New Tech Network Students Continue to Outpace National High School Graduation and College Persistence Rates
Innovative School Model Focuses on Career-Ready Skills
NAPA, Calif., September 19, 2018 (Newswire.com) - New Tech Network (NTN) announced today that its students outperform national high school graduation rates for the eighth year in a row according to a 2018 School and Student Success Report. Students graduate from high school at 94 percent, 10 percentage points higher than the most recent national average available. NTN alumni continue to persist in college at 83 percent, five percentage points higher than the national average.
New Tech Network is comprised of more than 200 K-12 schools in the United States and Australia. In the last five years, NTN schools have graduated more than 20,000 high school students from urban, suburban, and rural communities.
Every student deserves access to schools where they feel engaged and connected to their peers and their community and are able to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills as an everyday experience.
Lydia Dobyns, President and CEO
To achieve consistent employability skills for all students, the NTN school design combines project-based learning with an engaged student culture and a technology-rich environment. New Tech Network partner districts strive to address educational inequity by supporting the redesign, creation, and development of schools that intentionally seek to close the opportunity gap while preparing students for an ever-changing career environment.
“Every student deserves access to schools where they feel engaged and connected to their peers and their community and are able to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills as an everyday experience. We also believe that teachers and administrators stand ready and willing to implement proven innovative methods that better prepare all students for life after high school,” said NTN President and CEO Lydia Dobyns.
NTN high school students consistently demonstrated an average of 42 percent more growth in higher order thinking skills. Critical thinking skills were measured using the College and Work Readiness Assessment Plus (CWRA+) administered by Council for Aid to Education (CAE). This nationally normed assessment uses realistic performance tasks to assess four domains of learning: analytical reasoning and evaluation, writing effectiveness, writing mechanics, and problem-solving and compared NTN high schools against largely private schools based on a four-year average.
“The best preparation for life and work in the new economy is extended and integrated challenges where young people build critical thinking, collaboration, and agency. A New Tech education provides the skills students will need for this new economy,” said Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart.
“Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project-Based Learning”, co-authored by Dobyns and Vander Ark, gives context to one of the modern era’s most important educational innovations and provides smart strategies for collaborating in school networks to achieve the promise of personalized and project-based learning for all students. The book explores the challenges schools face when undertaking innovation in isolation.
“New Tech Network’s foundational belief is that schools get better by being part of a community. We think school networks hold the best potential for solving the most complex challenge we face today: closing the opportunity gap for all students, no matter where they live,” said Dobyns.
About New Tech Network
New Tech Network, a national nonprofit organization, is a leading design partner for comprehensive K-12 school change. We coach teachers and school leaders to inspire and engage all students through authentic and challenging work. The New Tech model combines pervasive project-based learning, an engaging school-wide culture and the real-world use of technology tools and resources. We support the whole school through three key structures: professional development events, coaching, and Echo, the NTN project-based platform.
New Tech Network students consistently outperform national high school graduation and college persistence rates. The network consists of more than 200 schools in 27 states and Australia.
Source: New Tech Network
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