chart shows reforms over time (to order from EdSource)
• What Is P-16 Education? Introduction to concept, language and policy issues (Education Commission of the States Clearinghouse)
• Reporting on Readiness: Reports from colleges to lower schools on how graduates perform can strengthen connections and improve preparation (19 page PDF report; Southern Regional Education Board)
• Building a Highway to Higher Ed: How Collaborative Efforts are Changing Education (Center for an Urban Future; short report on P-16)
• Bridging the K-12/Postsecondary Divide: Includes discussion of benefits for postsecondary (12 page PDF Policy Brief, Consortium for Policy Research in Education)

Related Issues:

Alignment is related to many of the topics in the Master Plan; the links below lead to pages on this site that give more information in selected areas.

• Accountability
• Assessment
• Data
• Governance

If your organization has material that would be useful for the online dialogue but is not included in the preceding list, please e-mail a URL to <camp-info@network-democracy.org>.