“Go On” Challenge FAQ’s

• What is the Go On Challenge? It’s an initiative by the JA & Kathyrn Albertson Foundation and their partners to raise the bar in Idaho in terms of preparing more students to “Go On” to some type of post-secondary education or training option.  Significant monetary prizes (up to $100,000) can be won by participating Go On Challenge schools by having the most improvement in any one (or more) of these three categories:

* There will also be a grand prize winner for the most improved school, which is the one that showed the greatest percentage increase over the 2009-2010 school year baseline in all three categories.

• What’s the difference between participating in the Go On Challenge and participating as a Go On School? Schools that sign up for the Go On Challenge will be required to provide baseline data in the category/categories they participate in so we can measure outcomes. These schools already have a strong focus on post-secondary education and offer a variety of opportunities to help prepare students for college or additional post-high school training. These schools will be eligible for the $100,000 prizes. Schools that don’t offer advanced opportunities or lack a strong infrastructure to offer other post-secondary opportunities may elect to participate as a Go On School. These schools can still win up to $15,000 for their efforts to strengthen their infrastructure to better equip students for post-secondary  success. A school signs up to participate in the Go On Challenge OR as a Go On School.
• Why focus on these 3 categories of admission tests, upper level math and science and advanced opportunities? Research shows that these tests and classes make a positive difference. They help prepare, motivate, and challenge students to Go On, and for students who enter college, they are less apt to drop out or need remediation.
• Why focus on just math and science classes? While we want students to take as many upper level courses in different subjects as possible, we are focused on math and science because the 30-fastest-growing occupations projected through 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook concludes that 16 of them will require substantial mathematics or science preparation.
• How do you define “high school” for this initiative? Whichever grades are currently part of your school. If your high school includes 9-12 grades then great! If it’s just grades 10-12 then that’s fine, too. We want it to be as easy as possible for you to participate.
• Why are you timing the launch of this initiative when students have already signed up for classes in the fall? The economy plays a big part in the timing. As schools continue to suffer the effects of a down economy we believe great innovation can emerge. It’s during the most stressful times that people begin to look elsewhere for answers and to find solutions that are atypical. Instead of waiting until the fall of 2010 we decided to launch now when schools are planning for the next school year. This also allows schools to begin the dialogue both internally and externally about their needs and what it will take to implement this initiative successfully.
• What are the prizes and how can we use it, if we win? There are significant money prizes with NO restrictions. Ideally, we’d like to see a portion go toward supporting your post-secondary efforts, but you decide!

• Who has to fill out the data collection form? Only schools participating in the Go On Challenge. If you plan on participating as a Go On School then use the data collection form internally to help strengthen your post-secondary infrastructure but you don’t have to submit it. We do require Go On Challenge Schools  to provide data in all categories in which they plan on participating. If a Go On Challenge school just wants to increase participation in upper level math and science then that’s the only data point they need to provide. The data collection source matrix has all the information needed to complete the data collection. Questions? Email bjohnston@jkaf.org.
• Our school doesn’t have a lot of resources to begin offering AP, dual credits or other advanced opportunities—are there other options or resources we can tap into? YES! There are some great online options, including Idaho Digital Learning Academy (IDLA) and the Idaho Education Network. Refer to the “Where To Go For Your School’s Baseline Data” document for more information. We will also be adding and updating a “Go On” Challenge Resources page.
• Which college entrance exams count? The four exams are: ACT, PLAN, PSAT and SAT.
• Are there resources our school can tap into to help students afford to take a college entrance exam? Yes. Check out these websites to find out about fee waivers for the ACT, AP courses, PSAT , and SAT exams  http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/waivers or http://www.actstudent.org/faq/answers/feewaiver.html .  Both test companies offer fee waivers and their criteria is the same for the most part. Students need to apply for a fee waiver either online or with the school registrar at the same time they complete their registration packets to take the test. They also need to meet the test deadline requirements. They need  a counselor to sign / verify that they are eligible and then they receive their voucher with a code on it.
• Does a student have to take the AP exam to count them in our baseline numbers for the AP coursework data? No. Not all schools include the AP exam as a benchmark so as long as a student successfully completes the coursework they can be counted in your totals.  Also, research shows that although AP test scores of 3 or higher are a measure of success, it is also proven that just taking the AP and Advanced Learning courses motivates students to stay tuned-in to school and to go on to college.