Young Black and Latino men transition from high school to 4-year universities at rates considerably lower than their peers. College-going disparities by gender are partly influenced by young men's constrained access to social capital in high school. This research explores how gendered inequalities in social capital arise for college-aspiring…

This qualitative case study explored the unique ways recent college graduates serving as full-time, near-peer mentors supported students along the path to college in three different urban public high schools. By applying the theory of figured worlds to school spaces and practices, this study sought to both define the physical and figurative ways…

The purpose of this study was to gather feedback from Black female students who are navigating their way through the secondary STEM pathway. The study, modeled on the "Social Cognitive Career Theory" (Lent and Brown, 2006, 2008; Lent et al. 1994, 2000) was used to explore factors that influenced the interest and persistence of Black…

Examining linked academic transcripts from urban community colleges and their feeder high schools, we identify math course-taking patterns that span sectors. We highlight stifled mobility and chronic repetition of math coursework in the transition to college, and we identify "math traps" from which students do not escape. Math mobility…

This study examines the impact of a polytechnic high school model designed in collaboration with a research-intensive university and industry/community partners. Aimed at urban settings and focused on minoritized youth, this model replaces traditional subject-specific classes with industry-driven design project cycles. As design-based integrated…

Historically, low-income Catholic secondary schools have provided opportunities for underrepresented students to receive quality education and matriculate to community college and four-year universities. This trend continues today, yet for schools like one in this study who identify as college preparatory schools, what happens to students once…

Although it is well known that certain charter schools dramatically increase students' standardized test scores, there is considerably less evidence that these human capital gains persist into adulthood. To address this matter, we match three years of lottery data from a high-performing charter high school to administrative college enrollment…

This ethnographic study of an urban Catholic high school examines its college culture, particular in regard to the Catholic School Advantage (CSA). We collected and critically analyzed multiple forms of data (archival, interviews, observations) at St. Peters High School (SPH) and its adjoining parish. We found a caring and holistic approach to…

This research study examined the use of the Common Core curriculum on writing at an urban public high school and the use of learner-centered instruction on writing at an urban private high school, and how the two approaches may be connected to the writing achievement of male freshmen in college. I interviewed educators from high school through…

The purpose of this study was to examine internal and external supports of an information technology themed (whole school) urban magnet high school located in a low-income urban community within the Southeastern region of the United States. We found the academy to be an exemplary case study for how schools can build a high profile reputation with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of a year-long writing intervention located in an urban high school in partnership with a university teacher education professor and the students. The goals were as follows: to increase student self-efficacy about writing overall; to increase the number of students who successfully…

On the world stage, youth are using their voices to effect change. Shouldn't we also listen to them in our schools? University of Rochester's Valerie Marsh and Superintendent Shaun Nelms describe what happened when a struggling urban high school, on the brink of closure, put student voice at the center of its turnaround.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among collective efficacy factors, as measured by the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, and college readiness scores, as reported by American College Testing (ACT), for high schools in the state of Illinois. The 5Essentials have been considered crucial to school success and therefore used to…

This study examines how an urban, California high school supports undocumented students' college access and the challenges the school and students encounter. Employing case study methodology, school observations and interviews with 14 undocumented students and 13 educators were conducted to gain a deeper understanding of the processes involved in…

Each year, more than 55,000 students graduate from the public high schools run by the New York City Department of Education (DOE); 58,000 did so in school year 2019-20. In percentage terms, the city's cohort graduation rate--that is, the percentage of entering ninth-graders who graduated within four years--has increased steadily from the early…