Mary E. M. McKillip

Rules of Engagement: Building a College-Going Culture in an Urban School

Students who struggle in pursuit of postsecondary education tend to be Latino, Black, low-income, or first-generation college students. This article presents the case of a small public school serving students grades 6-12 from these traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in a large urban school district. Observations revealed that the school works to accomplish its primary mission of preparing students for college by merging academics with the socioemotional development of students. The relationships between and among students and staff in the school are the foundation upon which the school’s college-going culture is built. The study concludes with recommendations for ways to build a college-going culture in similar schools.

A Closer Examination of the Academic Benefits of AP.

ABSTRACT The authors sought to better understand the relationship between students participating in the Advanced Placement (AP) program and subsequent performance on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). Focusing on students graduating from U.S. public high schools in 2010, the authors used propensity scores to match junior year AP examinees in 3 subjects to similar students who did not take any AP exams in high school. Multilevel regression models with these matched samples demonstrate a mostly positive relationship between AP exam participation and senior year SAT performance, particularly for students who score a 3 or higher. Students who enter into the AP year with relatively lower initial achievement are predicted to perform slightly better on later SAT tests than students with similar initial achievement who do not participate in AP.