This study sought to form joint conceptions of success by creating a habits of mind orientational framework drawn from university administrative and practitioner scholarship and theory. Previous literature directed at university writing higher-level administrators and practitioners in first-year writing programs and writing centers was largely engaged in battle for control of determining what success means for incoming writers and how programs can support this version of success. This framework served as the basis for this study’s methodologies for the collection as well as analysis of data. Data was collected from twelve university stakeholders who support freshmen writers through first-year writing programs and writing centers at a small Catholic university in the Northeast. These data were collected using three different methods: semi-structured interviews, ranking activities and retroactive reflections. I found that the members from the three groups of university writing stakeholders shared either cognitive, interpersonal or intrapersonal orientations when conceiving what habits make writers successful and what programmatic mechanisms can help writers form these habits. These three groups did not, however, largely prioritize writers possessing or learning the same habits within each domain. The main commonality between groups sharing a cognitive domain orientation are that the habits they privileged look to preserve conventions grounded in a white Western rhetorical tradition. Yet, writing instructors and tutors mostly do not explicitly teach these conventions because they are expected to have been acquired in high school. Thus, students of color and/or from low income backgrounds are pushed to prepare themselves to meet these conventional expectations and abandon their own culture’s priorities and conventions if they are to succeed. Groups that had inter - and intrapersonal domain orientations privileged addressing each incoming writer’s individual needs through collaboration or teaching them an actionable process that can be continuously used in each new writing context. Based on these findings, I assert that utilizing a habits of mind orientational framework can benefit transitioning writers because university writing stakeholders can identify a single set of habits from each domain that can be consistently emphasized and reinforced through programmatic mechanisms. / English

This study explored factors that appear to contribute to the growing increase of remedial education in higher education. Participants included teachers and administrators from feeder high schools in northeast Tennessee, local community college instructors of remedial education, and administrators. Participants were experienced and knowledgeable in the field of remedial education. Personal interviews and public domain documents included documentary material, books, magazines, newspaper articles, and use of the Internet to gather data for the study. Data analyses were broken down by participant group response to questions. Findings indicated that most graduating high school seniors are not ready for community college or college level studies. Contributing factors appear to be the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (2002), lack of preparation in coursework for elementary and middle school students' entry into high school, lack of communication between the feeder high schools and the local community college, cookie cutter or one-size-fits-all approach to teaching, social promotion with no mastery of coursework, and teaching to tests.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if undergraduate students perceived that their college readiness was impacted by participation in Advanced Placement courses, dual-enrollment courses, or both. Perceptual data were gathered from freshmen and sophomores enrolled at East Tennessee State University using an online survey. The number of participants in this study was 265. Perceptions of the individual program components of both Advanced Placement and dual-enrollment courses were also assessed in relation to college readiness. The results of the study indicated that undergraduate students perceive instructor quality and course rigor of both AP and dual-enrollment as beneficial to their success in college. Participants also indicated that the college readiness skills acquired through program participation were beneficial to their college success to a significant extent in the areas of writing, time management, note-taking, study skills, independent learning, and reading complex text. When comparing results related to AP and dual-enrollment, participants assigned similar ratings to the college readiness skills assessed in all areas except independent learning. Participant responses indicated that they perceived dual-enrollment as more beneficial than AP in the area of independent learning. In response to an open-ended survey item, participants also reported that dual-enrollment courses were more beneficial than AP courses especially in regard to the transfer of course credit and instructor quality.

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Diverse student populations are increasing in local, state, and national settings. There are achievement gaps in college readiness which must be closed between various student demographic groups. It is important for schools to know what methods work best for language acquisition to close the gaps and open postsecondary opportunities for all students. The purpose of this sequential, explanatory, mixed-method, formative program evaluation study was to examine the effects of a dual language (DL) program on improving the college readiness of students. Guided by the framework of learning and second language acquisition, college readiness levels between DL and non-DL students were examined and the perceived effects of DL as described by parents, students, and teachers were explored. The quantitative portion of the study used descriptive statistics to examine various transcript academic measures between 11 DL and 11 English immersion students. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 2 DL students, 6 English Immersion and DL staff, and a DL parent. The English Leaner students in the DL program passed more Advanced Placement courses and took more Advanced Placement exams than the English Learner students in the English Immersion program. District stakeholders interviewed for the qualitative portion of the study reported positive effects of the DL program including high levels of college preparation and increased parent involvement for the DL program. The study includes a white paper with recommendations for improvement and expansion of the DL program. Positive social change can be created in school districts by implementing effective language programs to prepare all students for the increasing demands of universities and the workplace.

Precollege programs, such as Talent Search (TS), are widely used to increase college readiness skills, particularly among underrepresented students in higher education. The college examined in this study had implemented the TS program, but little empirical evidence existed about the efficacy of the program. The purpose of this ex-post facto quantitative study was to evaluate the effect that the local TS program has had on college readiness and success as measured by incoming freshmen placement exam scores and students' first-year grade point average (FYGPA). The theoretical framework for the study was Conley's 4 dimensions of college readiness designed to help students succeed beyond high school. The research questions explored the differences in the 2010, 2011, and 2012 Computer Adaptive Placement Assessment and Support System (COMPASS) reading and writing placement scores and FYGPA for TS program participants and non-TS participants. The balanced sample included all 120 local college students who had finished their freshman year. Independent sample t tests were conducted and no significant differences were found in FYGPA or COMPASS reading and writing scores based on program participation. To provide guidance to the local site administrators, the extant literature on precollege interventions and holistic approaches provided best practice recommendations for a white paper that included additional services not currently offered by the local TS program. Positive social change is supported through assuring appropriate precollege support that may lead to increased academic success for students, hence increasing the number of college graduates among this group.

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.