Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Five Evaluation Report. Executive Summary
Author: Texas Center for Educational Research (TCER)
Date: 2012-07-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: College Readiness,Economically Disadvantaged,Low Income Groups,Minority Group Students,Limited English Speaking,Middle School Students,High School Students,Federal Programs,Federal Aid,Grants,State Programs,Access to Education,Access to Information,College Preparation,Student Characteristics,Academic Achievement,Program Implementation,Academic Standards,Teacher Participation,Faculty Development,Learner Engagement,Parents,Educational Environment,Parent Participation,Community Support,Alignment (Education),Advanced Courses,Middle Schools,High Schools,Program Effectiveness

Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, is a federally-funded system of grants that focuses on preparing low-income students to enter and succeed in postsecondary educational programs. GEAR UP grants extend across 6 school years and require that funded districts begin providing grant services to students no later than the seventh grade and continue services until students graduate from high school. GEAR UP also requires that districts implement a cohort model in which services are provided to all students in participating grade levels rather than to select groups of students. The United States Department of Education (USDE) provides for two types of GEAR UP grants: (1) partnerships grants made up of school districts, colleges or universities, and other organizations, and (2) state grants administered by state agencies, either alone or in partnership with other entities. Since 2006, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) has implemented a state-level GEAR UP grant, known as Students Training for Academic Readiness, or STAR. STAR is implemented in six school districts in south Texas that serve large proportions of low-income and minority students. These districts include Alice ISD, Brooks County ISD, Corpus Christi ISD, Kingsville ISD, Mathis ISD, and Odem-Edroy ISD. In each district, a high school and its associated feeder pattern middle school participates in STAR. The 6-year implementation period for STAR spans the 2006-07 through 2011-12 school years, and began with an lead seventh-grade cohort in 2006-07. As this cohort has progressed through school, STAR's services have expanded to include additional grade levels. In 2010-11, the grant's fifth implementation year, the initial seventh-grade cohort was in the eleventh grade and STAR services were provided to all students in Grades 7 through 11. GEAR UP grant requirements also include an evaluation component designed to assess effectiveness and measure progress toward project goals. The findings presented in this executive summary make up the fifth year evaluation of the state's GEAR UP/STAR project. The evaluation is limited to the GEAR UP state grant (i.e., STAR) and does not include GEAR UP partnership grants awarded to other entities in Texas. (Contains 6 footnotes.) [For the full report, &quot;Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Five Evaluation Report,&quot; see ED535983.]