This article describes Oakwood City School District's College Connection Study, which is now in its eighth year. The purpose of the study is to help the educators in the district learn how to effectively prepare students for success in the colleges of their choice. Teachers, administrators, and other staff members travel to colleges to conduct…

Community colleges are uniquely charged with providing postsecondary educational opportunities to students who are generally the least prepared to receive them (Rosenbaum, 2007). To increase access and success, community colleges offer a variety of pre-college level courses often paired with academic and student services. The courses and services…

Many students who are "eligible" for college are not "ready" for college. Readiness is much more complex and multidimensional than eligibility. Most high schools are organized to make students eligible for college admission, not make them ready to succeed in entry-level college courses. Over the past 15 years, the author has conducted research on…

The current educational reform agenda requires that stakeholders in the school community help all students graduate. The U.S. Department of Education's "A Blueprint for Reform: Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act" sends all stakeholders a clear message to take action that results in every student completing high school…

Following Messick's definition of validity as a multi-faceted construct that includes contextual, substantive, structural, generalizable, external, and consequential dimensions, this study examined an established directed self-placement (DSP) system that had been functioning for ten years at a large university. The goal was to determine the extent…

Westmoreland County Community College focused on enhancing success for first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students testing into two or more developmental courses. The project progressed from a planning objective, to a program on a sliding-scale budget, to becoming sustainable in five years. Results include improved retention and enhanced data…

This chapter is a case study of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching's Pathways [TM] program. The goal of the Statway [Registered Trademark] and Quantway [Registered Trademark] pathways is to improve the success rate of community college students who place into developmental mathematics. What makes these programs unique is…

This study focused on assessing the relationship of class scheduling with student outcomes in Intermediate Algebra, the prerequisite course for College Algebra. Numerous studies of information processing theory and the spacing effect on learning have been conducted; they have produced mixed findings. Relatively few studies have been conducted to…

For this study, the authors designed an experiment to test whether some high-achieving, low-income students would change their behavior if they knew more about colleges and, more importantly, whether a cost-effective way to help such students realize their full array of college opportunities can be implemented. This was done by randomly assigning…

This paper reports how one Australian university and the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) are working together to increase the number of school students from low socio-economic backgrounds enrolling in undergraduate university degrees. This innovative program involves university lecturers and school teachers working together…

As children become teenagers and move into early adulthood, there are many transitions they face. For young people with disabilities, this is no different except that there are invariably additional complex challenges that must be overcome. Evidence-based research is the foundation for best transition practices, but too many studies seem abstract,…

This study examines how a selected Hispanic-Serving Institution is implementing Advancement Via Individual Determination as a strategy for improving retention and time to graduation for 1st-generation Hispanic college students. A quasi-experimental design approach was used in which the retention rates and 1st-semester grade point averages of a…

The research problem was a case study to understand the problem of a significant number of high school graduates leaving foster care without receiving the services necessary to survive as adults. The purpose of the study was to explore services and supports for youths that are necessary for post-graduation success. The research questions in this…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English and math were finalized in 2010 and, as of July 2012, have been adopted in full by 45 states. These standards provide a framework that is intended to ensure that all students who graduate from high school in the United States have attained the knowledge and competencies that prepare them well for…

Every three to five years, the ACT National Curriculum Survey[R] asks educators about what they teach (or don't teach) in their courses and how important they feel various topics in their discipline are for students to know to be successful in these courses and in future coursework. The survey also asks educators for their opinions on educational…