This non-experimental, quantitative study investigated the association between the number of high school mathematics credits earned and college attendance. Specifically, this study examined the relationship for graduates of Kansas City Missouri Public Schools (KCPS) and Kansas City Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) in the 2017-2018, 2018-2019 and…

In this study, the researcher explored if Bridging County School District was adequately preparing its graduates for higher education. It is hard to live life and not interact with technology of some kind in today's society. Albert Bandura's Self Efficacy Theory, The Constructivist Learning Theory, and Technology Self Efficacy guided this…

A committee comprised of the former state superintendent and educational leaders launched a unique high school program (pseudonym Connections) to support the delivery of a high school curriculum that would prepare students for college and careers. Students in Connections complete their 4 years of high school, supported by an Advocate who guides…

Using student-level data, we analyze the post-secondary enrollment of high school graduates across 29 states from an online charter provider from 2017 to 2020. We estimate the association between virtual charter student characteristics and the likelihood of college enrollment. We find that students who enroll multiple years in the virtual school…

This brief examines the experiences of California high school seniors from the graduating class of 2023, offering insights into their preparation, plans, and concerns for college prior to enrollment. Drawing on results from a large-scale survey of seniors, the findings reveal important variation in students' secondary school experiences and their…

This study was designed to analyze the perceptions of required college admissions testing by graduates in the state of Oklahoma. Students in the state of Oklahoma were required to take the ACT or SAT to comply with the Every Student Succeeds Act, following the adoption by the state in 2017. This study was conducted to determine: whether graduates…

Texas has approximately 200 designated early college high schools (ECHS). The present study aimed to acquire feedback from ECHS graduates to identify how students could be prepared more effectively for postsecondary education degree attainment and identify potential areas of disconnect between ECHS and 4-year colleges. To explore early college…

Early College High Schools (ECs) are growing in popularity as an affordable avenue for students to obtain up to an associate's degree while in high school in Texas. Using Merton's (1966) Anticipatory Socialization Theory, this study investigated how ECs shaped 13 graduates' social behaviors and norms while in high school, and then how they…

The college admissions process can be very overwhelming for students, parents, and schools alike. This study investigates the need and practicality of integrating more Social Emotional Learning concepts into the college counseling program at an independent high school as viewed by recent high school graduates and parents of current students.…

This report describes results from the Long-Term Impact of Early College High Schools Study--funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) (#R305A210017)--which aimed to explore the long-term impacts of early college (EC) high schools on students' academic outcomes (e.g., college enrollment, degree attainment) and workforce, financial, and…

The aim of this study was to determine why, although rigorous standards in English language arts (ELA) have been adopted in a northwestern state and were designed to build toward college readiness, high school students graduating from a college readiness curriculum are not college ready in the area of writing. The purpose of the research was to…

Increasing student access to college has become a central issue in education policy of the United States. Many students from underrepresented cultural backgrounds, if they access college, arrive when not sufficiently prepared. This research investigated the influence of advisory programs within Capital Prep Schools on the college readiness of…

Early colleges (ECs) provide high school students access to college coursework with the goal of increasing postsecondary opportunities for traditionally underrepresented students. We examine the impact of ECs on postsecondary attainment, calculate the resulting monetary benefits, and then estimate the per-student costs of ECs compared with…

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include: academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and its impact on African-American students' postsecondary readiness and what workers think of their high school…

This study reviews factors that prior studies have identified or failed to consider as barriers to post-secondary success. The three main areas include academic success for Latinx students after high school, organizational systems and its impact on African-American students' postsecondary readiness, and what workers think of their high school…