High School Predictors of College Readiness: Determinants of High School Graduates' Enrollment and Successful Completion of First-Year Mathematics and English College Courses in Virginia
Author: Jonas, Deborah
Date: 2012-05-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Higher Education,College Freshmen,Enrollment,College Mathematics,College English,Academic Achievement,College Credits,Grades (Scholastic),Educational Indicators,High Schools,High School Graduates,Algebra,Probability,College Readiness

In 2007, the Virginia Board of Education directed the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to study academic indicators that are associated with high school students' successful preparation for college and careers. VDOE then embarked on a multi-year effort to identify available data sources and conduct research on high school indicators that are associated with enrollment and success in credit-bearing courses in college. VDOE's initial studies, using data from the National Student Clearinghouse, focused on high school academic preparation indicators that predict whether a student will enroll in a four-year college in Virginia or elsewhere in the U.S. The research conducted as part of this project assessed the association between high school academic indicators and student success upon enrollment in a two- or four-year institution of higher education (IHE) in Virginia. Success in higher education was defined by three indicators: (1) enrolling directly into credit-bearing English and mathematics courses in the student's first year of college; (2) earning a grade of C or better in the student's first credit-bearing course in English or mathematics; and (3) persistence into the second year of college at the same institution. An earlier report described the association between high school academic indicators--particularly Virginia's end-of-course reading and Algebra I state Standards of Learning (SOL) scores and type of diploma earned--and the probability that students would enroll in credit-bearing English or mathematics courses and would persist into the second year at the same institution. This report addresses the remaining higher education success indicator: whether students earned a C or better in their first credit-bearing course in English or mathematics. In this study, students who enrolled in developmental English or mathematics courses or who earned a grade lower than C in their first credit-bearing course were counted as not successful in their first year of college. Students who did not enroll in any course in mathematics or English were not included in the analysis. The high school academic indicators examined included SOL test scores in mathematics and English--with an emphasis on Algebra II and writing--and type of diploma earned (Standard or Advanced Studies). This report, the second in a two-part series, addresses the following two research questions: (1) To what extent were better prepared students more likely to enroll directly into credit-bearing English or mathematics courses and earn a grade of C or better?; and (2) To what extent did better high school academic preparation close gaps in students' likelihood of enrolling directly into credit-bearing courses and earning a grade of C or better? (Contains 11 figures and 5 footnotes.