More than 100 people attended the inaugural Achieving the Dream Student Success Forum held on Friday, October 12, 2007.  Attendees, representing the secondary and higher education sectors, participated in this dialogue to enhance community college student success. 

Keynote speaker Dr. Irwin Kirsch, senior research director of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), presented America's Perfect Storm and Three Forces Changing Our Nation's Future. 

Dominique Raymond, special assistant to Pennsylvania's secretary of education, shared highlights from the final report of the Governor’s Commission on College and Career Success, titled "Making Pennsylvania Competitive: Educating our Next Generation for the 21st Century Economy."

Forum participants identified the following resources that support student success: 

Pennsylvania Newsmakers features an article discussing the Governor's Commission on College and Career Success. Host Terry Madonna is joined by Judy Hample, Chancellor of the State System of Higher Education; Karl Girton, Chairman of the State Board of Education; and Dan Fogerty, Carpenter Technologies. The report argues for a radical shift in how we teach high school students. 

Project 720 is Pennsylvania’s statewide initiative to transform high schools so that students are prepared to enter college and the workforce.

Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children developed a white paper on graduation competency assessments to ensure success for all high school graduates.

Craig R. Barrett, chairman of the board of Intel Corporation and Achieving the Dream board member, addressed the 2007 National Higher Education Leadership Summit in Washington, DC on January 22, 2007 regarding education standards and expectations.   

Achieving the Dream report, titled "Aligned Expectations? A Closer Look at College Admissions and Placement Tests" and published in April 2007 examines what admissions and placement tests measure with recommendations for K-12 and higher education policymakers. 

Advancing College Readiness: Higher Education’s Role in Improving America’s High Schools is a promising practice of early assessment from California.