While many policy makers attempt to close the educational divide, precollege programs have the ability to creating a college going culture and develop college aspirations throughout the entire K-12 pipeline. Exposure to college culture and the college system grants students opportunities to develop college aspirations, skills, confidence, and…

We provide theory and evidence about how the design of college financial aid programs affects a variety of high school, college, and life outcomes. The evidence comes from an eight-year randomized trial where 2,587 high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. During high school, the program increased their college…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of an intervention on students' achievement and motivation. The intervention was in the form of an instructional approach named Dual-Approach Instruction since it was designed to facilitate both the cognitive and non-cognitive aspects of students' learning. The intervention effects were…

Background: Middle school students elected to participate in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) extracurricular programs (EPs). Researchers examined and compared science motivation, STEM career identity, and STEM college confidence among participants and non-participants. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate…

In 2014 the Oregon 4-H program adopted a new program model to describe and evaluate the impact of 4-H on youths. The model is based on promoting thriving in young people, with an emphasis on high program quality. This article discusses the impact on thriving in 378 youth participants of the 4-H Summer Conference (4-HSC) program. The results of the…

A growing body of research shows that school-based mentoring programs can be a flexible and cost-effective way to improve student outcomes. Effective mentoring programs create close bonds between students and caring adults, providing students with an important source of emotional support. This study tests the effects of a new model--whole…

Low high school completion rates are an ongoing challenge for educators. This study provides the results of an evaluation of a ninth-grade summer transition program offered at a large public school with a high freshman dropout rate. The evaluation consisted of preprogram and postprogram surveys and interviews with 64 incoming freshman…

This formative program evaluation and research study uses multiple methods and mixed paradigms to describe and evaluate the eighth grade Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program in a suburban middle school in Minnesota. The problem motivating this study is the persistent achievement gap among student groups as defined by racial,…

The work of professional school counselors in helping students achieve academically and increasing their college-going rates is significant work. Research indicates that high school and even middle school is often too late for students to begin the process of college and career planning. This dissertation includes two manuscripts. The first…

In 2011 Baltimore City Schools submitted a successful proposal for an Investing in Innovations (i3) grant to offer a three year (2012-2014) summer program designed to expose rising sixth through eighth grade students to VEX robotics. The i3-funded Middle School Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Summer Learning Program was…

This study develops a sequential mixed model of Delphi-Propensity Score Matching to discuss how an NGO's socio-emotional support affects the decisions of dropout, work, and two types of upper secondary schooling in rural China. Data were collected from 6,298 students in 2012 after a subgroup of them were treated. The analysis shows that…

This article reports on an alumni study of middle school participants in a university-based science camp; at the time of the study the youth were completing their junior or senior year of high school. The science- and technology-intensive program was set in an intentionally designed positive youth development context. The camp was free to youth…

Although assigned mentoring relationships have typically involved same-gender matches, a growing number of programs, particularly those in schools, have begun pairing female mentors with male mentees. This practice stems, in large part, from the relative dearth of male mentors and programs' efforts to increase the availability of youth mentoring…

This study is based on a 2-year evaluation of the Pathways Partnership, a precollege preparation program involving one school district, multiple colleges and universities, and several major businesses in a Midwestern metropolitan area. The week-long summer program cultivates youth leadership and the exploration of higher education through various…

The Ingenuity program was designed to "provide Baltimore's brightest middle school students with a free, highly accelerated, and challenging mathematics and science curriculum" (Ingenuity Project, 2014). It started in 1993 at two middle schools, one on the east side of Baltimore and the second on the west, but as of SY 2014-15 the…