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This study examines the messages and accuracy of the messages sent to students from the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) math test regarding academic preparedness for postsecondary education. Previous studies investigating messages sent to students, derived from information such as educational standards, grades, course taking policies, test material, and college admissions requirements, focused on content alignment of secondary and postsecondary content standards. However, a dearth of research exists on messages from high school performance, as measured by exit exams and college performance measured by grades, major selection, or graduation. This study addresses the need to understand and interpret messages students receive based on academic performance. Specifically, this study aims to answer three questions. First, what is the relationship between AIMS math scores and college math performance defined by the University of Arizona math requirement and college graduation? Second, to what degree do AIMS math scores predict college math performance? Third, what is the average AIMS math score and performance level for students who choose certain majors? To answer the research questions posed in this study, various statistical analyses were employed. To answer the first question, a one-way ANOVA and logistic regression analyses were used. A linear regression analysis served to analyze the second and third questions. Results indicate that the messages sent to students regarding college readiness are, in fact, well aligned and clear and consistent. Also, there is evidence that the messages vary by gender and ethnicity.

In the early 1980s, the United States experienced a high school dropout epidemic, leading school systems to adopt reform efforts. College readiness programs (CRPs) became a tool to address educational disparities in secondary and postsecondary education for over three decades. While decreases occurred in the overall high school dropout rate across racial and ethnic groups, they have been minimal. This study addressed a research gap on the lack of student input and perceptions about their experiences in CRP programs. This phenomenological study used in-depth, semi-structured interviews with criterion-selected former high school students from 3 schools within the ABC County School System in the southern United States. The sample of 12 students provided data about their lived experiences as Project GRAD scholars. The theoretical framework for this study was Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory (EST) based on human development and systems of the environment. Based on results of the interview questions and emergence of themes, 95% of the students indicated their motivation for attending college was based on family. While the traditional college readiness program had some positive influence on student's secondary and post-secondary plans, such programs were not the primary contributing factor, but rather parental/family support was. Furthermore, personal student accounts of their involvement with the Project GRAD program reflect a positive experience. However, such accounts did not reflect a consistent and active supporting relationship with the organization. This finding is in opposition to reported data by many college readiness programs. Implications for social change will bring awareness and modification to programs with the intent of alleviating educational dropout epidemics.

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The role of school culture in facilitating underrepresented students' access to and success in college is examined in this ethnographic study. The purpose of this study is to examine an urban, public high school's culture in the southeast region of the United States with a high population of African Americans and students living in poverty. The college-­ going culture theory proposed by McClafferty, McDonough and Nunez (2002) and later refined by McDonough (2006) is used as a framework for this study and an ethnographic research design is employed using interviews, observations, open-­ended surveys, and document review as data collection methods. The objective of the study is to describe the culture of an urban high school by examining its artifacts, values and beliefs and underlying assumptions, specifically as it relates to preparation of students for postsecondary education. Findings from this study will help inform strategies on reforming school culture to support college access and success for urban high school students, and will support the use of the college-­going culture theory as a useful lens through which to understand college access issues. Additionally, this study helps to describe some of the common characteristics of urban education in the heart of education reform and describes the core challenges associated with developing college-­going culture in urban communities with high poverty and low college attendance rates.

Thesis advisor: Jacqueline Lerner / Americans are more educated than ever, and high educational attainment has long been associated with positive outcomes for individuals and society as a whole. However, one-third of high school students do not enroll in post-secondary education immediately after graduation, thereby reducing potential benefits. A thorough understanding of college enrollment patterns is needed to develop and enhance interventions that will effectively promote immediate college enrollment. Extant literature on college access focuses largely on contextual factors that influence college enrollment, such as families, schools, and classrooms. Given that context is only one component of development, additional research on the role of the individual may be especially useful for understanding more fully the transition from high school to college. For this dissertation, theoretical approaches from higher education and developmental psychology were combined to provide a new framework for exploring immediate college enrollment. The variables of interest included indicators of college readiness (e.g., academic preparedness and sources of college information) and three internal assets: self-regulation, school engagement, and expectations for academic success. College enrollment patterns were examined using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, which surveyed students nationwide in 2002 (Grade 10), 2004 (Grade 12), 2006, and 2012. A series of multinomial regression equations revealed significant main effects and indirect effects of internal assets on college enrollment through college readiness variables, but no interaction effects between internal assets and college readiness variables. Analyses also provided support for previous findings related to racial/ethnic and socio-economic group differences, as well as school-level contextual factors. The findings from this study have valuable implications for college access programs: internal assets appear to be driving college readiness, not merely bolstering it, and should be a focus for interventional efforts. Additional research across applied settings for youth is needed to replicate and extend the findings from the current study, to evaluate applicable measurement standards, and to propose reform in practice and policy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

A rubric was used to determine the frequency of college-readiness practices of Problem Solving, Authentic Learning, and Collaborative Learning present in Advanced Placement Calculus and English syllabi. Chi square tests were conducted and determined Problem Solving, Authentic Learning, and Collaborative Learning were found significantly more often in the English syllabi than in the Calculus syllabi. Problem Solving and its subcomponents understanding the problem and strategizing, as well as the Collaborative Learning subcomponent dialogue, were found in the English syllabi more than in the Calculus syllabi. The Collaborative Learning subcomponent reciprocal teaching was found more frequently in the English Literature and Composition syllabi while peer review was found most often in English Language and Composition syllabi and not analyzed for its presence in the Calculus syllabi. No significant differences were found between subjects for the Problem Solving subcomponent hypothesizing, Authentic Learning or any of its subcomponents, nor the Collaborative Learning subcomponents using out of class time for study group learning or group projects.

As the United States and Texas become increasingly dependent on the success of Hispanics in higher education based on degree attainment, decision-makers and policy-makers are looking for strategies for addressing the education attainment needs of the Hispanic population. The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to understand 1) the barriers experienced by successful first year (fall to fall) first-time-in-college Hispanic students at a predominately Hispanic student community college on the South Texas/Mexico Border Region, 2) the expertise/knowledge required to successfully overcome these barriers during the first year (fall to fall) in college, and 3) based on these findings, offer suggestions and recommendations for addressing the barriers experienced by Hispanic students enrolled in such community colleges. More specifically, the researcher examined the barriers experienced by students during the first year of college, and based on their experiences, the expertise required to overcome those barriers. The study utilized Padilla‘s (1991) Student Success Model as the primary theoretical framework for the study. The data analysis led to the identification of six barrier categories, which included: 1) transition from high school to college; 2) personal and family commitments; 3) institutional support; 4) student accountability; 5) instructor issues; and 6) developmental studies/college readiness. In the findings, I include the role of general college knowledge and academic college readiness in students successfully completing the first year (fall to fall) of college. The researcher utilized the results of the study to develop the Community College Student Success Model for First-Time-in-College Students, which was adapted from Padilla (1991, 2001) and Padilla, Treviño, Gonzalez, and Treviño (1996). The researcher recommends utilizing Lynham‘s (2002) General Method of Theory-Building to move towards the development of a theory for Hispanic student success in predominately Hispanic community colleges. The researcher also recommended the development and implementation of collaborative programs and services between the public school districts and the community college for facilitating the acquisition of general college knowledge by high school students before they graduate from high school.

Dual enrollment is one means of facilitating increased degree productivity, which can lead to the more educated workforce needed in today's society. This qualitative study was designed to obtain student perceptions about their dual enrollment experience, including how it impacted their decision to go to college and what comparisons they would make between their dual enrollment experience and their full university experience. Twenty-one students were interviewed via e-mail to provide responses that would help answer three research questions: 1.What are the initial experiences of dual enrollment students? 2.How does the dual enrollment experience impact the decision of high school graduates to attend college? 3.What comparisons can previous dual enrollment students make between the college experience they had in high school and the subsequent college experience as a full-time college student? Students who have participated in dual enrollment and subsequently matriculated to a university were provided an opportunity to give voice to their experiences, which were fairly positive. They also described characteristics that would be desirable of potential dual enrollment students and offered recommendations for students who are considering the dual enrollment experience. The findings of the research resulted in several recommendations for practice to those who make critical decisions in regards to these programs. These recommendations include further consideration of orientation sessions for students who are considering dual enrollment, developing or enhancing quality assurance measures for instruction and student outcomes, and establishing a network for dual enrollment students that will help bridge gaps in their collegiate experience.

This study sought to identify characteristics found within technical, cultural and political dimensions of the YES College Prep middle school model that typify the college-going culture of the organization. This qualitative study utilized grounded theory and ethnographic approaches in a three-phase research plan seeking to answer the question: How can the college-going culture of the YES Prep Middle School System be described, and what characteristics of the school model can be useful for building college-going cultures in mainstream schools? Teachers and administrators were the primary units of study, and data was collected in the form of documents, interviews and ethnographic field notes. Data from phases two and three built upon theories developed in phase one. Using Kirst, Venezia and Antonio’s typology of college-going cultures, YES College Prep schools fell under the category of schools with strong college-going cultures. Five dominant themes emerged as all three phases of research were synthesized: (a) student achievement, (b) quality teaching, (c) exposure and opportunities to learn, (d) college-going discourses, and (e) unified mission. Characteristics holding potential relevance for mainstream schools were the unified mission, academic rigor, the extended day and year, the Comprehensive Counseling Model, the Teacher Excellence Program and the people-oriented business model. This study adds to the body of research demarcating middle school as a critical point in the educational continuum. The YES College Prep model provides usefulness for researchers interested in such areas as organizational culture, educational pipeline models, and middle school reform models. / text