The purpose of this study was to solicit perspectives of underserved youth and educators who serve them regarding college and career readiness. In this study, underserved youth refers to adolescents who experience inequitable access to educational resources. Purposeful sampling was used to select 84 focus group participants including educators and…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which differences might be present in the campus proportion of college, career, and military readiness for Texas high school graduates. In particular, the purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the overall campus proportion of…

Earning a postsecondary degree or credential is increasingly important for individuals to succeed in the rapidly changing, global economy. College access programs like Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) serve to increase high school graduation and college readiness for underserved youth. This…

Sixteen non-native English speakers enrolled at a university were queried regarding their perceptions on the influence of language in academic setting. Using survey research that included Likert-type and open-ended questions data were analyzed using descriptive, inferential, and qualitative methods. Results indicated trends in college…

In the last decade, Colorado has increased its efforts and requirements around postsecondary and workforce readiness through the implementation of Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP) in high schools (CDE, 2009; CDE, 2014; CDE, 2020). Although based on career development research, no studies have inquired as to the meaning students make…

This conceptual analysis examines the implementation of a state-funded college and career readiness pilot program at a small, rural all-Black school in Illinois. Drawing from ethnographic data that dates from 2010, I offer a retrospective analysis on individual based intervention programming for college and career readiness. Concerned with how…

This study of rural stakeholders' perspectives related to college and career readiness exposes a nuanced dynamic that extends beyond pragmatic concerns for preparing rural students for the future. As college preparatory courses "crowded out" Career and Technical Education (CTE) offerings, stakeholders voiced a concomitant sense of losing…

We employed a mixed methods approach with sequential explanatory design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017) and a Social Capital Theory framework (Bourdieu, 1977) to investigate three research questions: (1) In what ways were participants' career and college readiness capital developed during high school? (2) How do participants view their academic…

As the conversation in higher education shifts from diversity to inclusion, the attrition rates of students in the STEM fields continue to be a point of discussion. Combined with the demand for expansion in the STEM workforce, various retention reforms have been proposed, implemented, and in some cases integrated into policy following evidence of…

Previous research has linked higher levels of academic preparation as measured by the ACT® to postsecondary success, such as earning higher college grades and completing a college degree in a timely manner. This ACT Data Byte extends these findings, illustrating the positive relationship between graduating from high school college and career ready…

High school classroom teachers with English language learners (ELLs) assigned to their classrooms might not be using effective instructional strategies to increase reading comprehension scores of ELLs. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the use of strategies that high school classroom teachers use to teach cognitive…

First-generation college students (FGCS), nearly 50% of which identify as Hispanic, are an underserved population. The psychosociocultural theoretical framework posits that individual, environmental, and cultural factors contribute to the academic success of Hispanic students. This study examined the relationship between these factors (i.e.,…

This qualitative multicase study was conducted in California's Central Valley. The purpose of this study was to understand how outside funding sources can be utilized to increase the math achievement for Central Valley students, especially Long-Term English Learners (LTELs). This study focused on the LTEL subgroup of English Learners (ELs) because…

In 2022, the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) identified a range of schools at which the University Entrance (UE) attainment of akonga Maori and Pacific students was at least 10% higher than their decile (now EQI) band average. In 2023, NZQA asked Rangahau Matauranga o Aotearoa NZCER to work with six of these higher UE attainment…

High school student participation in dual enrollment--a key strategy for increasing equitable access to postsecondary education and improving readiness for college--has been on the rise in California in recent years. Despite the overall increase in participation, however, large gaps between racial/ethnic subgroups persist. Also of concern, English…