Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Four Evaluation Report. Executive Summary
Author: Texas Center for Educational Research (TCER)
Date: 2011-04-00
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,Middle Schools,High Schools,Program Effectiveness

The federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs, or GEAR UP, project strives to equalize low-income students' access to higher education by increasing their participation in rigorous coursework, providing expanded opportunities for low-income students and parents to learn about postsecondary educational opportunities and financing options, and forging strong partnerships between school districts, colleges, and community support groups. Created as part of the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, GEAR UP began in 1998 as a system of federally funded grants targeted to schools in which at least 50% of students are designated as low income by their eligibility for free- or reduced-price lunches. GEAR UP grants extend across 6 school years and require that districts begin providing services to students no later than the seventh grade and that services continue until students graduate from high school. 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. In 2006, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) applied for and received a state grant to administer a GEAR UP project in six Gulf Coast area school districts. The state grant, titled Students Training for Academic Readiness, or STAR, is implemented in Alice ISD, Brooks County ISD, Corpus Christi ISD, Kingsville ISD, Mathis ISD, and Odem-Edroy ISD. Each STAR district includes a high school and its associated feeder pattern middle school in the project. STAR's 6-year implementation period encompasses the 2006-07 through 2011-12 school years. GEAR UP operates on an add-a-cohort model, in which the grade levels served by the grant expand as students progress through school. In STAR's initial grant year (2006-07), services were focused on students in Grade 7. In STAR's final year (2011-12), the initial Grade 7 cohort will be in Grade 12, and all students in Grades 7 through 12 will participate in grant services. This executive summary presents key evaluation findings from Year 4 (2009-10) of the STAR grant. In 2009-10, STAR's initial cohort was in the tenth grade and STAR services were provided to students in Grades 7 through 10. (Contains 2 footnotes.) [For the full report, &quot;Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Four Evaluation Report,&quot; see ED535980.]