Engendering college readiness in underserved and disadvantaged students: the role of early learning and early college programs in improving academic outcomes
Creators: name: Masagbor, David Asuimhita
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2025

description: Historical disparities in access to quality education among minority populations have contributed to significant achievement gaps in college readiness, college enrollment, and graduation rates. In response to these challenges, Early College schools were developed as part of a broader strategy to improve access to high quality education for at-risk and underserved communities. Although the successes of Early College schools are well-documented, there remains a scarcity of research that empirically investigates which programmatic resources, practices, and student contextual factors within these schools are most effective in building or, conversely, impeding college readiness for underserved students. This study aims to fill this gap by empirically examining how an Early College pipeline nurtures college readiness through the application of specific strategies, resources, and practices to build key cognitive strategies, academic behaviors, content knowledge, and college contextual skills. The LEAP Academy University Charter School in Camden serves as the case study for this research to provide a detailed exploration of how a comprehensive, cradle-to-college educational pipeline can effectively prepare underserved minority students for success in higher education. Utilizing the David Conley College Readiness Framework, this study investigates how various program components at LEAP Academy contribute to the development of the different aspects of college readiness as outlined in the framework. The research employs a two-phase sequential multi-method design, incorporating interviews with staff, students, and alumni, observations of students within the LEAP school environment, document analysis of historical LEAP data, and a survey to empirically identify the factors that influence college readiness at an Early College school.The results suggest that building well-rounded students capable of succeeding in college requires the integration of multiple factors that collectively contribute to college readiness. These factors cannot be addressed in isolation; rather, they must work together to create a comprehensive support system for students. Specifically, eight interrelated practices and resources were identified as critical to fostering college readiness at LEAP Academy. The study also tested the association between a set of identified LEAP pipeline components and student contextual factors with college readiness, using a range of parametric and non-parametric analytical tools to estimate the impact of these factors on students' academic preparedness. The findings revealed that participation in advanced academic courses, such as Dual Enrollment, showed the strongest and most consistent association with college preparatory progress. Moreover, participation in academic enrichment activities and early childhood enrollment at LEAP were shown to positively impact the development of cognitive strategies, as measured by NWEA MAP indicators. This research reveals the need for more studies investigating the systems and structures utilized by Early College schools in addressing college readiness among underserved minority students.