All students must be prepared to complete at least two years of postsecondary education if they are to find success in today's competitive, high-skills workplace. That is a key message delivered by a blue-ribbon national commission convened by then-education secretary Richard Riley in 2000 to explore ways to keep students motivated and learning during their senior year.

The National Commission on the High School Senior Year this fall released its long-awaited final report--recommendations for improvement that extend far beyond the confines of the senior year. The report covers, but doesn't stop with, the well-known problem of "senioritis," the tendency of 12th-graders to ease up on their studies after gaining admission to college. Instead of limiting itself to this phenomenon, the commission cast the problem within the framework of standards-based reform.

Included in the recommendations are calls for higher elementary and middle school standards, better teacher training, improved linkages to higher education and better coordination at the state level.

"Until recently, Americans have taken 13 years of education (from kindergarten through grade 12) to be a sufficient preparation for life and work," the report notes. "In the emerging 21st century, all Americans will require two additional years of formal education and training at some point after they leave high school."

The commission makes three major recommendations to reach this goal:

• Create a seamless "P-16" education system that addresses students' needs from preschool through postsecondary education. It would demand that standards, curriculum and assessments be aligned and integrated throughout the system. Specifically, the panel urges the creation of state P-16 councils to build linkages between different education levels. Twenty-four states already have moved in this direction, the report notes.
   
• Give all students college-preparatory courses as a "default" education program and establish demanding, rigorous curriculum at the elementary and middle school level to ensure that students succeed in this environment of higher expectations. The panel also recommends improved teacher training that can prepare graduates to teach to higher standards.
   
• Allow students to move at their own pace, moving on as they show mastery of required standards, including a portfolio of work and a "capstone" senior project. The panel recommends new senior options such as internships, research projects and community service to keep students engaged, motivated and learning. The idea is to move "away from a system in which the senior year is just more of the same to one in which the senior year provides time to explore options and prove knowledge and skills," the report explains.

"These changes recognize that seniors are almost adults and make the senior year more of a transition to the worlds of college and work rather than yet another year behind bigger versions of the same desks they've sat in since first grade," says Cheryl Kane, executive director of the commission.

A Candidate's Guide to National Board Certification 2001-02 is a joint project of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. Currently in its fourth edition, the guide capitalizes on the experiences of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Certified teachers and others engaged in candidate support by sharing practical advice on how to approach the National Board assessments and what is required to complete them.

The AFT and the NEA were among the organizations that established the NBPTS in 1987 and remain its strongest supporters. AFT and NEA members attest to the positive effects the certification process has on their teaching practices. In addition, research links National Board certification with improved student achievement, and NBPTS certification has led to the expansion of professional roles available to teachers.

The guide may be ordered through the AFT Order Department (item #39-0182). The cost is $5 per copy; $3 each when ordering five or more copies. The price includes shipping and handling. Mail prepayment to: AFT Order Department, 555 New Jersey Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20001.

The guide also can be downloaded at no charge from the AFT Teacher Quality Web site at www.aft.org/edissues/teacherquality/index.htm.