Campus Engagement Report

College Readiness
Bunker Hill Community College

June 2012

To:
Cc:

Richard M. Freeland, Ph.D., Commissioner of Higher Education

Susan Lane, Ed.D., Senior Director of Alignment and Engangement P-16 Policy and
Collaborative Initiatives
From: Mary L. Fifield, Ph.D., President of Bunker Hill Community College
Re:
P-12 Collaborations toward Defining College Readiness
Date: June 1, 2012

Bunker Hill Community College collaborates with 25 Greater Boston high schools to provide pathways
from high school to college. In 2011-2012, the College offered 23 dual enrollment courses at area high
schools and community-based organizations; provided early Accuplacer testing to 600 plus students in
grades 11 and 12; ran more than 20 bootcamps at partner high schools and at the College to help 12th
grade and recently graduated students boost their Accuplacer scores; designed a new summer bridge
program to help high school graduates get a head start on college coursework; and offered Start Smart
Orientations and Learning Community Seminars to help students make a successful transition to the
college environment.
In 2009, Bunker Hill Community College and Malden High School partnered to offer dual enrollment
courses onsite at the high school. Over the past three years, the program and the partnership have
flourished. In spring 2012, a series of meetings were held onsite at the College and at Malden High
School to begin the process of arriving at a shared conception of college readiness. These discussions
have helped identify ways in which BHCC and Malden High School might broaden and deepen our
collaborations to help more students succeed. Recently, Malden High School was accredited as an official
satellite of Bunker Hill Community College by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges
(NEASC).
Bunker Hill Community College participants
Dr. James F. Canniff, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Student Services
Lori Catallozzi, Dean of Humanities and Learning Communities
Michael Dubson, Associate Professor of English
Deborah Fuller, Professor of English
Amparo Hernandez-Folch, Professor of Mathematics
Luana McCuish, Coordinator of Reading Programs and Professor of English
Timothy McLaughlin, Professor and Chairperson of English Department
Kirubahari Murugaiah, Coordinator of Developmental Mathematics and Assistant Professor of
Mathematics
William Sakamoto, Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs and Enrollment Services
Jac-Lynn Stark, Assistant Professor of English
Donna DeSimone, Dean of Academic Support and College Pathways Programs
Malden High School participants
Dr. David DeRuosi, Superintendent Malden Public Schools
Dana Brown, Principal
Manjula Karumcheti, Guidance Counselor
Katy Kwong, Math faculty
Maggie Pettit, English faculty
Jen Rogowicz, Math faculty
Jane Skelton, Director of English Studies
Sean Walsh, English faculty
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Documents shared or referenced during discussions:

BHCC MAT171, 172, 181/183, and 197 course objectives
BHCC MAT192 College Algebra sample syllabus
BHCC developmental reading syllabi
ENG095 exit exam materials, including course objectives, sample exit exam, grading rubric and
sample exams scored by rubric
Malden High School learning expectations and rubrics, as posted on the high schools web site
Materials from David Conleys Redefining College Readiness (2007)
Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy (March 2011)
Toward a Shared Conception of College Readiness in Reading and Writing
In terms of reading skills needed to be successful at the college level, to state it most simply a student
needs to be ready to deal with the reading demands associated with taking college level courses.
Connolly defines this outcome broadly in Redefining College Readiness as demonstrating
Readingskills and strategies sufficient to process the full range of textual materials commonly
encountered in entry-level college courses (p. 18). BHCC and Malden High currently approach this
outcome in several ways:
The most simple determinant as currently defined by Accuplacer is a 10th grade or above reading
level (69 or above on the Accuplacer).
The BHCC developmental RDG095 course, which is designed for students who test somewhere
between 8th and 10th grade reading level on Accuplacer, emphasizes college text reading skills.
The current learning outcomes for this course state that by the end of the course a student should
be able to:
o Demonstrate an efficient, effective strategy for comprehending a variety of texts.
o [Use] critical thinking skills to analyze ideas in college texts to
draw accurate conclusions,
understand inference,
recognize the difference between fact and opinion.
o Demonstrate an understanding of the demands of college coursework and the realities of
college life . . .
Malden High Schools Learning Expectation #1 is Read critically for understanding. The
rubric published on the high school webpage (http://www.malden.mec.edu/highschool) includes
the following language for students who meet this expectation at the highest level (4 on a 4 point
rubric):
o Student consistently and accurately interprets reading material in a highly insightful way.
o Student provides effective and creative synthesis of reading material.
o Student consistently analyzes reading material to determine whether it is credible,
accurate, and relevant to the students purpose.
In terms of writing skills needed to be successful at the college level, Connollys definition broadly states
that a student should be able to respond successfully to the written assignments commonly required in
such courses. A shared BHCC-Malden High definition of readiness for college writing could be
triangulated by the following:
AP College Composition course offered at Malden High. The AP College Composition course
affords students an opportunity to earn credit for the standard English Comp I and English
Comp II required at virtually every college and university. The learning outcomes match closely
the outcomes for ENG111 and ENG112 at BHCC.

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Malden High Student Expectation #3: Write for a variety of purposes. According to the rubric
that accompanies this expectation, a student who achieves the highest level of competency
o Consistently communicates a main idea or theme clearly in writing.
o Provides relevant support with substantive, accurate detail.
o Presents information in a style and tone that is appropriate to his/her purpose.
o Creates a product that follows the conventions of standard written English.
BHCC exit assessment for the ENG095 developmental writing skills course. Students who
complete this course should be ready to meet the demands of College Writing I. The current endof-semester assessment requires students to write a multiple paragraph composition that is
focused by a main idea (thesis). Further, the composition should demonstrate the ability to
engage a reading and paraphrase or quote that reading in the essay. In addition, the essay needs
to show adequate control over the conventions of standard academic English. As defined by the
ENG095 Exit Exam Scoring rubric, this means that sentence level errors do not interfere
substantially with meaning and that substantial revision is not required.
These outcomes appear to be compatible with language in the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for
English Language Arts and Literacy.
Toward a Shared Conception of College Readiness in Mathematics
In terms of mathematical skills needed to be successful at the college level, team discussions yielded a
number of observations:
Course alignment does not seem to be the significant factor in the lack of college readiness.
3-year to 4-year math requisite likely to impact college readiness in math. The shift from a 3-year to
4-year math requisite is a significant step toward improving college readiness in math, although
concerns were raised regarding how this move will impact graduation rates. The pressure of
increasing student retention and success rates can lead to teaching to the MCAS test versus teaching
mastery of mathematical concepts.
Course objectives for mathematics are well aligned between BHCC and Malden High School
Most Bunker Hill Community College students are required to take Statistics for their specific
programs of study. Statistics is viewed as highly valuable in the workforce and for careers. Statistics
also plays an important role in the upcoming implementation of the Common Core State Standards
for Mathematics. Beginning next year, Malden High School students will be introduced to Statistics
topics during four of their math offerings. This is a positive step and will reinforce college readiness
for Malden High School students.
The objectives for BHCCs College Algebra are also aligned with Malden High Schools Algebra
courses. However, one math teacher noted that in her observations, BHCCs approach to teaching
Algebra stresses algebraic solving approaches whereas their classes use an approach that illustrate
four ways of solving any problem, with an emphasis on graphical representation and use of the
graphing calculator.
A newly designed high school course, Advanced Mathematical Decision Making (AMDM) based on
the Common Core Standards will be introduced next year. Students seeking an alternative to
Precalculus or other College Preparatory courses will be advised to take AMDM. Malden High
School teachers believe that approximately 60% of students taking AMDM will likely attend BHCC.
AMDM is designed using a project-based approach and is therefore well aligned with revised BHCC
developmental level courses that emphasize contextualized learning and projects.
Motivation, attendance rate, and advising appear to be factors affecting college readiness in math.

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High school teachers use technology, including SmartBoards, Plato, and graphing calculators.
There is also some use of YouTube videos and worksheets to supplement instruction.
Interventions to get students to pass are not very effective, so a lot of time is spent allowing
students to make corrections and retake tests and exams. Standardized midterms and finals have
been implemented but with open scores; teacher performance is being compared based on student
averages, which has the potential to pressure teachers to lower standards and pass students.
The teachers at Malden High School have the impression that 75% of their students are not ready
for college level courses. There seems to be an increase in special needs and bilingual students.
The sophomore year offers Algebra 2 College Prep and Integrated Math. Integrated Math is a
course designed for the MCAS test. Many of the students in that class are candidates for BHCC.
Around 40% of the students in Algebra 2 College Prep are likely to attend a four-year college and
the same is true for Precalculus Honors students. (The data presented here is not based on formal
studies but on personal observations.)
Variables such as lack of motivation, low attendance rate, and untargeted advising seem to be the
key factors affecting students lack of college readiness.
Misalignment of MCAS and Accuplacer contributes to students lack of college readiness.
With a focus on teaching to the MCAS test at the sophomore level where there are open response
questions, a calculator portion, and unlimited testing time, students arriving at a college
placement center are unprepared for the type of questions in Accuplacer and the type of timed
testing they face in college classrooms.
Next Steps
Bunker Hill Community College and Malden High School faculty identified the following areas in which
deeper collaboration would be beneficial.
1. Expanded Early Accuplacer Preparation In addition to Early Accuplacer Testing sessions at the
high school, Bunker Hill has free Accuplacer Prep available on Moodle that is open to all. This
information has been shared with the Malden High School teachers.
2. It is clear that each party would benefit from knowing more about what it is we do in the
classroom. There is a real interest in the what and the how. Continued sharing and discussing
of curricula, syllabi and assignments is a helpful process, as are classroom visits. Math faculty
have agreed to coordinate peer and classroom observations in mathematics for Malden High
School faculty and students for the upcoming semester.
3. Collaborative projects in reading and writing are being explored. Such endeavors might include
aligning assessments, using common language in assessment rubrics, pairing high school and
college classes to share work, engaging in peer review, and providing teacher feedback.
4. Professional Development exchanges for mathematics faculty
a. Focus on Contextualized/Project based teaching in mathematics - A revision of
pedagogy, teaching tools, and enhanced technologies is recommended to increase student
engagement in the classroom in preparation for college. Both Malden High School and
Bunker Hill Community College faculty would benefit from professional development
around project based and contextualized instruction. The high schools AMDM course
will emphasize this, as does Bunker Hills developmental sequence. In light of this,
Bunker Hill Community College faculty been have invited to the upcoming AMDM
Training and Malden faculty have been invited to the upcoming August professional
development organized by the math department.

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b. Focus on Technology in mathematics An October 2012 professional development is

planned to focus further on various technologies such as MyMathLab and Minitab for
both faculty.
5. Revising pedagogy in College Algebra Malden High seems to integrate more deeply the use of
the graphing calculator, graphical and visual approaches to problem solving in algebra, in contrast
to Bunker Hills College Algebra course that is taught with heavy emphasis on the algebraic
solving process. This highlights a need for Bunker Hill Community College to revise the manner
in which the College Algebra course (MAT194) is delivered, with a stronger emphasis on visual
representation and use of graphing calculator to solve problems.
6. Enhancing Advising at Malden High students are not aware that developmental level course
credits do not count toward their degree. Malden High School faculty have requested that a
Bunker Hill advisor visit the school and also wish to organize some field trips to the College to
clear up any misconceptions. Perhaps students can attend Bunker Hill orientation sessions and
visit during the first week of the semester.
7. Based on our charge, the main focus of spring 2012 discussions was on discrete reading, writing,
and mathematical skills. However, a theme that continued to reassert itself in these discussions
was the need for students to develop habits of mind and practice that are essential to academic
success. These include the ability to set goals, manage time, seek out assistance when needed,
form study groups, spend adequate on task, and engage as active participants in the teaching and
learning process.

Toward a 21st Century Definition of College Readiness

The habits of mind and practice noted above are part of a broader set of 21st century integrated skills
that are increasingly essential to college and career success. These skills include the four Cs of
critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity; as well as a number of 21st century skill
sets, including civic, environmental, financial, global, health and information literacy. Several
frameworks have informed our early conversations on redefining college readiness, including David
Conleys (2007) Definition of College Readiness, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills Framework
for 21st Century Learning (2009), and LEAPs Essential Learning Outcomes (2007).
Bunker Hill Community Colleges Learning Community Seminar for First-Year Students develops a
core set of competencies that map to these 21st century skills. Core outcomes include reflection and
assessment; career exploration and planning; problem solving and goal setting; critical thinking and
information literacy; speaking and listening skills; teamwork and diversity; and community
engagement. Each Seminar explores a different academic topic, enabling faculty to teach these skills
within the context of an academic conversation.
Emerging research supports the positive effects of this kind of contextualized learning on student
success (Rutschow & Schneider, 2011). Grounded in knowledge transfer and active learning theory,
contextualized models help students engage with their academic interests earlier in their college
careers. Contextualized instruction models include integration of basic skills and 21st century skills
into academic course content, contextualization of these skills for students in vocational and technical
fields, and learning communities that integrate skills instruction with disciplinary content. Any
discussion of college readiness must consider how contextualization can be utilized to teach basic and
21st century skills within the core subjects.

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Further, a challenging and supportive teaching and learning environment is critical to supporting
student success. High impact practices such as active learning, student learning outcomes assessment,
integrated support services, and professional development are essential to helping students achieve
college readiness and success. Models such as learning communities foster relationships among
faculty, staff and students and create a trusting environment that enables students to set academic and
career goals and access the resources needed for success.
Discussions between Bunker Hill Community College and Malden High School are in the early stages.
Ongoing conversations will serve to refine our conceptions of what it means to be college ready and
the strategies and approaches that will help students master these skills and ways of thinking. Clearly
there is much to be gained by finding ways to deepen our collaborations. These efforts promise to have
significant payoff for the high school and the college alikekeeping in mind our shared objective of
fostering a higher level of success for all of our students.

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