High Schools That Work Key Practices
- High Expectations – setting higher expectations and getting more students to meet them.
- Career/Technical Studies – increasing access to intellectually challenging career/technical studies, with a concentration on using high-level mathematics, science, language arts and problem-solving skills in the modern workplace and in preparation for continued learning.
- Academic Studies – increasing access to academic studies that teach the essential concepts from the college-preparatory curriculum by encouraging students to use academic content and skills to address real-world projects and problems.
- Program of Study – having students complete a challenging program of study with an upgraded academic core and a concentration.
- Work-based Learning – giving students and their parents the choice of a system that integrates school-based and work-based learning. The system should span high school and postsecondary studies and should be planned by educators, employers and employees.
- Teachers Working Together – having an organization, structure and schedule giving academic and career/technical teachers the time to plan and deliver integrated instruction aimed at teaching high-level academic and technical content.
- Students Actively Engaged – getting every student involved in rigorous and challenging learning.
- Guidance – involving each student and his or her parents in a guidance and advising system that ensures the completion of an accelerated program of study with an in-depth academic or career/technical concentration.
- Extra Help – providing a structured system of extra help to enable students who may lack adequate preparation to complete an accelerated program of study that includes high-level academic and technical content.
- Keeping Score – using student assessment and program evaluation data to improve continuously the school climate, organization, management, curricula and instruction to advance student learning and to recognize students who meet both curriculum and performance 2008 targets.
