This study investigates the relationship between participating in a high school debate program on college-readiness in the Chicago Public School district over a 10-year period. At-risk school students were identified using an index including 8th grade achievement, poverty status, and enrollment in special education. Regression analyses were used…

There is a very large population of students who struggle with the transition from the middle grades to high school, raising concerns that high school failures are partially a function of poor middle grade preparation. As a result, middle grade practitioners are grappling with questions about what skills students need to succeed in high school,…

"AVID" ("Advancement Via Individual Determination") is a college-readiness program whose primary goal is to prepare middle and high school students for enrollment in four-year colleges through increased access to and support in advanced courses. The program, which focuses on underserved, middle-achieving students (defined as…

In order to remain economically competitive, Florida's economy will require a more educated workforce than currently exists. In 2008, 37 percent of Floridians 25 to 64 years of age had earned an associate's degree or higher. Given that a large portion of the demographic growth in Florida through 2030 will be Hispanic, the state's economic…

The Race to the Top (RTTT) Assessment Program has funded two state consortia to develop new assessment systems that measure student skills against a common set of college- and career-ready standards in mathematics and English language arts (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). The initial RTTT invitation to submit proposals prompted extensive…

Early college high schools (ECHSs) are partnerships between high schools and colleges or universities designed to enhance college readiness and completion, particularly among students traditionally underrepresented in higher education. We compared the self-reported motivational profiles of ECHS students to traditional first-year university…

Persons with disabilities have been underrepresented in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields for many years. Reasons for this include low expectations for students with disabilities, limited exposure to prerequisite courses, lack of role models, and lack of access to individualized supports. This article identifies…

In order to ensure that middle school youth are on a path toward higher education and careers, an early introduction to the importance of continuing education past high school is necessary. The middle school years are a vital time to teach the importance of college and career readiness and the linkages to success in life. This issue brief…

This report finds that only five in ten graduates were college-ready in the districts studied and presents data finding that only one in ten graduates were both college and career-ready. Latino, African-American, and low-income students fared far worse than their more advantaged peers. The report calls for a more integrated and equitable approach…

Despite popular conceptions of the "gap year" as a time of personal enrichment, the incidence of delay between high school and college is greatest among students from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, suggesting other motivations. This article examines two explanations for socioeconomic inequalities in rates of delay: disparities in high…

Recent studies make one reality clear: While multiple factors can cause a low-performing high school to be in a turnaround situation, every high school that makes dramatic academic improvement has strong, effective school leadership. Turning a school around is no work for novices. It takes a skilled, visionary and proactive principal to pull apart…

Comprising eleven financial aid programs, the Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship (TELS) provided financial aid to 101,569 students at a cost of $297,589,674 in 2010-11 (Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation [TSAC], 2011). The four largest programs (the HOPE scholarship program, the General Assembly Merit Scholarship program [GAMS], the…

This article investigates the role of autoethnographic research as the methodological tool of choice for a Chicana who positions herself along the liminal perspective. I posit that "testimonios", autobiographical educational experiences, must be used as valid ethnographic research to contribute to existing knowledge around issues of…

While 8th grade algebra was once reserved as a course for the gifted, today, more U.S. 8th graders take algebra than any other math course. This article discusses a report from the Brookings Institution which chronicles the history of the 8th-grade algebra surge and its impact on today's low-performing students. The report indicates that many of…

For young people entering the twenty-first-century job market, high school graduation is no longer the finish line, but the starting line. While one-third of students will fail to graduate from high school, too many students who do graduate and make it to the postsecondary starting line find that they are underprepared for postsecondary work. A…