Title: Supporting Student Transitions High School to Postsecondary: What the Research Tells Us
1Supporting Student Transitions High School to
Postsecondary What the Research Tells Us
- CCSSO Secondary School Redesign Conference, June
9, 2006
Ann Coles, Sr. Vice President, TERI (The
Education Resources Institute), and Director,
Pathways to College Network
2Pathways to College Network
- Goal to advance college access and success for
under-served students - Alliance of 40 national organizations and funders
launched in 2001 - Emphasis on using data and research to improve
policy and practice - Focus on youth (ages 12-25 yrs. old)
- P-16 framework
- Managed by TERI (The Education Resources
Institute)
3Pathways Guiding Principles
- Expect all underserved students are capable of
being prepared to enroll and succeed in college. - Provide range of high-quality preparatory tools
for underserved students and their families. - Embrace social, cultural and learning style
differences in developing learning environments
and activities for underserved students. - Involve leaders at all levels in establishing
policies, programs, practices to facilitate
student transitions toward postsecondary
attainment. - Maintain sufficient financial and human resources
to enable underserved students to prepare for,
enroll, and succeed in college. - Assess policy, program, practice, and
institutional effectiveness regularly.
4Pathways Focus Areas re Postsecondary Transitions
- Academic Preparation
- Access Awareness, Information, Planning
Assistance - Financial Aid
- College Achievement Success
5Academic PreparationWhat States Are Doing
- Making rigorous college prep curriculum the
default course of study for all students TX, IN - Aligning high school graduation and college
admission requirements, OK, Arkansas,
Michigan, NY - Aligning coursework assessments Cal State
- Providing high schools with feedback on how their
graduates do in 1st year college courses 26
states - Supporting pre-college academic enrichment
programs Florida, NY, California, NJ, CT
6Academic PreparationWhat District Leaders are
Doing
- Making college prep the program of study required
for h.s. graduation Los Angeles - Arranging for all students to take PSAT, PLAN or
college placement tests in 9th - 11th grade to
assess college readiness - Implementing systems to identify under-performing
students early AP Potential - Developing structures to facilitate supportive
relationships - students adults, peer-peer - Partnering with local colleges to provide
support for students tutors, mentors,
after-school summer enrichment programs
7Access Research on Awareness Information
- Most 8th 9th graders have college aspirations
but no idea how to get there they think college
just happens if they get good grades behave
well in school - Get ready for college is too big abstract
students need concrete, short term goals, doable
actions they can take - Low-income communities have negative perceptions
about college fear their children will never
come home - College access campaigns provide information but
no call to action
8Reaching Students through College Access
Marketing
- Students respond to
- Positive messages
- Actionable goals
- Talking and listening to peers
- Parents/guardians want information delivered in
person by someone they trust - Urban, minority teens need to dialogue and
interact with others in order to be persuaded - Combination of in the air and on the ground
strategies most effective - State campaigns GA, KY, NC, OK, TX , TN, WVA
- National campaigns MTV/Gates ACE/Ad
Council/Lumina Foundation
9Access College Planning Assistance Matters
- Large disparities in college counseling resources
re SES of community school - Schools influence college decisions by how they
- Structure the flow content information
- Make explicit expectations re options for
students - Counselor time spent on college planning
- Public schools 28 Private schools 61
- Improving college counseling results in increased
access for low SES students of color - Timely, informed frequently advising positively
affects college-going
10College Information Planning Assistance
Programs
- Federal - GEAR UP ( 38 states, 222 local)
TRIO/Talent Search (400 projects) - State Scholars Program - 14 states
- ACT PLAN
- College Board College Ed, My Road
- College Summit
- State toll free information hotlines web sites
- Info/planning centers schools public
libraries - Programs offered by youth serving organizations
- School-college partnerships - Kids to College
(MA, DC), College Making it Happen (CA)
11Financial Aid Issues Impacting Low-Income
Families
- family income needed for college after grants
has increased for lower-income quartiles - Unmet need has increased for students in low-
income quartiles compared to high-income - Low-income families lack information about paying
for college - School counselors have limited familiarity with
financial aid - Least available least informed counselors are
in low SES schools - Financial aid delivery system does not target
students early
12What States are Doing
- Early information about financial aid
- Early commitment financial aid programs - IN, OK,
GEAR UP state partnerships - Assistance with aid application process
- College Goal Sunday in 25 states
- Toll-free information hotlines
- Student loan guaranty agency College Access
Initiative all states
13Recommendations for Improving Student Transitions
- Focus on 2-3 key issues that directly impact
college readiness - Support structures to facilitate
K12-Postsecondary communication, planning P-16
Councils, NGA Honor States model - Establish clear standards, accountability
linkages define state, district roles
responsibilities - Create coherent plan of collaboration with
measurable outcomes benchmarks for each partner - Provide incentives to collaborate, reward action
14Pathways to College Network Resources for
Supporting Postsecondary Transitions
- A Shared Agenda
- State Policy Inventory Database Online (SPIDO)
- College Readiness for All Toolbox
- College Access Marketing Website
- Research studies, issue briefs, searchable
annotated bibliographies - www.pathwaystocollege.net
15A SHARED AGENDA A Leadership Challenge for
Improving College Access and Success
- Actions for key leadership groups
- Annotated bibliography of over 650 studies,
reports - Guiding principles for improving college access
and success - 112 profiles policies, practices, programs
In Print, on CD-ROM, and on the Web
16SPIDO Home page
17SPIDO Search Domains
- States
- Issues
- Accelerated Learning
- Articulation Alignment
- Collaboration/Coordination
- Data Accountability
- Early Outreach
- Remediation
- Student Financial Aid
- Teacher Quality
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19College Readiness Framework for Action
20 College Readiness Toolbox
- Focuses on what works
- Addresses needs of underserved student
- Provides continuum of support from policymaker to
school leader - Allows user to build on their strengths
- Aligned with other reform efforts
- Empowers users to build capacity to increase
student achievement college readiness
21College Readiness Organizational Self-Assessment
Tool
- Based on the College Readiness Framework
- Profiles college-going strategies culture that
are in place in a school or organization - Sorts strengths needs
- Identifies possible starting points for taking
action
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24Other Useful Resources
- Achieve American Diploma Project
www.achieve.org - ACT www.act.org
- APASS Academic pathways for Access Student
Success www.apapss.uiuc.edu/APASS - College Board/for Educators www.collegeboard.com
/prof - Education Commission of the States
www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/ - Education Trust www.edtrust.org
- Forum for Youth Investment www.forumforyouthinves
tment.org - National Association of System Heads (NASH)
www.nashonline.org