Andrea Venezia

Inequitable opportunities: How current education systems and policies undermine the chances for student persistence and success in college

America’s high school students have higher educational aspirations than ever before, yet these aspirations are being undermined by disconnected educational systems and other barriers. These educational aspirations cut across racial and ethnic lines with scant differences. As this study demonstrates, access to college-preparation-related policy information, however, follows racial, ethnic, income, and curricular tracking lines. This article presents findings from Stanford University’s Bridge Project—a national study that examined (a) K-16 policies and practices and (b) student, parent, teacher, counselor, and administrator understandings of those policies and practices in regions in California, Illinois, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas. In addition, it proposes recommendations for K-12 schools, postsecondary institutions, state agencies, and the federal government.

Bridging the Great Divide between Secondary Schools and Postsecondary Education

What forms should K-16 collaboration take in order to improve college-going and completing rates? Though they are still in the initial stages of data analysis, Mr. Kirst and Ms. Venezia share with readers some emerging themes.

Transitions from High School to College

The vast majority of high school students aspire to some kind of postsecondary education, yet far too many of them enter college without the basic content knowledge, skills, or habits of mind they need to succeed. Andrea Venezia and Laura Jaeger look at the state of college readiness among high school students, the effectiveness of programs in place to help them transition to college, and efforts to improve those transitions. Students are unprepared for postsecondary coursework for many reasons, the authors write, including differences between what high schools teach and what colleges expect, as well as large disparities between the instruction offered by high schools with high concentrations of students in poverty and that offered by high schools with more advantaged students. The authors also note the importance of noncurricular variables, such as peer influences, parental expectations, and conditions that encourage academic study. Interventions to improve college readiness offer a variety of services, from academic preparation and information about college and financial aid, to psychosocial and behavioral supports, to the development of habits of mind including organizational skills, anticipation, persistence, and resiliency. The authors also discuss more systemic programs, such as Middle College High Schools, and review efforts to allow high school students to take college classes (known as dual enrollment). Evaluations of the effectiveness of these efforts are limited, but the authors report that studies of precollege support programs generally show small impacts, while the more systemic programs show mixed results. Dual-enrollment programs show promise, but the evaluation designs may overstate the results. The Common Core State Standards, a voluntary set of goals and expectations in English and math adopted by most states, offer the potential to improve college and career readiness, the authors write. But that potential will be realized, they add, only if the standards are supplemented with the necessary professional development to enable educators to help all students meet academic college readiness standards, a focus on developing strong noncognitive knowledge and skills for all students, and the information and supports to help students prepare and select the most appropriate postsecondary institution.