This qualitative narrative study explored the lived experience of high achieving Black men who recently graduated from very highly selective historically White institutions (HWI). The research was guided by Nancy Schlossberg's (1989) theory of marginality and mattering and Shaun Harper's anti-deficit achievement framework. Building on the work of…

Background: Community colleges are the primary door to higher education for students of color and those from low-income backgrounds (Bailey et al., 2015; Calcagno et al., 2008). To raise attainment and reduce inequalities in completion, colleges have adopted many student success initiatives--from first-year experience programming and basic needs…

The landmark theoretical model of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW) was developed almost twenty years ago as a critique of American meritocracy and the deficit views of Students of Color (Yosso, 2005). Most research on CCW since that point has been qualitative in nature, specifically in-depth interviews to understand how Students of Color exact…

It is important to consider the cultural and community assets that influence Black girls' intentions to pursue higher education, such as parental messages on degree attainment and college success. The present qualitative study explored how high-achieving Black women perceived and internalized the college preparation socialization they received…

California has long been a destination of opportunity--and challenge--for Black Californians. Known for its innovation and economic prosperity, California's higher education institutions play a critical role for social and economic mobility for Black residents. In "The State of Higher Education for Black Californians," published in…

This article describes an eight-session psychoeducational small-group intervention with two groups of African-American youth in an urban, east coast high school setting. Sessions were designed to enhance the self-efficacy and outcomes expectations related to attending college for first-generation college goers in the twelfth grade. The group…

This memorandum provides information pertinent to the participation and performance of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations for 2021 graduates in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). In 2021, 66.6 percent of MCPS graduates took one or more AP exams, a rate that was 23.0 and 31.7 percentage points higher…

Black students experience a unique form of pervasive trauma based on their racial identity. Discrimination--a social determinant of health (Social determinants of health)--results in racial trauma that negatively affects students' college and career outcomes, such as career adaptability, career thoughts, career decision making, and postsecondary…

We examined the high school experiences of 133 African American, Latina/o, and biracial college students through employing a mixed methods concurrent nested design, including survey analysis and qualitative content analysis, to identify themes and the extent school counselors provided assistance with promoting academic and college readiness. The…

This memorandum provides information pertinent to the participation and performance of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations for 2020 graduates in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). In 2020, 66.6 percent of MCPS graduates took one or more AP exams, a rate that was 20.8 and 28.3 percentage points higher…

Substantial disparities in college enrollment rates exist across racial and socioeconomic groups in the United States. A key goal of education policy is to help remediate this inequity by providing equal opportunity and access to all students. However, to develop better policy, one needs to understand the underlying causes of these disparities.…

This article suggests a group intervention for student-athlete boys of color who intend to play sports in college. This group is a component of a larger proposed school-wide program, the College Transition Program for Student-Athletes (CTPSA). The CTPSA's suggested group intervention offers school counselors a college readiness option to support…

This study was designed to explore the undergraduate and post-undergraduate experiences of African American STEM alumni from the University of South Carolina from a strengths-perspective. The method utilized for this qualitative study was phenomenological analysis. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 African American alumni who…

If students are not able to access internships or career-based programming, they are likely to not acquire skills necessary to be college and career ready. In short, an abundance of research supports the problem of limited preparation of all students for college and career readiness in high school, which also affects success in college and/or…

Scholars have argued that college preparation for Black students is the civil rights issue for our times. While Black students hold high aspirations for future success, their college and career readiness in literacy is often mitigated by instructional barriers in K-8 classrooms. In this article, the author offers a set of principles, inspired by…