This report summarizes the findings of focus groups conducted with parents of former and current participants in the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP), a college access and preparation program for low-income and high-achieving students attending public high schools in Princeton, New Jersey, and its surrounding communities. Conducted…

In October 2015 the Department for Education (DfE) permitted a grammar school in Tonbridge, Kent, to open up an annexe in Sevenoaks, 10 miles away. Amidst claims that the annexe was essentially a new grammar school, the decision reignited an old debate about the value of academically-selective "grammar" schools in England. The intensity…

In response to growing income stratification in higher education, President Obama convened a White House Summit in 2014 where over 100 selective institutions committed to increasing the number of low-income students on their campus. One way colleges proposed to do so is through partnerships with college access organizations like QuestBridge, a…

In response to growing income stratification in higher education, President Obama convened a White House Summit in 2014 where over 100 selective institutions committed to increasing the number of low-income students on their campus. One way colleges proposed to do so is through partnerships with college access organizations like QuestBridge, a…

In summer 2015, Princeton University contracted with Educational Testing Service (ETS) to conduct an evaluation of the Princeton University Preparatory Program (PUPP), the college access program developed by Princeton University faculty and staff. The mixed-method ETS evaluation of PUPP included the collection and analysis of qualitative and…

Since 2010, the number of urban Chinese high-school students applying to US universities has rapidly grown. Many of these students have chosen emerging international curriculum programs established by elite public high schools in China. These programs prepare wealthy Chinese students for the US college application process by exposing them to an…

The social and economic inequities in America's K-12 education system are well known, what with a rapidly expanding system of expensive private schools and the striking contrasts between urban and suburban public schools. America's higher education system, on the other hand, is generally regarded as far more equitable, given that each of the fifty…

Decisions about whether and where to go to college can make a difference in students' later success. However, many students from low-income families--"undermatch"--they do not enroll at all or do not enroll in the most selective college they likely could attend. This study investigated whether promising advising strategies, bundled…

This appendix is a companion to the "Study of Enhanced College Advising in Upward Bound: Impacts on Where and How Long Students Attend College" (ED615732) report. The appendix provides additional information about the "Find the Fit" enhanced advising strategies and the study that assessed its effectiveness when implemented…

This article explores the role of school staff in the accessibility of education with a focus on professional discretion and its relation with institutions and contexts. Drawing on the street-level bureaucracy approach it looks into different types of discretionary practices and asks how their legitimacy influences their success. The analysis is…

In England, as in many other countries, selective universities have been under pressure to show there are no financial barriers for high-potential students from less-advantaged backgrounds. For much of the twentieth century, there was a similarly lively debate about how to open up Britain's prestigious independent boarding schools to a wider…

This study investigated the efficacy of race-neutral student assignment policies following the 2007 Supreme Court decision in "Parents Involved". Highlighting one urban school district--Chicago Public Schools--we examined differences in racial composition at their elite, "selective enrollment" high schools before and after…

Neoliberal education policies have altered the operational environments of schools and affected school principals' job descriptions and requirements. As a result of managerialism, decentralisation and marketisation of education, principals are increasingly responsible for profitability, marketing and striving in competition, in addition to their…

The admissions process used today in America's most selective colleges and universities is a classic case of interest group politics gone awry. Nobody champions or fights for smart, low-income students. The result is an admissions process reduced to a series of "preferences." Taken together with other widely-used admissions practices,…

This dissertation illustrates how admission policies shape access to postsecondary education. Evidence comes from two sectors, each with a distinct type of admission system: highly selective institutions that practice holistic admission (chapters 2 and 3) and less selective public four-year colleges that use admission thresholds (chapter 4). The…