Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Four Evaluation Report
Author: Rainey, Katharine
Date: 2011-04-00
Type: Numerical/Quantitative Data
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,Institutional Characteristics,Alignment (Education),Advanced Courses,Community Support,Partnerships in Education,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. The STAR evaluation is limited to the GEAR UP state grant and does not include GEAR UP partnership grants awarded to other entities in Texas. The findings presented in this report make up the fourth year evaluation of the state's GEAR UP/STAR project. Appended are: (1) Results from the Spring 2010 Teacher, Counselor, Librarian Survey; (2) Results from the Spring 2010 Parent Survey; (3) Results from the Spring 2010 Middle School Student Survey; (4) Results from the Spring 2010 High School Student Survey; (5) Instruments and Protocols; (6) STAR Goals and Objectives for the Statewide and District Programs; (7) Implementation Analysis: Data Sources and Methodology; (8) Implementation Analysis: Scoring Rubric; and (9) Advanced Course Performance Measures. (Contains 114 tables, 53 figures and 19 footnotes.) [For &quot;Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Four Evaluation Report. Executive Summary,&quot; see ED535982. For &quot;Students Training for Academic Readiness (STAR): Year Three Evaluation Report,&quot; see ED535984.]