Innovative School Counseling Approaches to Improving College and Career Readiness

School counselors are at the forefront of efforts to improve the college readiness of K-12 students. It is clear that many roadblocks exist with regard to college readiness and adequate access to college counseling. Many public schools serving minority, first-generation, low-income students have school counselors with large caseloads and numerous non-counseling duties leaving them with little time to spend on college counseling (Clinedinst, Koranteng, & Nicola, 2015). This exploratory study aimed to review promising practices that target college and career readiness for students. A deeper investigation was conducted at an urban school serving underrepresented students which revealed an innovative five-year, comprehensive, relationship-driven school counseling model that promotes equity, fosters social and emotional growth, and supports students and families through college readiness, enrollment, and degree attainment leading to a potential new framework for schools to consider

Moving the Needle: Exploring Key Levers to Boost College Readiness Among Black and Latino Males in New York City

Moving the Needle addresses the challenges, opportunities, and potential solutions to increasing college readiness rates for young men of color in New York City. The report describes indicators that help predict college readiness, environmental factors that affect educational outcomes, and how this research can inform the City's Expanded Success Initiative

Expanding Access and Opportunity: The Washington State Achievers Program

Evaluates outcomes of Gates' initiative to expand access to college for low-income students through school reform, mentoring, and scholarships. Examines student demographics, college readiness, enrollment and persistence, student loans, and experience

Academic College Readiness Indicators of Seniors Enrolled in University-Model Schools® and Traditional, Comprehensive Christian Schools

This correlational study examined the relationship between type of high school a senior attends (University-Model School® [UMS®] or traditional, comprehensive Christian) and academic college readiness, when controlling for prior academic achievement and gender. The study compared archival data of Christian school students from six Texas schools. The Stanford-10 controlled for prior academic achievement. SAT and ACT scores measured academic college readiness. Results of three sequential multiple regressions, controlling for confounding, found school type to be a statistically significant predictor for the SAT Composite score, but not for the SAT Writing score or the ACT Composite score. Although the UMS® seniors averaged higher scores than traditional, comprehensive Christian school seniors on all three exams, only the SAT Composite score was found to be statistically significant. The standardized regression coefficient of the three scores did not find practical significance for the relationship between school type and academic college readiness

Higher Education in California: New Goals for the Master Plan

Calls for policies to raise college completion rates and the portions of high school graduates eligible for state schools and of transfer students receiving bachelor's degrees. Explores issues of equity, funding, college-readiness, and remedial programs

Non-college-bound English learners as the underserved third: How students graduate from high school without being college- or career-ready

Not all high school students go to college. Yet, because there is currently such a dominant emphasis on “college for all,” preparing non-college-bound students for career-readiness has received short shrift. This issue is particularly important for English learners (ELs) because close to half of high school ELs do not advance to postsecondary education. Through a longitudinal ethnography of two underperforming, non-college-bound ELs, I examine how and why a relatively well-resourced school allowed these students to graduate without college- and career-readiness. I argue that although there were substantial structural inequalities that led to the under-education of the two ELs, educators at the school were largely unaware of such barriers and attributed the ELs’ underachievement to the students’ own deficits. I counter this institutional deficit orientation with alternative stories of student assets that illuminate the substantial strengths and talents that the focal ELs possessed, which, if recognized and integrated into their education, could have led to career-readiness.Accepted manuscrip

Men of Color: A Role for Policymakers in Improving the Status of Black Male Students in U.S. Higher Education

This report calls for greater involvement by federal and state policymakers and others to improve black male college readiness and completion. It presents policy-relevant trends concerning black male college students, highlights promising practices on campuses across the country, and proposes suggestions for policymakers and other stakeholders

The Perception Of School Board Members And Their Role In Improving College And Career Readiness

The national focus of graduating America\u27s students ready for college and a career has heightened the importance of and the need for school board members to rethink their purpose on what and how they spend their time. Improving the college and career readiness of K-12 students will need school boards that are willing to receive the training to ensure that district leadership and schools are using the appropriate strategies that will impact college and career readiness. School boards have always recognized student achievement as central to their role in governing public schools; however, the impact they actually have on promoting and improving student achievement has often been debated. This study highlights the emerging framework of student achievement as college and career ready and provides critical evidence on local school boards\u27 role in supporting student success through the lens of college and career readiness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perception of school board members concerning their role in improving college and career readiness for their district\u27s students, the extent to which they view college and career readiness as a priority, and their level of engagement in enhancing college and career readiness. The following five research questions guided this study: 1. Is college and career readiness a priority of school boards? 2. What is the perception of school board members concerning their roles in improving the college and career readiness of students? 3. Are school boards engaged in improving the college and career readiness of students? If yes, how? 4. What gaps exist between board member\u27s reports of the importance of indicators of career and college readiness and how much time they allocate toward these indicators? 5. What is the relationship between school board members training and the perceived importance of and allocation of time towards college and career readiness? In addition to answering the aforementioned research questions, a single hypothesis is being tested. The more training a school board member has, the more likely he/she will believe that time should be spent focusing on college and career readiness. Evidence from this study shows that improving college and career readiness is a priority for school board members. The findings from this study indicated that almost all of the school board members that responded to the survey offered or promoted specific strategies to improve college and career readiness in their district. Regardless of how important board members believed that curriculum and instruction and student support services strategies were to improving college and career readiness of the students in their districts, findings indicated that most of the board members responded that they discuss strategies that will improve college and career readiness of their students only two to four times a year

Going to College: Why Black Lives Matter Too

In this article, I share why centering Blackness is critical in implementing college readiness for all. By utilizing the practices of high school leaders, counselors, and teachers at five predominantly Black college readiness for all high schools, I explore key activities, instructional approaches, and support systems that are integral to Black students\u27 college readiness. I present two themes: mission intentionality and doing whatever it takes. These findings are also coupled with lessons learned from existing scholarship on non-selective college preparatory schools and college readiness issues in urban communities. Lastly, in reflecting upon the qualitative findings from the five high schools and existing scholarship, I offer four ways to help center Black students\u27 college readiness

Corporate Investments in College Readiness and Access

Examines support for college readiness and access initiatives among Fortune 100 companies, best practices in helping disadvantaged students, and case studies. Discusses the importance of higher education to enhancing the U.S. workforce's competitiveness