Efforts to increase access for and participation of groups that are underrepresented in postsecondary education (PSE) have included encouraging members of underrepresented groups to apply to PSE programmes, revising admission requirements to reduce barriers to attendance, providing assistance in completing applications for admission, and providing…

We study GO Centers, a college information program that is run by student peers and provides information about all aspects of the college-going process to academically prepared students on the margin of attending college. We use the semi-random rollout of the program along with detailed panel data on the universe of Texas public school students to…

The stated goal of Upward Bound (UB) is to increase the rate at which traditionally disadvantaged students graduate from high school and enroll in and graduate from postsecondary educational institutions. Past experimental studies of Upward Bound have found it to be generally ineffective in improving these student educational outcomes. However, my…

In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) with the primary goal of increasing the opportunity for underserved students to earn a postsecondary credential. To achieve this goal, Early Colleges provide underserved students with exposure to, and support in, college while they are in…

This last report from Mathematica's evaluation of Upward Bound analyzes data from the final round of survey and transcript data collection as well as administrative records from the National Student Clearinghouse and the federal Student Financial Aid files. It provides the first estimates of the effects of Upward Bound on postsecondary completion.…

In January 2009, in the last week of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), upon orders from the departing political appointee staff, published the final report in a long running National Evaluation of Upward Bound (UB). The study was conducted by the contractor, Mathematica Policy Research. After more than a year in…

The National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE) was charged with evaluating the status of vocational education and the impact of Perkins III. After more than 3 years of study NAVE finds that: (1) Vocational education has important short- and medium-run earning benefits for most students at both the secondary and postsecondary levels, and…

An analysis and evaluation were made of a special part-time high school program at Saddleback College (Mission Viejo, California), designed to allow attendance in college credit classes by 11th and 12th grade students. Two questionnaires were used in the study, one being sent to 50 former students and one mailed to 20 high school counselors The…

A summary of the Outcomes Structure developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) is presented. The Outcomes Structure consists of three dimensions: those affected by the outcome (the audience); the type of outcome; and when the outcome occurs or is expected to occur (time). Potential uses of the Outcomes…

A conceptual framework for educational outcomes (the Outcomes Structure) developed at the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) is addressed in seven papers. The first five papers consider the Outcomes Structure and its general application; the remaining two papers concern the applications of the Outcomes Structure in…

A plan for California's postsecondary equal educational opportunity programs is presented. These programs are designed to: increase academic aspirations and preparation of high school or community college students; inform students about financial aid or about specific colleges; increase college students' academic skills to increase their…

An evaluation of the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (Cal-SOAP) by the Postsecondary Education Commission is presented. The Cal-SOAP is a competitive-grants program designed to encourage cooperative, interinstitutional projects to increase the enrollment of low-income high school students in postsecondary institutions and to…