This study sought to identify best practices incorporated by secondary school counselors in California high schools that promote, support, and increase college-going identity and foster a supportive college-going environment for Latino male students. The researcher used a phenomenological qualitative study to capture the best practices and…

This study explores the intersectionality in the educational experiences of Korean American students with autism as they navigate the transition from high school to college. For these students, dis/ability status alone does not shape the pathway to adulthood: dis/ability is tightly bound with other social categories, such as race, language, and…

Research shows that Early College high schools have a significant impact on high school and college outcomes for students from low income and racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, but how similar opportunities extend to English learners (ELs) remains unknown. We examine a program that offers Early College opportunities in high schools serving large…

In dual enrollment programs, high school students can take college courses and earn both high school and college credit--but in the past, dual enrollment had been used mostly by high-achieving students. In 2016, the California Legislature passed a law that expanded access to students who had been underserved in higher education. The resulting…

Completing the A-G course sequence is the standard pathway to college for California high school graduates; however, findings indicate that there is substantial variation in A-G enrollment and completion rates across student subgroups and schools. This brief describes the distribution in access to and success in A-G courses as well as strategies…

This memo adds to the growing literature on the transition to college for young people in foster care, focusing specifically on issues of preparedness to enter higher education. First, the authors assess the extent to which youths' perceptions of their own educational preparedness and their child welfare workers' perceptions of their educational…

Because the pandemic exacerbated chronic absenteeism in many parts of the country, the need to understand how schools can improve student attendance has never been greater. Accordingly, this study breaks new ground by examining high schools' contributions to attendance after accounting for individual students' prior absenteeism and other…

Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education Commission of the States 2019). However, historically it has been accessible only to high-achieving students taking…

These are the appendices for the report, "Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment." Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education…

This dissertation includes three chapters focusing on policies directly related to improving college access and success. The first chapter focuses on lifetime eligibility of federal and state financial aid policies. The Pell Grant plays a critical role in helping students across the US to afford undergraduate education. In spite of its importance…

This exploratory case study examined high school counselors' (n=12) influence on the college enrollment decisions of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Study participants were employed across seven schools within the United States. The findings highlight five main themes: (a) school counselor as a source of college information, (b)…

This paper draws on data collected from two of the most extensive longitudinal studies of care leavers in the US. The Midwest Study (2003-2011) included 732 youths in foster care in three Midwestern states, and the CalYOUTH Study (2012-present) includes 727 youths in California foster care. The paper has three objectives: (1) describe trends in…

Latinx Californians represent the largest ethnic group in the state, with a demographic that is disproportionately young. The state must significantly increase the educational opportunity and success of Latinx Californians, ensuring that more of them are prepared for college, attend college, and graduate with the skills necessary to thrive…

Although strides have been made in the past 10 years and Latino male college enrollment has increased by 75 percent, they still lag behind their peers in both enrollment and completion. This brief provides a summary of Latino males in postsecondary education and examples of programs increasing Latino males' success.

When family-school engagement models operate on the beliefs of engagement and disengagement, it leads to hierarchical understandings of leadership and practices of partnership with racialized populations. Drawing on the analytic framework of race-conscious transformative leadership, this self-study of a former bilingual school administrator…