Published in the Spring of 2013, The Opportunity by Design Challenge, synthesized by Leah Hamilton and Anne Mackinnon offers evidence-based arguments for rethinking schools. While the transition to the Common Core and Next Generation Science standards possesses significant implementation challenges,  there is opportunity in the challenge. The authors signal this early in the paper saying, "As the mixed record of standards implemented during the No Child Left Behind era shows, standards cannot drive real, widespread improvement unless they are coupled with a push to redesign how schools actually work for students and teachers" (p. 1).  Schools must have the flexibility and autonomy to adjust their program to the needs of its users.

These new standards, however perceived, demand deeper learning than before. At right,  you can see a series of data sets that represent the current national data (4-year and 6-year graduation rates and 4-year and 6-year dropout rates), and projected graduation and drop-out outcomes without school shifts to meet the needs of secondary students. Here in Philadelphia, our 4-year graduation rate steadily increased over the last decade to 64% (see the Philadelphia Council for College and Career Readiness Report, 2013). Even though, this number has increased, rates of college persistence and the economic well-being of our citizens do not reflect these changes. 

As the sands of education policy shift often in our country, younger students do not have the  same adjustment issues of high school students, as current secondary leaners were acculturated under a different standards culture (No Child Left Behind).  Hamilton and Mackinnon acknowledge this by saying, "...high school teachers face a difficult dilemma: they must strive to hold all students to significantly higher standards for graduation, while at the same time supporting and motivating even the most underprepared students" (p. 3). New standards implementation cannot exclude current youth from the chance to acquire valuable learning experiences.  This reality is daunting, especially given the current fiscal barriers in Philadelphia, as adding significantly different expectations to education systems that struggle to inculcate the skills and values of our world.

Below you can find an attached version of the Opportunity by Design white paper. You can also read more here.