The transition from high school to college can cause an undue amount of attrition for fully qualified, college-intending first-generation students. Although the students may have overcome multiple obstacles to be accepted to a college and arrive at the transition over summer, it can feel overwhelming to complete the flood of tasks without access…

To promote health equity, it is crucial to educate the next generation of healthcare workers about disparities early on during their education. We developed a virtual research program at a medical school in the United States of America with the goal of increasing the awareness of youth about the complexities of health inequities. The program was…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore experiences of naturalistic interpersonal contact with persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and attitudes toward persons with IDD among Korean American adolescents and young adults. In interviews with 12 Korean American high school and college students, Korean American…

The Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Pomona College has long worked to create an inclusive and welcoming space for all individuals to study mathematics. Many years ago, our approach to the lack of diversity we saw in our majors was remediation through programming, which sought to ameliorate student deficits. More recently, however, we…

This report presents the findings from an independent evaluation conducted by WestEd on the Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC). Funded by an Investing in Innovation (i3) Validation grant, the ERWC is a grade 11 and grade 12 English language arts (ELA) curriculum developed by the California State University. The independent evaluation…

When youth are placed in detention facilities, their education, ties to society, and lives are disrupted. Yet any involvement with the justice system -- regardless of incarceration -- can have implications for one's future earning potential and career trajectory, limiting access to educational opportunities, career fields, and available supports.…

WestEd is undertaking a multiyear series of implementation studies intended to inform the California State University (CSU) system about the implementation of Executive Order 1110 (EO 1110). A major policy adopted by the CSU Chancellor's Office in 2017, EO 1110 requires CSU campuses to eliminate non-credit developmental courses in Written…

To address the challenges of fostering a sense of belonging and ultimately improving academic success, the University of Southern California 's (USC's) Pullias Center for Higher Education and the Get Schooled Foundation partnered with California State University Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) to create an online tool called "Toros Charge On!"…

In the United States, involvement with the juvenile justice system can have a long-lasting negative impact on one's life. Young people who are placed in detention facilities are removed from their homes, their families, and their communities. Their education, their ties to society, and their lives are disrupted. Involvement with the justice system…

Norco College, in Riverside County, California, developed the Summer Advantage program in 2012. This program is designed to reduce the number of students placed into precollegiate-level courses and increase first-year retention through participation in academic workshops, intrusive advisement, and college orientation. After four years, the Summer…

Biomedical preparatory programs (pipeline programs) have been developed at colleges and universities to better prepare youth for entering science- and health-related careers, but outcomes of such programs have seldom been rigorously evaluated. We conducted a matched cohort study to evaluate the Stanford Medical Youth Science Program's Summer…

Four years of math in high school, with a strong foundation in algebra that builds from middle school, is key to higher education access. Therefore, ensuring that middle and high school students succeed in math--and in algebra in particular--is an important issue for policy and practice. This research brief examines three recent Regional…

A multidisciplinary dance and theatre arts program geared for high school-aged youth can result in both short-term and the long-term outcomes for its students if it seeks to offer a life-changing peak experience as part of the arts training and performance process. By integrating a combination of dance, movement, theater, music, creative and…

This article explores the development of the Summer Tools, Information, Motivation, and Education (SummerTIME) Writing Program, the only program of its kind in Los Angeles that conducts self-assessment. The author describes the geographical and political boundaries separating inner-city Los Angeles high school graduates from higher education,…

Over the past three years, California State University, Bakersfield received NSF funding to support hands-on explorations in "network security" and "cryptography" through Research Experience Vitalizing Science-University Program (REVS-UP). In addition to the summer bridge component, the grant included development of…