Out-of-date browser detected
Your browser appears to be out-of-date, and portions of the site may not function as intended.
Please install a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari for a better experience.
Our P-16 Framework
The P-16 Framework is the result of our exploration of how, when, and why students gain and lose momentum across their educational journey—from prekindergarten through college and beyond. To inform our work and that of our partners, we have reviewed and assessed the evidence base to identify factors and critical milestones that matter most to students and their educational success. For example, research shows that ninth graders who succeed on four key indicators—high attendance, course completion rates, credit accumulation, and grades—are 84% more likely to earn a high school diploma.
The P-16 Framework is designed to draw on and complement work already underway across our strategies in Early Learning, K-12 education, Postsecondary Success, Economic Mobility and Opportunity, and Washington State initiatives. It reflects an effort to align our work across strategies and focus efforts on the milestones that are most likely to improve students’ trajectories, as well as to understand the additional factors that help or hinder their success. The framework reflects our learning to date; it will evolve as we continue to learn and work with our partners and as new research is done in the field.
The Framework's Scope
The North Star for our education work, as reflected in the P-16 Framework, is ensuring that all students—especially those from low-income communities and students of color—have access to educational opportunities, from pre-K through postsecondary, that enable them to develop the knowledge, skills, and agency needed to thrive as adults and contribute to their communities.
Given our focus on education as a critical lever for opportunity, this framework is bound by factors that the educational system is designed to address. We acknowledge that there are a number of additional factors that can significantly affect student outcomes, including gender, socioeconomic status, and student health. Specifically, we acknowledge the centrality of poverty, race, and ethnicity, and their impact on educational outcomes.
School year
How to explore this framework
Reset
Recurring Issues Test
Social Emotional Factors
Academic Benchmarks
Enabling Environments
Chronic issues that directly influence student engagement (and can be strong predictors of dropout)
Mindsets students develop that ultimately lead to greater academic success
Benchmarks and factors that relate directly to a student's academic development
Ways in which the education system can prepare and empower students and help them gain momentum
Chronic Absenteeism and Lateness
Disciplinary Action
Student Mobility
Changing Paradigms and Expectations
Grade Retention
Misplacement in Special Education
Summer Learning Loss
Executive Function and Self-Regulation
Growth Mindset
Future Orientation
Self-Management
Sense of Belonging
Language, Literacy and Math Foundations
Exposure to STEM Education and Learning
Reading Proficiency
Math Proficiency
Writing Proficiency
9th-Grade GPA
HS Course Rigor and Academic Progress
PS Enrollment after HS Graduation
Placement in Remedial Education
1st-Year PS Focus and Accumulation
1st-Year PS Academic Performance
Overall PS Credit Accumulation
Pre-K Participation and Quality
Kindergarten Participation and Quality
High Expectations
Use of Digital Tools and Resources
Dual Language Learning
Extracurricular Activities
Mentorship and Support
Pathways from HS to PS and Career
Financial Aid Literacy and Access
College-Level Coursework
Credit Transfer
Pathways through PS and into Career
Job Placement
Tip 2
When you hover over a factor in the columns below, you'll be able to see the grades in which it is relevant along this grades bar.
Tip 1
This timeline shows the number of factors and benchmarks relevant in each grade. It does not represent intensity of each factor or benchmark. To focus on the factors within a single grade or range of grades, click and drag on the timeline.
Tip 3
If you want to learn more about why a factor is listed in the framework, click on it to access key facts and resources.
Recurring Issues Test
Chronic Absenteeism and Lateness
Chronic absenteeism undermines students' ability to make timely progress.
Facts
Numerous studies have found chronic absenteeism to be the strongest predictor of whether a student will drop out of high school (Balfanz and Byrnes, 2012).
Recurring Issues Test
The Importance of Being in School: A Report on Absenteeism in the Nation's Public Schools
What Your Community Can Do to End its Drop-Out Crisis: Learnings from Research and Practice
Why Students Drop Out of School: A Review of 25 Years of Research
Looking Forward to High School and College: Middle Grade Indicators of Readiness in Chicago Public Schools
Present, Engaged, and Accounted For: The Critical Importance of Addressing Chronic Absence in the Early Grades
Unfulfilled Promise: The Dimensions and Characteristics of Philadelphia’s Dropout Crisis, 2000–2005
Recurring Issues Test
Disciplinary Action
Suspensions and expulsions are early indicators of potential school dropouts.
Facts
In Florida, getting suspended once in 9th grade doubled the odds of HS dropout (16 to 32%) and decreased the odds of PS enrollment from 58 to 39% (Balfanz, Byrnes and Fox, 2014).
Recurring Issues Test
School Climate and Discipline: Know the Data
Policy Statement on Expulsion and Suspension Policies in Early Childhood Settings
Brief intervention to encourage empathic discipline cuts suspension rates in half among adolescents
Predicting High School Outcomes in the Baltimore City Public Schools
Sent Home and Put Off-Track: The Antecedents, Disproportionalities, and Consequences of Being Suspended in the Ninth Grade
Disproportionate Impact of K-12 School Suspension and Expulsion on Black Students in Southern States
Suspending Progress: Collateral Consequences of Exclusionary Punishment in Public Schools
Recurring Issues Test
Student Mobility
Changing schools (especially multiple times) can interrupt and delay academic progress.
Facts
Higher levels of student mobility are associated with delayed HS graduation, lower educational attainment and higher arrest rates (Herbers, Reynolds and Chen, 2013).
41.9% of students surveyed in the ECLS study transferred schools once between K and 5. 24.1% of students transferred more than once (Rumberger, 2015).
During the 2014-2015 school year, the Colorado student mobility rate was 16.5%. Students with disabilities, ELL students, and economically disadvantaged students were found to have an average rate of mobility, while migrant, homeless and foster care students had mobility rates of 36.9, 39.8 and 54% respectively (Colorado Department of Education, 2016).
Recurring Issues Test
School Mobility and Developmental Outcomes in Young Adulthood
Changing Schools: A Look at Mobility Trends in Chicago Public Schools Since 1995
Why Students Drop Out of School: A Review of 25 Years of Research
Recurring Issues Test
Changing Paradigms and Expectations
Shifts in school structure and disparities between teacher and student expectations around maturity, rules of engagement, academic rigor and success metrics can affect student performance.
Facts
Studies show declining student well-being and performance can occur during the MS-HS transition (Weiss and Bearman, 2007).
Students have much more autonomy over assignment and course completion in college than they do in high school (Dickinson College).
Recurring Issues Test
Fresh Starts: Reinvestigating the Effects of the Transition to High School on Student Outcomes
Differences Between Accommodation Services and Academic Expectations in High School vs. College
Middle school math acceleration and equitable access to 8th grade algebra: Evidence from the Wake County public school system
Recurring Issues Test
Grade Retention
Grade retention impacts social, emotional and academic well-being.
Facts
In 2014, 1.3M students were held back
Recurring Issues Test
Recurring Issues Test
Misplacement in Special Education
Accurate assessment of academic needs can help students, but inaccurate or late placement can undermine student progress and mindset.
Facts
Misplacement in special education can have long-term negative effects (National Education Association, 2008).
Recurring Issues Test
Recurring Issues Test
Summer Learning Loss
Students who do not engage in high-quality summer learning opportunities start each year behind their peers who have the opportunity to do so.
Facts
Summer learning loss in elementary school accounts for over half of the 9th grade achievement gap between high- and low-income students (Alexander, Entwisle and Olsen, 2007).
Recurring Issues Test
Social Emotional Factors
Executive Function and Self-Regulation
When students regulate their emotions, behavior and attention, they are better able to engage in their schoolwork and are less disruptive in the classroom.
Facts
Research has found a correlation between student executive function and performance in reading and math (Best, Miller and Naglieri, 2011).
An RCT study found that social-emotional skills gained in preschool 'made unique contributions to kindergarten outcomes in reading achievement and learning engagement Nix, Bierman, Domitrovich and Gill, 2013).'
Social Emotional Factors
Social Emotional Factors
Growth Mindset
Students with a growth mindset believe intelligence can be cultivated, which helps them weather academic challenges and persist toward their goals.
Facts
Research shows that an emphasis on developing a growth mindset can lead to higher GPAs and better performance in core courses among high school students at risk of dropping out (Paunesku et al., 2015).
Pre-college mindset programs improved sense of belonging, GPAs, and retention in postsecondary education among 1st-generation students and students of color (Yeager et al., 2016).
Social Emotional Factors
Mind-Set Interventions Are a Scalable Treatment for Academic Underachievement
Using Design Thinking to Improve Psychological Interventions: The Case of the Growth Mindset During the Transition to High School
Social Emotional Factors
Future Orientation
Early awareness of postsecondary options helps students aim high, set academic goals and stay on track.
Facts
A clear future orientation is positively associated with academic achievement and student appreciation of course relevance (Brown and Jones, 2004).
Strong future orientation reduces the likelihood of high-risk behavior among adolescents (Jackman and MacPhee, 2015).
Social Emotional Factors
Social Emotional Factors
Self-Management
Students who are internally motivated to achieve and are able to persist in the face of difficulties are more likely to pursue higher-level coursework.
Facts
Research by Angela Duckworth found that student self-discipline is a better predictor of academic performance than IQ (Duckworth and Seligman, 2006).
Social Emotional Factors
Social Emotional Factors
Sense of Belonging
Students who feel they "belong" in their school environment (including in advanced environments) will persist and succeed more.
Facts
Students with a sense of belonging have higher motivation, greater levels of engagement and a stronger committment to academics (Osterman, 2000).
A student's sense of belonging is a key predictor of 'academic tenacity' (Dweck, Walton and Cohen, 2014)
Social Emotional Factors
Academic Benchmarks
Language, Literacy and Math Foundations
Early math, vocabulary and reading skills position students for future academic success.
Facts
In early grades, the strongest predictor of later academic achievement is number knowledge, followed by vocabulary and phonetic knowledge (Duncan et al., 2007).
Academic Benchmarks
School Readiness and Later Achievement
Cognitive Predictors of Achievement Growth in Mathematics: A 5-year Longitudinal Study
Academic Benchmarks
Exposure to STEM Education and Learning
High-quality STEM education develops student subject knowledge, problem solving and critical thinking.
Facts
Early exposure to STEM education can strengthen critical reasoning skills, student engagement and student enthusiasm for STEM (Lee et al., 2014).
Academic Benchmarks
Academic Benchmarks
Reading Proficiency
Students who are proficient readers are better prepared for later grades.
Facts
Over 40% of students who read below grade level in 3rd grade still read below grade level in 8th grade (Lesnick, Goerge, Smithgall and Gwynne, 2010).
Students who read above grade-level in third grade graduate HS and attend college at higher rates than those who do not (Lesnick, Goerge, Smithgall and Gwynne, 2010).
On the 2015 NAEP reading exam:
Academic Benchmarks
Reading on Grade Level in Third Grade: How Is It Related to High School Performance and College Enrollment?
Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better
Creating a P-20 Continuum of Actionable Academic indicators of Student Readiness
Academic Benchmarks
Math Proficiency
Proficiency in math gets students ready for more advanced coursework.
Facts
On the 2015 NAEP math exam
Academic Benchmarks
2015 Mathematics National Results Overview
Creating a P-20 Continuum of Actionable Academic indicators of Student Readiness
Academic Benchmarks
Writing Proficiency
Writing skills are critical to academic success, especially at the postsecondary level.
Facts
Students in grades 4-6 spend approximately 25 minutes a day writing text at least a paragraph in length (Gilbert and Graham, 2010).
High school students seldom have to write more than a paragraph for assignments and rarely need to provide analysis or interpretation (Sullivan, 2014).
Academic Benchmarks
Academic Benchmarks
9th-Grade GPA
A 9th-grade GPA ≥ 3.0 puts students on track for high school completion, while a GPA < 2.0 is a key predictive indicator of dropping out.
Facts
Over one-third of 9th-graders start their second semester with a GPA < 2.0 (Pharris-Ciurej and Hirschman, 2012).
Academic Benchmarks
The 9th Grade Shock and the High School Dropout Crisis
Intervening Early: One High School’s Efforts to Support Incoming Off Track Ninth Graders
Are GPAs an Inconsistent Measure of Achievement across High Schools? Examining Assumptions about Grades versus Standardized Test Scores
Academic Benchmarks
HS Course Rigor and Academic Progress
Steady academic progress keeps high school students on track for graduation, while rigorous coursework ensures greater preparedness for college.
Facts
Students who finish 9th grade on track are four times more likely to earn a diploma. The University of Chicago Consortium on School Research defines 'on track' as having enough credits to be promoted to tenth grade and no more than one semester F in a core course (Adams, 2014).
Students who take at least one rigorous course are significantly more likely to graduate high school and go to a 4-year college (Long, Conger and Iatarola, 2012).
Academic Benchmarks
Keeping 9th Graders on Track Can Move Grad Rate, Research Finds
Effects of High School Course-Taking on Secondary and Postsecondary Success
Academic Benchmarks
PS Enrollment after HS Graduation
Postsecondary enrollment processes can pose a barrier for recent high school graduates, many of whom fall victim to "summer melt" and never enroll.
Facts
Summer melt affects 10-40% of high school graduates who plan to attend a postsecondary institution (Castleman, Page and Snowdon, 2013).
Academic Benchmarks
Academic Benchmarks
Placement in Remedial Education
Placement in remedial courses in college delays gateway course completion and increases time and money spent to obtain a postsecondary credential.
Facts
Of students requiring remedial education, 35.1% go on to graduate with a bachelor's in 6 years, as compared to 55.7% of all students enrolled (Complete College America, 2011).
Roughly 25% of 1st-year college students were required to take remedial courses (Nguyen Barry and Dannenberg, 2016).
Academic Benchmarks
Time is the Enemy: The Surprising Truth about Why Today’s College Students Aren’t Graduating ... and What Needs to Change
Core Principles for Transforming Remedial Education: A Joint Statement
Improving the Targeting of Treatment: Evidence from College Remediation
How effective are community college remedial courses for students with the lowest level math skills?
Academic Benchmarks
1st-Year PS Focus and Accumulation
Postsecondary students who select a program of study and make sufficient progress in their 1st year are more likely to graduate on time.
Facts
Students who attempt 15 credits of coursework in their first semester at a postsecondary institution graduate within 6 years at higher rates than those who take less (Attewell and Monaghan, 2016).
50.2% of students earned fewer than 24 credits in their first year at a postsecondary institution (Complete College America, 2013).
Academic Benchmarks
How Many Credits Should an Undergraduate Take?
Get with the Program: Accelerating Community College Students' Entry into and Completion of Programs of Study
The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion From High School Through College
Academic Benchmarks
1st-Year PS Academic Performance
Academic outcomes in the 1st year at a postsecondary institution can indicate whether students will graduate.
Facts
A 2005 study found that cumulative 1st-year GPA is the strongest predictor of postsecondary student retention (Herzog, 2005).
Academic Benchmarks
Measuring Determinants of Student Return vs. Dropout/Stopout vs. Transfer: A First-to-Second Year Analysis of New Freshmen
Stopouts or Stayouts? Undergraduates who Leave College in Their First Year
The Toolbox Revisited: Paths to Degree Completion From High School Through College
Academic Benchmarks
Overall PS Credit Accumulation
Timely accumulation of required credits affects whether college students will be able to complete their courses of study on time.
Facts
Over half of California students transferring from 2-year to 4-year did not have enough credits to enter as upper-division students (Moore, Shulock and Offenstein, 2009).
Academic Benchmarks
Enabling Environments
Pre-K Participation and Quality
Students who attend high-quality full-day pre-kindergarten are better prepared for kindergarten.
Facts
In 2014, 54.5% of 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in pre-K. 51.3% of those enrolled attended full-day (National Education Association).
Enabling Environments
Research on Early Childhood Education
Threshold Analysis of Association Between Child Care Quality and Child Outcomes for Low-Income Children in Pre-Kindergarten Programs
Access to High Quality Early Care and Education: Readiness and Opportunity Gaps in America
Enabling Environments
Kindergarten Participation and Quality
Students who attend high-quality full-day kindergarten are better prepared for 1st grade.
Facts
In 2014, 85.2% of 5-year-olds were enrolled in K. 74.9% of those enrolled attended full-day (National Education Association).
Enabling Environments
Research on Early Childhood Education
Preventing Preschool Fadeout through Instructional Intervention in Kindergarten and First Grade
Enabling Environments
High Expectations
Teachers who convey high expectations encourage students to set goals and persist in school.
Facts
High school sophomores were over 3 times more likely to complete college when they had teachers with high expectations (Gershenson, Holt and Papageorge, 2016).
Enabling Environments
Who Believes in Me? The Effect of Student-Teacher Demographic Match on Teacher Expectations
Why Students Drop Out of School: A Review of 25 Years of Research
Enabling Environments
Use of Digital Tools and Resources
Students who become active users of technology build digital skills and are more engaged at school.
Facts
The U.S. Department of Education's 2016 National Education Technology Plan highlights the persistence of the 'digital use divide' in American K-12 schools (U.S. Department of Education, 2016).
Enabling Environments
Enabling Environments
Dual Language Learning
Dual language programs close the achievement gap between ELL and native-speaking students and improve the English skills of both groups.
Facts
Collier (1989) found that second language students who achieved the greatest academic success were enrolled in bilingual programs that provided solid cognitive academic instruction in both the first and second language (Robinson, Keogh and Kusuma-Powell).
In an Oregon study, students randomly assigned to English-Spanish immersion in Kindergarten showed that they outperformed their non-immersion peers in English reading by 7 months in 5th grade (RAND, Portland Public Schools and American Councils for International Education, 2015).
Enabling Environments
Enabling Environments
Extracurricular Activities
Extracurricular activities serve as a platform for students to engage in the school environment beyond the academic realm.
Facts
Extracurriculars give students a chance to develop skills and build relationships with peers and adults outside of school (Feldman and Matjasko, 2005).
Enabling Environments
The Role of School-Based Extracurricular Activities in Adolescent Development: A Comprehensive Review and Future Directions
How Important Are Extracurricular Activities in College Admissions?
Enabling Environments
Mentorship and Support
Consistent support from a teacher, counselor, coach or mentor can help students stay on track to and through postsecondary school while building trusting relationships with non-relatives.
Facts
Students with a special adult relationship saw improvements in academic performance and social-emotional skills (Valentino and Wheeler, 2013).
Meeting one-on-one with a school counselor to discuss college admission or financial aid makes a big difference in students' futures, tripling the chance they'll attend college, doubling the chance that they'll attend a four-year college, and increasing by nearly seven times the likelihood that they'll apply for financial aid (Velez, 2016).
Enabling Environments
Big Brother Big Sisters Report to America: Positive Outcomes for a Positive Future. 2013 Youth Outcomes Report
How Effective Are Mentoring Programs for Youth? A Systematic Assessment of the Evidence
Enabling Environments
Pathways from HS to PS and Career
Clear steps from high school to postsecondary education and then into a career help students stay on track.
Facts
Students in California's Linked Learning initiative were more likely to graduate than students in traditional high school programs (SRI International, 2015).
Enabling Environments
Taking Stock of the California Linked Learning District Initiative: A Sixth-Year Evaluation Report
College and Career Ready in the 21st Century: Making High School Matter
Enhancing promise programs to improve college access and success
Enabling Environments
Financial Aid Literacy and Access
Awareness of and access to financial aid give less affluent students more postsecondary opportunities.
Facts
50% of students with a family income less than $35,000 chose not to apply to certain colleges based on cost concerns (White House Middle Class Task Force).
Enabling Environments
White House Task Force on Middle Class Families Staff Report: Barriers to Higher Education
Incentivizing Behavorial Change with Aid Dollars: Targeted Interventions to Promote Persistence
Top College Students Who Lose Small Amounts of Financial Aid More Likely to Drop Out
Does the federal work-study program work--and for whom?
Delivering Early Information about College Financial Aid: Exploring the Options for Middle School Students
How Financial Aid Affects Persistence
From High School to the Future: Potholes on the Road to College
Is school out for summer? The impact of Year-Round Pell Grants on academic and employment outcomes of community college students
Enabling Environments
College-Level Coursework
Earning college credit in high school through AP, IB or dual enrollment courses can help students leapfrog gateway courses and contribute to timely degree completion.
Facts
Earning AP credit increases the likelihood of completing a bachelor's in four years by 1-2% per exam taken (Smith, Hurwitz and Avery, 2015).
Dual enrollment has been correlated with improved academic performance, greater persistence, and higher levels of credit accumulation in postsecondary (Smith, Hurwitz and Avery, 2015).
Enabling Environments
Giving College Credit Where it is Due: Advanced Placement Exam Scores and College Outcomes
Bridging College and Careers: Using Dual Enrollment to Enhance Career and Technical Education Pathways
Creating a P-20 Continuum of Actionable Academic indicators of Student Readiness
Enabling Environments
Credit Transfer
When students change institutions, the ability to transfer credits to the new institution is critical for appropriate placement and timely completion.
Facts
States with comprehensive credit articulation agreements have seen improvements in time-to-degree and reductions in excess credit hours (Southern Regional Education Board, 2013).
In the 2013-14 academic year, 46 percent of students who completed a degree at a four-year institution were enrolled at a two-year institution at some point in the previous 10 years (National Student Clearinghourse Research Center, 2015).
Enabling Environments
Essential Elements of State Policy for College Completion
Transferability of Postsecondary Credit Following Student Transfer or Coenrollment: Statistical Analysis Report
What We Know About Transfer
Enabling Environments
Pathways through PS and into Career
Clear postsecondary programs of study that map to career pathways keep students on-track and improve completion rates.
Facts
At Florida State University, a guided pathways approach boosted the 4-year graduation rate from 44% to 61% (Jenkins, 2014).
Enabling Environments
Redesigning Community Colleges for Student Success: Overview of the Guided Pathways Approach
More than dollars for scholars: The impact of the Dell Scholars Program on college access, persistence, and degree attainment
Enabling Environments
Job Placement
Deliberate job matching after credential attainment can improve a student's lifetime earnings.
Facts
Students in Career Academy programs that offer both a diploma and industry-recognized credential are more likely to finish high school and see steady earnings growth after graduation (Kemple, 2008).
On average, a person with an associate degree makes 30% more in lifetime earnings than someone with a high school diploma. For bachelor's degree holders, the premium increases to ~77% (Carnevale, Rose and Cheah, 2011).
Enabling Environments
Career Academies: Long-Term Impacts on Labor Market Outcomes, Educational Attainment, and Transitions to Adulthood
How Career and Technical Education Can Help Students Be College and Career Ready: A Primer
