Melissa Roderick, Jenny Nagaoka, and Vanessa Coca focus on the importance of improving college access and readiness for low-income and minority students in urban high schools. They stress the aspirations-attainment gap: although the college aspirations of all U.S. high school students, regardless of race, ethnicity, and family income, have…

From 1990 to 2006, the number of Hispanic students in U.S. public schools nearly doubled, accounting for 60% of the total growth in public school enrollment. Approximately 10 million Hispanic students are enrolled in the public K-12 system, comprising nearly one-fifth of public school students in the United States. This issue of "The Progress…

This report is the based on a 10-year study of the activities developed under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant to a collaborative of institutions from the State University of New York. The goals of LSAMP are to recruit and retain under-represented minority students in the STEM…

In 2001, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a 10-year, multi-million dollar initiative, the Washington State Achievers Program (WSA), to increase opportunities for low-income students to attend postsecondary institutions in Washington State. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation granted funds to the College Success Foundation…

Research suggests that student enrollment in developmental level courses at the postsecondary education level increases annually. This is occurring because underprepared and/or nontraditional students' reading, writing, or math skills are inadequate to meet the challenges of college-level work. This article focuses on self-explanations as an…

This critical essay is based on ethnographic research that followed thirteen students (from different social classes and racial background) through the college application process during their senior year of high school (Bloom, 2007). The study's purpose was to understand the accumulation and use of social and cultural capital by critically…

To explore the reasons for the dearth of minorities in Ph.D.-level biomedical research and identify opportunities to increase minority participation, we surveyed high-achieving alumni of an undergraduate biology enrichment program for underrepresented minorities. Respondents were asked to describe their career paths and to reflect on the…

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, examines the wide disparity of college-choice activities between socioeconomic groups. In order to highlight this disparity, analyzes three tasks that all students must complete on their path to college. (Author/EV)

This brief enhances recommendations and policy strategies from the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) publication "Reading to Achieve: A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy". It reflects lessons from recent research and best practices from states selected to receive NGA Center support to develop statewide…

Few early intervention efforts have improved the representation of women in computer science and engineering (CSE) disciplines, but pair programming has shown promise for reducing gender differences among college students. The current study is the first to examine this promising practice in middle school. In an effort to better understand what…

In recent years, there has been heightened awareness of the importance of early childhood education and high school as intervention points in the educational lives of America's children. Less attention has been paid to the importance of the upper elementary grades and middle school and the role they must play in the preparation of students for…

This survey updates the efforts of all 50 states to align their high school standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and accountability systems with the demands of college and work, and finds that at least 48 states are now actively engaged in reform efforts of some kind. There is more momentum in the states now than at any time since…

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities…

This report provides a developmental perspective on what competencies young people need to be ready for college, the workplace, and the transition to adulthood. National hand-wringing about the lack of preparedness of high school graduates for college and the workplace has catalyzed researchers, educators, and policymakers to define the skills and…

This report offers lessons from the last in a series of three high school reform conferences sponsored by MDRC, the Council of the Great City Schools, and the National High School Alliance. The conference brought together leaders from 22 midsize urban school districts on June 25-26, 2007, provided a forum for practitioners to share research and…