Archive

• Class Size — August 27, 2010
• Mixed-Ability Grouping — August 20, 2010
• Performance-Based Assessments— August 13, 2010
• Teacher Preparation for Urban Schools — August 6, 2010
• Teacher Induction Programs — July 30, 2010
• Phonics Instruction — July 23, 2010
• Single-Sex Education — July 16, 2010
• Teacher Candidates' Field Experiences — July 9, 2010
• Kindergarten Entry Age — July 2, 2010
• Equitable Distribution of Teachers — June 25, 2010
• Drug Abuse Prevention Programs — June 18, 2010
• Data Use by Teachers— June 11, 2010
• School Start Time — June 4, 2010
• Balance Balls and Student Attention — May 28, 2010
• Student Mentoring — May 21, 2010
• Alternative Schools — May 14, 2010
• Low-Performing Schools — May 7, 2010
• Extended Learning Time — April 30, 2010
• 21st Century Skills — April 23, 2010
• Dropout Prevention Legislation — April 16, 2010
• High-School Grade Configuration — April 9, 2010
• Middle-Grades Configuration — April 2, 2010
• Music and Infant Development — March 26, 2010
• Homework and Student Achievement — March 19, 2010
• Foreign Language Technology — March 12, 2010
• Standardized Testing — March 5, 2010
• Charter Schools — February 26, 2010
• PD for Principals — February 19, 2010

The Reference Desk, using available evidence and research, provides quick-turnaround responses to questions submitted by education stakeholders around the Northeast and Islands Region. Every Friday, REL-NEI highlights one or two questions submitted to its Reference Desk.

How Can High Schools Effectively Prepare Students for College?

In recent weeks, this digest has examined a number of strategies for keeping students engaged in school, including practices related to dropout prevention, parent involvement, and Response to Intervention. This week’s entry focuses on how high schools can help to ensure that students are effectively prepared to meet the demands of postsecondary education. This issue of college readiness is an increasingly important part of state and federal accountability policies, and it is the focus of one of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Assurances. This digest entry addresses both strategies that increase college readiness and predictors of college readiness.

Question

What strategies can be implemented by high schools to help prepare students for college, and what predictors of college readiness have been identified through research?

Research Synopsis

Reference Desk researchers found a significant body of research in the area of postsecondary preparation. The resources listed below describe research-based indicators of college readiness and strategies for improving students’ postsecondary preparedness and outcomes. Significant indicators of college readiness include students’ mathematics course-taking, the overall academic rigor of their high school program, and their scores on college entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT (National Center for Education Statistics, 2001; see below). Evidence-based strategies for increasing students’ postsecondary preparedness include college preparatory guidance starting in the ninth grade, access to a college preparatory curriculum, and assistance with the college admissions and financial aid application processes (Tierney, et al., 2009; see below). 

Publicly Available Resources

1. Helping Students Navigate the Path to College: What High Schools Can Do. Tierney, W. G., Bailey, T., Constantine, J., Finkelstein, N., & Hurd, N. F.; Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education; NCEE 2009-4066; 2009; 80 pages.
   

   From page 1: “This guide is intended to help schools and districts develop practices to increase access to higher education... [It] contains specific steps on how to implement the recommendations that are targeted at school- and district-level administrators, teachers, counselors, and related education staff. The guide also indicates the level of research evidence demonstrating that each recommended practice is effective.”

2. What We Know About College Success: Using ACT Data to Inform Educational Issues. ACT, Inc; 2008; 5 pages.
   

   The findings described in this publication “were obtained through multiple research studies.  The data sources for these studies varied widely in terms of numbers and types of institutions, as well as in representativeness nationally.” Findings relate to the impact on post-secondary success of course-taking in core curriculum areas, English and foreign languages, mathematics and the sciences.

3. Bridging the Gap: Academic Preparation and Postsecondary Success of First-Generation Students. Warburton, E. C., Bugarin, R., & Nuñez, A.; Washington, D.C.: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education; NCES 2001–153; May 2001; 67 pages.
   

   This study examines the differences between first-generation postsecondary students and students whose parents have at least some college experience. The outcomes of interest include preparation for postsecondary education, postsecondary enrollment behavior, academic performance, and persistence.

4. Preparing High School Students for Successful Transitions to Postsecondary Education and Employment. Michael Bangser; MDRC; National High School Center; August 2008; 24 pages.
   

   “This Issue Brief reviews lessons from studies of selected policies and programs designed to improve students’ preparation for postsecondary pathways.”
   

The Reference Desk also found this organization to be helpful in learning more about college readiness:

1. The Education Trust
   The Education Trust website links to several reports on the gap between high school course requirements and those required for admission and placement in postsecondary education.

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