HI-PASS is a replication of Cal-PASS, an initiative that focuses on the collection, analysis and sharing of student data in order to track performance and improve student success from elementary school through university. Like Cal-PASS, HI-PASS will be guided by the following core values to bring the educational sectors together to examine student transition and success through the segments by focusing on alignment of curriculum and developing innovations to improve alignment efforts.

• Collaboration
  Collaboration breaks down the silo approach to education and creates seamless partnerships focused on successful student transition and success.
  
• Discovery
  Discovery is a process of inquiry that uses data about student cohorts to understand what is happening and establish baselines about current student performance.
  
• Alignment
  Alignment creates a community where educators from each segment work with one another to align the skills, knowledge and ability students need to make a successful transition from segment to segment and/or to the world of work.
• Innovation
  Innovation activities empower practitioners to explore new practices that lead to improved student learning.
• Evaluation
  Evaluation provides the opportunity to rigorously test the efficacy of new and existing practices.
• Expansion
  Expansion promotes the means to move from boutique practices to systemic, long term, widespread initiatives that improve student success.

Through the HI-PASS initiative, middle, high schools, and community colleges can learn the answers to questions such as:

• How do my students do when they leave?
• Are they well prepared? Are adjustments in curriculum necessary to improve their preparation?
• How many earned degrees? What did they earn? How long did they take?

HI-PASS is a simple and very practical approach that helps educators:

• Understand student performance, including transitions
• Improve instruction
• Increase student success

Professional Learning Communities illustrate the HI-PASS core values in action. These district-wide communities, made up of teams of discipline-based faculty from middle school, high school and community college sectors collaborate to discuss curriculum, exemplar teaching practices, instructional materials, and performance measures which are shared and reviewed in light of transition data. When faculty members work together with their intersegmental colleagues to understand the barriers to successful student transition, solutions to these barriers are proposed and implemented in the form of a more seamless curriculum and improved instructional strategies. The intent of these communities is to develop teacher leadership in using data to improve student learning across educational sectors. As members of a professional learning community, how do we contribute to building college preparedness.

Students, faculty and institutions benefit. Students are prepared and more likely to succeed in the next phase of their education. Faculty are empowered to track their students’ progression and align curriculum as needed. Institutions benefit by having more prepared students who achieve greater outcomes.

Please email or contact Debra Nakama, PhD at debran@hawaii.edu or call (808) 984-3614.