The College Board's Commission on Access, Admissions and Success in Higher Education made significant progress at its second meeting, held in Chicago earlier this month. The commission, chaired by William "Brit" Kirwan, chancellor of the University of Maryland System, is examining the nation's decline, relative to other industrialized nations, in college preparation, application, admission and graduation rates.

In Chicago, the group explored the preparation "pipeline." Sir Michael Barber of McKinsey & Company, former chief adviser on public service delivery to Prime Minister Tony Blair, spoke about teacher quality via satellite video from Malaysia. Barber emphasized that the "quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers." He pointed to the importance of getting the best students into teaching, training and mentoring them carefully and stepping in early when students fall behind.

Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, co-chair of the College Board's Task Force on College Access for Students from Low-Income Backgrounds, described the task force's work. Its report, released at the October College Board Forum, called for a new CollegeKeys Compact™ to get low-income students ready for, accepted to and through college.

Gene Bottoms, senior vice president of the Southern Regional Education Board, stressed the importance of motivating middle school students, while Matt Gandal, executive vice president of Achieve Inc., a coalition of governors and corporate CEOs, emphasized the need to align standards and assessments. Sharon Robinson, president of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, reviewed recent developments in teaching preparation, certification and licensing.

The commission, made up of some 30 leaders from K-12, higher education and education associations, intends to issue a final report by November 2008.