The status of Mexican Americans in higher education is addressed, along with the role played by testing and assessment, and educational prospects for Mexican American children. The importance of community colleges in the education of Mexican Americans is noted. Reasons for declining college enrollments for Hispanics are identified: high college…

A program for the 1982-83 year at Rensselaer Central High School (Indiana) includes procedures for integrating college needs and expectations with those of high school, establishing an inservice program for involving teachers in an "across-the-curriculum" writing program, and proposing a course of study for the school's college…

The effects of various college preparation programs, aptitude scores, and student background characteristics on college retention were studied. The data were obtained from the National Education Longitudinal Study: 1988-2000 and NELS:88/2000 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study. The effective sample contained 4,445 first-time freshmen students…

This paper presents a template for creating a school environment in which college is a reasonable expectation for all students. Drawing from the research literature and lessons learned from more than 4 years of partnership work between a public research university and a cluster of urban K-12 schools, the paper outlines a set of conditions that are…

This presentation summarizes findings from a Maryland case study of policies and practices affecting the transition of students from high school to college. A particular focus is the role of a formal, high-profile statewide K-16 structure, the Maryland K-16 Partnership for Teaching and Learning, in promoting policies and practices that help…

This paper presents a method to help high school students with learning disabilities increase their vocabulary in preparation for college, including preparation for college entrance examinations such as the Scholastic Assessment Tests (SATs). The approach focuses on the use of elaborative techniques in which students actively generate meanings and…

This paper addresses myths about college students with learning disabilities (LD) which may give false hope to students very unlikely to succeed in college but more often place limitations on students who could succeed with some support services, based on the experience of Project Achieve at Southern Illinois University. The "myths"…

Academic Development Program students face a special challenge. Within a few short weeks, they must hone their reading, writing, and speaking skills while scrambling to adjust to life in college. Usually, pre-freshmen enrolled in the Academic Development Program are not familiar with the demands of academic reading, writing, and oral response. For…

For some students with mild or moderate disabilities, postsecondary education might include attendance at a community college, technical school, or 4-year college. From 1978 to 1991, the percentage of full-time college freshmen reporting disabilities more than tripled, with visual impairments and learning disabilities making up half the…

The paper advocates a closer working relationship between classroom teachers and the university faculty in the following areas: (1) teacher preparation for the classroom at the undergraduate level; (2) revision of some of the graduate training in history to focus more on pedagogical concerns, along with the content of history; (3) greater…

Students with learning disabilities (LD) are now enrolling more frequently in higher education programs. This paper reviews the needs of college students with LD, the roles various school staff members can play in preparing students with LD to meet the demands of college, resources useful in preparing students for transition, and transition of…

The paper describes a week-long transition education program for hearing-impaired high-school students, offered by the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. The college experience program is designed for deaf students between their junior and senior years of high school and has been implemented for 4 years. The program focuses on career…

The developmental college student, distinguished by lower than average academic scores, may also experience the inhibiting fear of communication, speech anxiety. Students who are both developmental and communication apprehensive lack confidence in their personal academic abilities, and thus develop poor attitudes toward learning and low academic…

This study compared attitudinal data on students who had dropped college preparatory science (academic terminal) in high school (N=55) with those who continued to enroll (academic continuing) in college preparatory science courses (N=108). Eight attitudes that have been hypothesized to be related to learning cognitive performance and enrollment in…

This paper presents a special case of collaboration involving the University of Maryland and the Prince George's County public schools. This program has created a magnet school with a college preparatory curriculum and an instructional program designed to meet the needs of college-bound minority high school students of all ability levels and…