As the Latino population progresses from minority to majority status in the United States, there still remains the typical and historical pattern of failure in higher education associated with this minority status. According to the 2010 Census, approximately 16% of the total U.S. population or 50.5 million people have self-identified themselves as…

The inclusion of college preparation programs promote and forecast academic success in postsecondary studies among individual at-risk, African American urban high school students. Past research has shown ongoing, college acceptance, performance, and graduation gaps between at-risk, African American urban high school students when compared to…

Among ethnic groups in California, Latinos continue to have the lowest high school graduation rates and the lowest college completion rates. This study focused on understanding the role parents can play and ways schools and educators can support immigrant Latino parents to improve these rates. Framed with a "funds of knowledge" approach…

This work is a case study focused on the practices of a comprehensive college access program that serves students in south Los Angeles that has maintained a high school graduation rate of 100% and a college matriculation rate of 98% since 1997. This study sought to utilize the voice and experience of students of color to discern the factors that…

Recent studies have revealed how large shares of college-ready students "undermatch", or enroll in colleges with less competitive admissions processes than they are eligible to attend. Undermatch sits at the nexus of both college access and completion agendas, as undermatching to a less selective institution results in a decreased…

The use of mobile technology in language learning has increased considerably, with an unprecedented adoption of mobile tablets in K-12 and higher education settings. Despite the number of recent small-scale studies that have found increased student motivation and engagement in learning as a result of using mobile tablets, there is a need to…

American public education is in a constant state of experimentation, with new waves of reforms and education initiatives unveiled routinely--many recycled and some reinvented. Yet few are truly innovative. The newest and most promising reform thus far are the Common Core State Standards, which are rigorous standards in English language arts and…

For several decades, policymakers have embraced the goal of preparing students for college and careers, particularly for careers in the area of mathematics and science. The recent emphasis on these STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects is due to the growth of STEM occupations and the perceived shortage of qualified…

Educators have an imperative to help students not only get into college but also flourish when they arrive. The evidence is clear that many students are not prepared. Schools can and must do better than pretty good, and highly qualified school librarians, working in concert with all members of the learning community, can help ensure that students…

The Geosciences Awareness Program (Project GAP), a collaboration between the Ohio State University and Columbus State Community College, was designed to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in geosciences at both precollege and college levels. As part of Project GAP's precollege initiative, students at five predominantly minority…

Everyone acknowledges the importance of leadership in good schools, but sometimes a leader's influence extends into unexpected areas. Getting admitted to and succeeding in college is certainly the result of hard work on the part of individual students and their families, but for many kids, particularly those from impoverished backgrounds or from…

This study presents longitudinal description of the association between college readiness--as measured by college readiness benchmarks set by the ACT--and a series of postsecondary outcomes of the Illinois High School Class of 2003. In addition to describing how college readiness is distributed among the cohort, this study establishes the college…

Inasmuch as current U.S. population projections indicate that Latino students will comprise over half the growth in the college-age population during the coming decades, the puzzle of Latino educational attainment presents perhaps one of the most critical policy concerns relevant to any efforts targeted at increasing U.S. levels of educational…

A student's mathematical preparation is important in readiness for postsecondary study and ultimately success in a global job market. Nationally, a significant number of students are leaving high school unprepared for college-level course work in mathematics. A 2008 National Center for Educational Statistics report on Community Colleges indicates…

Since the release of the Coleman Report in 1966, studies (such as Sirin, 2005; Radford, Berkner, Wheeless, & Shepherd, 2010) have continued to find an association between socioeconomic status and educational attainment. Wyner, Bridgeland, and Diiulio (2007) observe that a progressively lower proportion of low-income, high achieving students…