Pathways to College: What High Schools Can Do to Prepare Students for College Admission and Academic Success in Higher Education
Author: Johnston, Howard
Date: 2010-04-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Academic Achievement,Higher Education,College Admission,Educational Opportunities,Educational Change,High Schools,College Preparation,School Role,Success,Barriers,Innovation,Socioeconomic Influences,Curriculum,Student Evaluation,Income,Student Financial Aid,School Counselors,Rural Areas,Urban Areas

There is now "less" social and economic mobility in the U.S. than there was 20 years ago, and the country lags behind many other developed nations in providing opportunities for economic advancement, including France, Germany, Denmark and a whole list of European countries. According to Haycock and her colleagues, the reason for this sorry state of affairs is education--or, more precisely, the "lack" of education. "In the Information Age, education--particularly higher education--is key to a healthy income. Almost no amount of hard work will make up for the lack of it." (Haycock, August, 2006). Sadly, educational opportunities in America have been reshuffled and the role of higher education has been transformed. Instead of expanding and equalizing opportunity in the country, much of higher education has simply become another agent of stratification. The bad news is that some of the problems--particularly those dealing with costs and how financial aid is distributed--are well beyond the control of the school. The good news is that the research on college-going can be heartening as well. There is considerable evidence that schools and the adults who work in them may exercise serious influence on whether a student attends college (or some other form of post-secondary education) and if she succeeds when she gets there. In one of the most comprehensive and rigorous studies ever undertaken, Tierney and his colleagues (2009) reviewed nearly 30 years of research on factors affecting college attendance. More important, they focused explicitly on the actions that high schools can take to help prepare students for and facilitate college attendance. In addition to the recommendations, they indicate the strength of the evidentiary base for each one--in other words, which recommendations are most thoroughly supported by the research. According to their report, these recommendations have sufficient research support to merit the attention of high school leaders. Recognizing that schools can face challenges to launching even the most practical, cost-effective strategies to boost college attendance, the authors conducted a "roadblock review" for each recommendation, identifying the conditions that may keep schools from implementing them. The report offers practical, feasible ways for schools to work around these roadblocks, usually without large expenditures of additional funds. An example of how some schools deal with roadblocks to providing accurate financial information to students and parents is shown in this paper. There are literally hundreds of innovative and effective strategies being used by schools across the nation to promote college attendance and student success. The resources listed here provide a goldmine of these strategies and good descriptions of how they are actually used in real schools. The author suggests using them to think comprehensively and systematically about how one will help the kids who need it most create their pathway to college. (Contains 1 table.)