The preparation students need to complete college successfully is important to many stakeholders, including students, educators, and the community. Colleges struggle with enrollment and retention while high school teachers and community college instructors focus on the preparation of students to succeed in college. High school teachers and community college instructors are uniquely qualified to inform the determinants of college readiness across the continuum of education. This research study explored the perceptions of high school teachers and college instructors on the skills and behaviors required of students to be successful in college. This qualitative descriptive study was based on the conceptual framework of Conley's 4 keys to college readiness and used interviews from 4 high school teachers and 5 community college instructors to explore the research question. The data were open coded multiple times to construct categories that revealed 3 major themes of college readiness: preparation, engagement, and personal characteristics. High school teachers and college instructors identified similar skills and behaviors displayed by college ready students. The information gleaned from the interviews about college readiness informed the creation of a professional development project to provide college faculty with strategies to facilitate the skills and abilities needed for college success within the context of college courses. This research and project development are a move towards positive social change in improving student success in college. Given the need for college completion and the rising cost of education, the social impact of ongoing work to improve college readiness and college success is imperative for students, colleges, and teachers at all levels.

More than ever before, educators and researchers are keeping a keen eye on student college- and career-readiness. The widely adopted Common Core State Standards were written with the explicit goal of helping students to be college- or career-ready by the time they graduate from high school. However, many students experience setbacks, such as course failure, within their educational career placing them at risk for not reaching this goal. Because the ACT can predict student success in college, states often use benchmark scores from the exam to measure student college- and career-readiness. A student who fails to learn fundamental concepts in either Algebra I or Geometry will not score as well on the ACT and is not likely to meet benchmark scores for college- and career-readiness. It is important, then, for schools to provide credit recovery opportunities to students who do not pass these classes so they can master the content and earn a passing grade. This research study examines different credit recovery options offered at one high school to students who failed Algebra I and/or Geometry. These options included re-taking the class, summer school, an online course, and a more unique mastery based program. Because students were nested within teachers, hierarchical linear modeling was used to determine associations between credit recovery options and the ACT mathematics score which is used to determine college- and career-readiness. Also considered were the effects of gender, race, socioeconomic status, and previous achievement indicated by PLAN mathematics scores. For Algebra I, no variables were found to be statistically significant as fixed effects, and only re-taking the class, PLAN mathematics scores, and identification as White were found to be statistically significant as random effects. For Geometry, identification as being African American was the only variable found to be statistically significant as a fixed effect, and re-taking the course and participation in summer school were both found to be statistically significant as random effects.

The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the associations between systemic equity pedagogy (SEP) practices in highly diverse high schools and their students' science achievement and college readiness. This study focuses on science programs in ten highly diverse Texas high schools serving students who exhibit high science achievement and college readiness. According to the Policy Research Group in Science Education, only two percent of all culturally diverse high schools within the state of Texas demonstrate high science achievement and college readiness on state-tracked school-level indicators. Transforming a school context where achievement disparities exist among student groups in science classrooms necessitates that public school officials understand key factors, or “drivers,” and associated indicators contributing to SEP in programs. A model for programs is suggested using a framework for SEP based on data collected from ten highly successful, high diversity high schools. The following research questions address the research gap regarding indicators of SEP associated with high science achievement and college readiness in highly culturally diverse high schools. How do data from ten highly successful, high diversity high schools inform the development of a comprehensive SEP rubric? How do high achieving high schools of culturally diverse student populations score on a comprehensive SEP rubric? How do teachers’ perceptions toward implementing SEP practices vary in different schools? Three research papers detail the research of this dissertation. The purpose for the first paper is to increase understanding of indicators facilitating systemic and equitable teaching and learning practices, otherwise referred to as systemic equity pedagogy (SEP). Results of the study show indicators of a comprehensive SEP rubric. Together, 127 indicators, thirty categories, and eight SEP drivers form a model framing equitable teaching and learning practices associated with high science achievement and college readiness. In conclusion, indicators within the SEP rubric can be described as action-oriented descriptors that science teachers engage formally or informally in order to facilitate quality science education for all students. The purpose for paper two is to score equitable teaching and learning practices in highly successful high school science programs based on the SEP rubric. Findings reveals that implementation of various equitable teaching and learning practices vary across science programs and these practices can be described as both pedagogical and non-pedagogical. In conclusion, varying degrees of implementation exist for indicators in the SEP rubric. In paper three, the purpose is to understand science teachers’ attitude and approach toward implementing systemic teaching and learning practices. Results from this study provide scores that indicate science teachers’ perceptions of their approach to SEP. This study concludes by suggesting high achieving science programs may operate within a continuum for implementing equitable teaching and learning practices.

abstract: National and state education reforms are centered on developing higher academic expectations and standards to ensure students transitions into postsecondary options, college and career ready. What does this national emphasis signify for urban school districts that are educating a significant proportion of first-generation students and that struggle to produce students ready for the rigor of postsecondary education without remediation? Framed within Karl Weick's (1976) theoretical framework of loose coupling organizational theory, this qualitative study examined the implementation of the pseudonymous ABC High School District college readiness education reform initiative through the lens of district-wide system actors, which included district leadership, school-level implementers and the students as the intended beneficiaries. ABC High School District is the largest non-unified urban school district in a large metropolitan area in the Southwestern United States. I focused specifically on two implementation sites: Blue Sky and Desert Flower High Schools. The system actors expounded on their knowledge and understanding of how they perceived the implementation of the initiative, their interpretations of the district's new policy and initiative, and how this initiative guided their practices based on their respective roles. The findings included the four major themes of (a) building capacity of the actors, (b) communication, (c) policy and politics, and (d) academic rigor and high expectations. Two additional findings specific to counselors and students were also revealed. The counselor-specific experiences revealed the changes in their roles that have created confusion among school staff and their growing responsibilities that may impede the progress of the district initiative. The student-descriptions suggest their knowledge about college and career planning, challenges, and their academic preparedness to successfully transition to a postsecondary institution. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Educational Administration and Supervision 2012

The questions guiding this research seek to discover the factors that affect high school math course completion and college readiness in a Texas suburban public school district. The first research question examines the relationship between 8th grade completion of Algebra I and high school mathematics course taking patterns and college readiness. The second question evaluates the relationship between race, gender, socioeconomic status and enrollment in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program to college math readiness and high school mathematics course completion. Participants included 841 high school graduates of the class of 2006; 76% of the graduates were White, 15% Hispanic and 7% African American. Twenty-three percent of students were economically disadvantaged and 46% of students completed Algebra I in 8th grade. Chi-square, Cramer's V, and multiple regression were conducted to evaluate possible relationships between variables. The Chi-square and Cramer's V showed statistically significant (p<.05) relationships between 8th grade algebra completion and both college readiness and high school math course completion. A significant statistical relationship was also found between college readiness and each of the independent variables, ethnicity, economic status, completion of 8th grade algebra and enrollment in AVID. The number of math courses completed in high school was statistically related to ethnicity and economic status.. The findings of this study indicate that early access to Algebra I can positively affect the number of high school math courses a student completes and the likelihood that the student will be college ready after high school graduation.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine early warning indicators of college readiness among early college high school students at selected Texas institutions of higher education. Participants in this study included 134 of the class of 2010 from two early college high schools. The graduates were 86% Hispanic, 8% African American, 3% White, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian and 72% economically disadvantaged. A causal-comparative research design using multiple regression analysis of the data collected revealed that each one unit increase in world history was associated with a .470 (p < .05) increase in college GPA, while each one unit increase in Algebra I was associated with a .202 (p < .05) increase. Therefore, student grades in high school Algebra I and world history were the strongest statistically significant indicators that a student will maintain a 2.5 college GPA during the first year of college. According to the early warning indicators, students who maintain a grade of A or B in Algebra I are 10 times more likely to be college ready while having a 78% chance of maintaining a 2.5 or better in college courses. Further, the findings from this study found no significant relationship between TAKS assessment, socioeconomic status, gender or ethnicity and a student's ability to maintain a 2.5 or higher college GPA. Based on the findings from this study, the author recommends an examination of the high school curriculum with the goal of ensuring that students gain competency in courses that indicate college readiness.

According to Venezia, Kirst, and Antonio (2003) and Barth’s 2002 Thinking K16 Ticket to Nowhere report, the disconnect between K-12 and postsecondary education was a contributing factor to high attrition rates. Since mathematics emerged as a primary concern for college readiness, Barth (2002) called for improving student transitions from K-12 to postsecondary institutions through the use of state or local data. The purpose of the present study was to analyze mathematics course-taking patterns of secondary students in a local context and to evaluate high school characteristics in order to explore their relationships with Associate degree attainment or continuous enrollment at an urban community college. Also, this study extended a national study conducted by Clifford Adelman (The Toolbox Revisited, 2006) as it specifically focused on community college students that were not included his study. Furthermore, this study used the theoretical framework that human capital, social capital, and cultural capital influence habitus - an individual’s or a group’s learned inclination to behave within the parameters of the imposed prevailing culture and norms. Specifically, the school embedded culture as it relates to tracking worked as a reproduction tool of ultimate benefit for the privileged group (Oakes, 1994). Using multilevel analysis, this ex post facto study examined non-causal relationships between math course-taking patterns and college persistence of public high school graduates who enrolled at the local community college for up to 6 years. One school-level variable (percent of racial/ethnic minorities) and 7 student-level variables (community college math proportion, remedial math attempts, race, gender, first-year credits earned, socioeconomic status, and summer credits earned) emerged as predictors for college persistence. Study results indicated that students who enter higher education at the community college may have had lower opportunities to learn and therefore needed higher levels of remediation, which was shown to detract students from degree completion. Community college leaders are called to partner with local high schools with high percentages of racial/ethnic minorities to design academic programs aimed at improving the academic preparation of high school students in mathematics and promote student engagement during the first year and summers of college.

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“College Readiness” has been a phrase discussed across higher education and the workforce in most recent years. However, the perception of College Readiness has been debated throughout history as there is not a universal agreement on the philosophy of what it means to be College Ready. In Mississippi, the state has not even defined this phrase so there is not a way to measure the success of College Readiness. Because of this lack of universal philosophy, the purpose of this study is to understand the philosophy of college readiness programs in the state of Mississippi. The research question guiding this study will include: How do different stakeholders assigned to align college readiness programs between P-12 and postsecondary systems understand the philosophy of college readiness? Moreover, what influences the beliefs that shape philosophies about college readiness held by these stakeholders? Leaning on research from Thelin (2004), Conley (2007), and the Ecological Model of College Readiness as designed by Arnold et al. (2012), the literature review synthesizes research on the history of college readiness in American Higher Education, the definitions of College Readiness, and the most widely accepted conceptual framework to explain the factors that influence College Readiness among students. The design of this study included a qualitative comparative analysis and used focus groups to collect data from the perspectives of 16 directors or coordinators who are responsible for organizing or implementing college readiness programs across the state of Mississippi. As a result, the theme from the participant responses supported the consensus that college readiness is a complex and undefined phrase. However, each participant agreed that to be college ready, students need to have more than academic readiness. Instead, students must also have individual characteristics that yearn for a plan after high school. Another conclusion made was that college readiness is influenced by the students’ surroundings including people and politics. While the most current conceptual framework helps identify factors that influence college readiness, it does not precisely identify the relationships among the different layers or help explain when a student becomes college ready. Therefore, additional research should be conducted to determine the stages by which students pass through to become college ready.

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