Continuous improvement has a prominent place in California's approach to educational accountability. But while there are proof points that show the potential of continuous improvement, currently there is not evidence that continuous improvement efforts are consistently leading to sustainable improvement in student outcomes and system functioning.…

We conducted a qualitative review of the research literature on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) related to high school students with disabilities (SWD). We selected and analyzed 53 articles to answer two questions: (1) How are high-school SWD prepared for careers in STEM? (2) How are educators prepared to support high-school…

The purpose of this study was to solicit perspectives of underserved youth and educators who serve them regarding college and career readiness. In this study, underserved youth refers to adolescents who experience inequitable access to educational resources. Purposeful sampling was used to select 84 focus group participants including educators and…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which differences might be present in the campus proportion of college, career, and military readiness for Texas high school graduates. In particular, the purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the overall campus proportion of…

Earning a postsecondary degree or credential is increasingly important for individuals to succeed in the rapidly changing, global economy. College access programs like Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) serve to increase high school graduation and college readiness for underserved youth. This…

In the last decade, Colorado has increased its efforts and requirements around postsecondary and workforce readiness through the implementation of Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP) in high schools (CDE, 2009; CDE, 2014; CDE, 2020). Although based on career development research, no studies have inquired as to the meaning students make…

This conceptual analysis examines the implementation of a state-funded college and career readiness pilot program at a small, rural all-Black school in Illinois. Drawing from ethnographic data that dates from 2010, I offer a retrospective analysis on individual based intervention programming for college and career readiness. Concerned with how…

We employed a mixed methods approach with sequential explanatory design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017) and a Social Capital Theory framework (Bourdieu, 1977) to investigate three research questions: (1) In what ways were participants' career and college readiness capital developed during high school? (2) How do participants view their academic…

Previous research has linked higher levels of academic preparation as measured by the ACT® to postsecondary success, such as earning higher college grades and completing a college degree in a timely manner. This ACT Data Byte extends these findings, illustrating the positive relationship between graduating from high school college and career ready…

High school classroom teachers with English language learners (ELLs) assigned to their classrooms might not be using effective instructional strategies to increase reading comprehension scores of ELLs. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the use of strategies that high school classroom teachers use to teach cognitive…

First-generation college students (FGCS), nearly 50% of which identify as Hispanic, are an underserved population. The psychosociocultural theoretical framework posits that individual, environmental, and cultural factors contribute to the academic success of Hispanic students. This study examined the relationship between these factors (i.e.,…

High school student participation in dual enrollment--a key strategy for increasing equitable access to postsecondary education and improving readiness for college--has been on the rise in California in recent years. Despite the overall increase in participation, however, large gaps between racial/ethnic subgroups persist. Also of concern, English…

Increasing student access to college has become a central issue in education policy of the United States. Many students from underrepresented cultural backgrounds, if they access college, arrive when not sufficiently prepared. This research investigated the influence of advisory programs within Capital Prep Schools on the college readiness of…

This report describes SAT test results for AISD's graduating seniors, Class of 2018, who took the SAT any time during high school.

The senior year is among the most important for students' long-term academic success. Traditionally, seniors are assumed to be largely disengaged from school, enduring "senioritis" or a "senior slump." For college-bound Latinx students, academic disengagement may be particularly troublesome given the well documented…