This multisited ethnography followed nine successful Latino high-school students enrolled in a college-preparation program to examine their development of college aspirations and identify factors that contributed to their successful preparation for a 4-year university. It also explored these students' "multiple worlds" of home, school, community,…

Reading achievement in the United States has stagnated. In 2009, only 33 percent of Fourth Graders were proficient or above in reading--a mere two percentage points higher than in 1998. At the same time, double-digit achievement gaps between African American and Latino/Hispanic students and their white counterparts have changed little in nearly…

Research is unequivocal in showing that the quality and intensity of a student's high school curriculum has the greatest impact on college success. But even rigorous academic preparation alone is not sufficient to assure that a student graduates from high school ready to succeed in college. Social support strategies that sustain the preparation…

College-bound students in Japan undergo a process of intense preparation known as "examination hell." An extreme manifestation of "examination hell" is the "ronin" phenomenon. Typically 30% of students choose the "ronin" option under which they spend years in addition to high school preparing for the next…

Background: Higher education researchers have much to say about the transition to college. This field focuses primarily on inequities in college participation and completion, the relative importance of high school preparation, and the utility of financial aid in promoting enrollment. This literature's strongest conceptual emphasis is on…

Using the political-economic analysis of globalisation and education as well as a culturalist approach to education policy borrowing, the paper analyses the role of local actors, specifically, national newspapers and the Ministry of Education, in mediating the potentially homogenising curricular policy pressure of globalisation exerted through the…

Results of this review of college student retention research suggest that students from rural communities face additional challenges adjusting to large colleges and universities compared to students from urban and suburban areas. Research that describes the additional challenges faced by rural students while transitioning to large institutions is…

The dual Ontario graduating class of 2003, commonly referred to as the Double Cohort, was the product of that provincial government's initiative to eliminate the long entrenched practice of requiring a fifth year of secondary school for university-bound students. The new, more "rigorous" four-year curriculum, the Ministry of Education…

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988, seeks to gain a better understanding of what factors assist economically and sociologically underprivileged Americans to ready themselves for college. (Author/EV)

Access to higher education remains a challenge for many students who face academic and informational barriers to college entry. This guide targets high schools and school districts, and focuses on effective practices that prepare students academically for college, assist them in completing the steps to college entry, and improve their likelihood…

A dual credit course is a college/university level course that is taught at a high school, by a high school teacher, in partnership with a community college (CCWD) or Oregon University System (OUS) institution. Successful completion of a dual credit course counts as credit for both high school and college. In 2005-06, about 12,000 students took…

This mid-point report from a seven-year study about building a college culture investigates how a multifaceted approach including mentoring, technology, campus visits, parent involvement, and tutoring impacts at-risk middle school students' college aspirations and eventual success gaining college acceptance. Based on NAEP report data, many young…

This research is part of a comprehensive effort to pinpoint the key leadership factors that improve student achievement and increase the number of high school graduates who are ready for college and careers. In this study, SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) examined the role of the district office in providing principals with the working…

Research suggests that low-income high school students may opt out of preparing for college, because they believe a postsecondary education is more than they or their parents can afford. At the same time, federal agencies and some state agencies have indicated that every year available student aid goes unused. In response to these misconceptions…

Background: Grading standards vary widely across undergraduate institutions. If, during the medical school admissions process, GPA is considered without reference to the institution attended, it will disadvantage applicants from undergraduate institutions employing rigorous grading standards. Method: A regression-based GPA institutional equating…