Setting Statewide College- and Career-Ready Goals

The changing economy requires that states focus on postsecondary education and training as the goal for all students. Recognizing this, states have led the charge to increase expectations for all students. Unfortunately, the newfound support for college and career readiness has not yet led to significant improvements in student outcomes.

The Issue Brief includes a five steps process to state leaders on establishing college- and career-ready performance goals:
1. Select performance indicators;
2. Collect, calculate, and report baseline data for the indicators;
3. Set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely (SMART) goals;
4. Establish annual or biannual targets to meet the goals; and
5. Publicly report performance on the indicators annually.