Transition: High School to College

This report seeks to define and recommend changes to the federal role in ensuring that students not only enter college but graduate. The authors describe the current state of college matriculates, discern their goal of "increasing degree production and decreasing inequality", and discuss five strategies that need to be implemented to reach their goal. The authors conclude that the federal role, in terms of both funding and oversight, should further expand their reach to increase the number of degree holders.

This report details an Annenberg Institute for School Reform study in which leading indicators, as inspired by those used by economists, are explored at four school districts prominently utilizing leading indicators to discern student progress prior to the availability of high stakes testing data.

This paper from EPIC asserts that a new operational definition of college readiness is needed, proposing a shift from a focus on high school coursework, grades and scores on national exams, to a new and more comprehensive conceptualization of college readiness. The author suggests, based on the last two decades of research, that there are several other key components of college success.

This fact sheet published by Achieve examines which states require students to complete a college and career ready high school curriculum. The document details specific graduation requirements set by each of these states, recent changes in requirements and other policy specifics, such as whether or not students can opt out of curriculum requirements and which future graduating classes will be impacted.

This resource from the Center for American Progress discusses the results of a forum held in March 2008 that explored the question, "What is driving these poor results in higher education?" The results of this forum concluded with the Center for American Progress recommending that federal policy be enhanced with a stronger focus on postsecondary completion and student and college readiness. Specific recommendations focused on two key areas: (1) college-ready student strategies, and (2) student-ready college strategies.

This report describes an AYPF-hosted field trip to Indianapolis, Indiana in order to showcase cross-system linkages aimed at increasing the number of students prepared for, attending, and succeeding in postsecondary education and the world of work.

This resource from the ACT surveys teachers’ educational practices and expectations in English/writing, reading, mathematics, and science. The purpose of the survey is to determine the skills and knowledge that are currently being taught, in addition to those considered important for success for college readiness. It found that the skills rated most highly by postsecondary instructors across the content areas included reading, English and language arts, writing, communication skills, mathematics, science, and critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

This resource from the Data Quality Campaign is a checklist that can be used by state policymakers to support their efforts to increase college and career readiness. It is meant as a guide to policymakers to use as they develop policies and procedures. The checklist provides information on the State Role, the State Responsibility, and the National Landscape. Users are able to then analyze how their state fits in compared to the provided information.

This resource from the Data Quality Campaign is a primer for state policymakers. The authors discuss the role that data plays in developing college and career ready policies. They specifically discuss the importance of state policymakers supporting the efforts to use data. A checklist is provided that policymakers can use to determine whether they have the necessary data capacity.

This brief from CLASP discusses six promising programs that show how career pathway bridges help lower-skilled students move farther and faster along college and career paths through dual enrollment in linked basic skills and occupational certificate courses. The brief finds that these bridges both engage instructors and administrators and bring basic skills students into the mainstream of colleges. Finally, it is asserted that at minimum, career pathways bridges should create shorter, more relevant paths to credentials that matter in the local economy.