Examining Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) and Its Impact on Middle School Rigor and Student Preparedness.

AbstractThis study examines the impact that Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) in middle school has on middle school course rigor and students' high school performance and college readiness. The study compares students who took AVID in middle school and high school with students who only took AVID in high school. The changes in middle school course rigor for schools implementing AVID were also examined. Quantitative data from AVID seniors were gathered via an online data collection tool while qualitative, short-answer survey data were collected from AVID coordinators, teachers, and administrators. Responses indicated that AVID has some impact on schools' and districts' rigorous course offerings. Findings reaffirm the notion that the longer a student is engaged in college preparation activities and AVID in particular, the more prepared that student is for high school rigor and college. When compared to seniors who only participated in AVID while in high school, seniors who participated in AVID in both middle school and high school exhibited greater academic performance, were more likely to take rigorous courses, and took, on average, more AP courses and AP exams.Keywords: Advancement Via Individual Determination, Middle School, Rigor, College ReadinessBillions of dollars are spent on American education each year, ensuring that children are provided a free and appropriate education through the twelfth grade. After high school, some form of higher education or skills training is necessary so that graduates can succeed in an increasingly competitive job market (Bangser, 2008; Holland, 2010; Yohalem, Ravindranath, Pittman, & Evennou, 201 0; US Department of Education, 201 1 ). However, as No Child Left Behind ana other education -reform initiatives indicate, there is no guarantee that the education received will adequately prepare students for the rigors of college (Bound, Lovenheim, & Turner, 2010; Conley, 2012). For many American students, getting to the twelfth grade and completing high school can be a challenge. One study (Kelly, 2005) found that in the adult population (people 25 to 64 years old) only 59% completed high school; African American and Hispanic adult populations were worse off, at 49% and 53%, respectively. The latest U.S. Census Bureau (2010) data indicated that approximately 80% of young adults (1 8 to 24 years old) graduated from high school. These data also showed that young African Americans and H ispan ics in the same age group graduated from high school at lower rates; 76% and 69%, respectively.Concerns over academic performance and educational equity have been at the forefront of research on educational reform for decades. In the 1960s, Congress initiated efforts aimed at disadvantaged populations, thus creating a boon of college preparatory programs over that decade and into the 1 970s (CPEC, 2007; Watt & Reyes, 2008). The most successful of these programs, according to Gandara and Bial (2001), Gandara and Moreno (2002), and Hooker and Brand (2009), are those that provide rigorous instruction, student support such as tutoring, and a curriculum that focuses on students' academic needs. Some of the more prominent programs to emerge over the past two decades, such as GEAR UP and AVID, provide services to students in middle school and high school to ensure that they graduate and successfully transition into higher education (Hooker & Brand, 2009; IES, 2010; Lozano, Watt, & Huerta, 2009; Watt, Huerta, & Lozano, 2007). Researchers (Camblin, 2003; Conley, 2012; Marcos, 2003; Wimberly & Noeth, 2005) recommended that students start planning for college as early as their middle school years, often in the sixth grade.Large portions of students that do graduate from high school are not realistically ready or prepared to enter college. Adelman (2006) proposed that rigor and high quality curriculum in secondary school, such as completing a mathematics course beyond Algebra II, is what ultimately predicts entrance and success in college. …