Supporting Student Transitions High School to Postsecondary: What the Research Tells Us

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Supporting 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
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Pathways 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)

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Pathways 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.

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Pathways Focus Areas re Postsecondary Transitions

• Academic Preparation
• Access Awareness, Information, Planning
  Assistance
• Financial Aid
• College Achievement Success

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Academic 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

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Academic 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

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Access 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

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Reaching 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

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Access 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

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College 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)

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Financial 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

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What 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

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Recommendations 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

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Pathways 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

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A 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
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SPIDO Home page
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SPIDO Search Domains

• States
• Issues
• Accelerated Learning
• Articulation Alignment
• Collaboration/Coordination
• Data Accountability
• Early Outreach
• Remediation
• Student Financial Aid
• Teacher Quality

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College Readiness Framework for Action
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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

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College 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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Other 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