The recent legislation calls for attention to be given to rural education. Although the minority of the Georgia population lives in rural areas, school counselors play many roles in the lives of students in rural areas due to limited resources. This review summarizes the current literature on strategies utilized by school counselors in rural…

Completing college is now the minimum threshold for entry into the middle class. This has pushed college readiness issues to the forefront in efforts to increase educational attainment. Little is known about how college readiness improves outcomes for students traditionally marginalized in educational settings or if social background factors…

We analyzed 5 years of Texas statewide data on high school size and college readiness in English Language Arts, math, and in both subjects for White students. Using Greeney and Slate's (2012) criteria, large-size high schools had over 1,500 students, medium-size high schools had 401 to 1,500 students, and small-size high schools had enrollments…

A plethora of research spanning several decades has attempted to understand predictors of retention and graduation in undergraduate bachelor's degree programs. The topic is no less important today, as larger and larger swaths of the American population attend college each year. Studies have demonstrated that key demographic variables, indicators…

We compared the performance of Hispanic students from California, Texas, and Arizona on the two Advanced Placement (AP) English exams (i.e., English Language and Composition and English Literature and Composition) using archival data from the College Board from 1997 through 2012. Pearson chi-square tests yielded statistically significant…

Middle Appalachia--defined in this report as the Appalachian portions of Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia--is an impoverished area that has been economically dependent on the coal industry for generations. Its schools face unique challenges in ensuring the college and career readiness of students, given that…

The transition from school or college to university education is an exciting time for most students, but also one that is filled with new challenges. Students are faced with new styles of teaching and learning, and are required to be more independent and acquire new skill sets. For psychology students, there may be an additional challenge in the…

Access to and persistence through higher education can significantly impact occupational stability and mental wellness in the United States (U.S.), with higher levels of education contributing to increased employability and wellness. Empirical research suggests that college attendance improves verbal communication, moral reasoning, and critical…

The aim of this article is to present the International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme and briefly outline its core components, followed by a review of what authoritative reports identify as skills for the future, esteemed by universities and the job market. There is a striking match between these skills and IB outcomes; thus, DP graduates perform…

Research has shown that in addition to academic knowledge, a variety of noncognitive skills are essential to students' post-secondary success. This article summarizes a review by the University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) that brought together hundreds of studies of factors that have been tied to academic success…

Rural areas in many parts of the U.S. experience population decline from outmigration. Geographic mobility has long been a contributing factor to the social and economic instability of rural communities; high-achieving and ambitious youth are inclined to leave rural areas to take advantage of the expansive economic opportunities and cultural and…

This literature review on high school capstone courses found that, while the idea of such courses has been around since the 1990s, such courses have not been widely implemented and virtually no research exists on their effectiveness. Nevertheless, several high schools around the country have implemented senior culminating projects in which high…

The literature and the employee and workforce surveys rank collaborative problem solving (CPS) among the top 5 most critical skills necessary for success in college and the workforce. This paper provides a review of the literature on CPS and related terms, including a discussion of their definitions, importance to higher education and workforce…

In the past decade, developmental education has come under increased examination by stakeholders. Founded as an avenue for learners with academic deficits to meet educational goals, developmental education has helped many students. However, many more learners fail to succeed due to institutionalized difficulties, chief of which is a no-credit…

Low-income, first-generation, and minority students often face a range of challenges in the college choice process that prevent them from attending colleges and universities that are a good fit and match for their needs. As a result, such students are less likely to persist and graduate after enrolling in college. This "Research to…