Providing Post-Secondary Options for Low-Income Students in Rural Schools

2020 ◽  
pp. 359-381
Author(s):  
Brian Uriegas
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Early College ◽  
Financial Barriers ◽  
College Credit ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Technical Schools ◽  
Students Of Poverty

As the number of students living in poverty continues to grow, schools are being tasked with finding ways to provide opportunities for life in the post-secondary world. Financial barriers often restrict these students from entering college or technical schools. In Texas, many schools are using the early college high school model to provide students with college credit at no cost to the student. Additionally, career and technical education programs coupled with the District of Innovation designation are allowing schools to provide students with work related experience and skills that will allow them to enter the skilled labor market upon graduation. This chapter explains the framework of these programs and how they are providing students of poverty with opportunities to be successful after high school, while facing their current financial struggles. Along with the benefits provided to students, the schools and communities are also feeling the benefits of these programs.

¡Sí se Puede en Colaboración! Increasing College Placement Rates of Low-income Students

2011 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 1435-1476
Author(s):  
Matthew Militello ◽  
Jason Schweid ◽  
John Carey
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
College Readiness ◽  
Low Income ◽  
The United States ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
College Board ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
College Application

Background/Context Today we have moved from the debate of student opportunity to post-secondary educational setting to 100% access. That is, today's high school settings have been charged with preparing “college ready” graduates. Educational policy has leveraged mandates and sanctions as a mechanism to improve college placement rates, especially in high schools with a high percentage of low-income students. However, little empirical evidence exists to assist us in understanding how college readiness is actualized for low-income students. Focus of Study The purpose of this study was to identify specific strategies that schools employ to raise college application and attendance rates for low-income students. Research Design This study investigated 18 College Board Inspiration Award winning or honorable mention high schools across the United States. Phone interviews with all 18 schools informed the selection of five case study high schools. Data collection included interviews and observations with high school educators, parents, students, and other community members. Findings In this study, we describe evidence within and across the five case schools using a framework that was generated from the first phase of this study. These schools effectively improved college readiness by developing collaborative practices around: (1) Program Management, (2) External Partnerships, (3) Leadership, (4) College-focused Intervention Strategies, (5) Achievement-oriented School Culture, (6) Parental Outreach, (7) Systemic, Multileveled Intervention Strategies, (8) Use of Data, (9) Development and Implementation of Inclusive School Policies, and (10) Routinizing or Offloading Routine or Mundane Tasks. Conclusions/Implications This study operationalizes what effective practices look like in high schools with low-income students. The findings move beyond normative models to be implemented across sites to illustrations of exemplar practices that can guide collaborative efforts to enact the specific tasks necessary to improve college readiness for students.

Early Birds: An Exploration of Early College Initiative High Schools in New York City and College Persistence

2020 ◽  
pp. 152102512092478
Author(s):  
Tolani A. Britton ◽  
Millie O. Symns ◽  
Vanessa Paul
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
High Schools ◽  
York City ◽  
School Achievement ◽  
College Persistence ◽  
Early College ◽  
Behavioral Risk ◽  
College Credit

The Early College Initiative (ECI) high schools in New York City provide opportunities to take college-credit courses up to the equivalent of an associate’s degree while in high school. In this study, we measure the association between attending an ECI high school and college persistence. Our sample is the 3,271 students who graduated from New York City public high schools in the ECI network between Fall 2006 and Fall 2013 and enrolled in college. We use survival analysis to measure the relationship between demographic, academic, and behavioral risk factors and persistence of ECI graduates. We find that Black and Latinx students are as likely as White students to persist, when both high school achievement and behavioral factors, such as attendance, are taken into account. Differences in persistence do exist by gender with young women more likely to persist when compared with young men. This study provides empirical evidence that attending early college high schools has the potential to narrow racial and ethnic gaps in postsecondary outcomes.

scholarly journals Early College High School/Dual Enrollment 2.0

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-32
Author(s):  
Isabelle Cherney ◽  
Laura Douglas ◽  
Ellen Fischer ◽  
Russell Olwell
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Dual Enrollment ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Early College ◽  
College Level ◽  
College Classrooms ◽  
Four Year Institutions ◽  
Retention And Graduation Rates

Urban and Metropolitan Colleges and Universities often serve a population that can benefit from an early college strategy. Colleges serving first-generation and low-income students often have lower retention and graduation rates than their peer institutions, as students from large urban public high schools can struggle to navigate the college classrooms and support system. While students may have achieved respectable GPAs and test scores in their high school buildings, they can fail to translate these skills at the college level, finding themselves on academic probation or worse. As researcher Anthony Jack has described in his landmark study, The Privileged Poor, students coming from large, urban districts are doubly disadvantaged by their experiences in schools; the skills that have allowed these students to get through their high schools are counterproductive at the college level (Jack, 2019).             Using an evidence-based approach, programs being launched now by colleges and universities focus on the core missions of early college and dual enrollment programs, connecting youth less likely to attend college directly out of high school with powerful programming that propels them towards successful completion of degrees and to the start of their career. This article presents perspectives from a range of institutions (high school, two-year institutions, four-year institutions, and philanthropic investors) that are rethinking these models to maximize community impact and affordability to students and families.

scholarly journals What students do early college high schools serve? Unpacking social constructions of the target population

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Julia C. Duncheon
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Early College High School ◽  
Early College ◽  
College Credit ◽  
Early College High Schools ◽  
Socially Constructed ◽  
Recruitment And Selection

To support the nation’s college completion goals, early college high school (ECHS) reform creates opportunities for interested students to earn up to two years of free college credit during high school. ECHSs also have an equity objective: to target and enroll students who are historically underrepresented and/or might not otherwise go to college. Yet the extent to which ECHSs actually serve their target population in practice is unclear, especially in a marketized school environment. Using qualitative methods and the theory of social construction and policy design (Schneider Ingram, 1993), this study explores the recruitment and selection practices at five ECHSs in the borderlands of Texas. Findings suggest that ECHS staff invited applications from the broad target groups. However, the admission process, shaped in part by patterns of self-selection, favored students who were academically inclined and relatively privileged compared to their district peers. ECHS staff socially constructed narrower ideals of the target population than those articulated in the policy design based on their assumptions about who was likely to succeed in—and thus deserving of—an early college opportunity. Findings are discussed with particular attention to the equity implications of ECHS reform.

scholarly journals Do Career-Engaging Courses Engage Low-Income Students?

AERA Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 233285842110533
Author(s):  
Jay Stratte Plasman ◽  
Michael A. Gottfried ◽  
Daniel J. Klasik
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Low Income ◽  
School Engagement ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
School Students ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Do So

Encouraging school engagement is crucial to promoting positive outcomes for high school students. One potential means to promote school engagement may be through career and technical education (CTE) coursework, which is specifically designed to be educationally engaging, particularly for vulnerable populations such as those from low-income backgrounds. Yet, little is known about whether these courses do in fact link to higher school engagement. Through analysis of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009—a nationally representative data set—we explored the link between STEM-focused CTE (STEM-CTE) coursetaking and school engagement for low-income students. To do so, we employed an instrumental variable estimation technique and found that taking STEM-CTE courses related to higher school engagement for low-income students. We conclude with a discussion of implications for students, practitioners, and policymakers.

New Pathways to NDT: 21st Century Technical Education Connects High School Students to Real-World Careers

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (9) ◽  
pp. 864-873
Author(s):  
Jill Ross
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
High School Diploma ◽  
School Students ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
Career Programs

High schools in the United States are taking a fresh look at the future of career and technical education with the implementation of new learning pathways that lead directly to the workforce, including the nondestructive testing (NDT) industry. These programs directly connect high school curriculums with post-secondary education and employment, reaching kids as young as junior high. This resurgence in technical education can be traced to the current demand for “new collar” jobs—jobs that require a post-secondary degree, although not necessarily a four-year college degree. The demand for new collar jobs continues to increase, as millions of jobs requiring only a high school diploma have disappeared. Harvard’s influential Pathways to Prosperity report, released in 2011, warned that nearly two-thirds of new jobs of the 2010s would require more than a high school education—yet only 40% of Americans had obtained an associate’s or bachelor’s degree by their mid-20s (Harvard 2011). In response, a new vision of 21st century vocational training is emerging across the United States. Vocational education has traditionally taught students how to weld or how to fix a car. Today’s career and technical education encompasses a wide variety of industries and skills. Students are learning to code software, design websites, or operate robots and artificial intelligence systems that have replaced manual labor jobs across much of the economy. Through new technical and career programs, high school students have the opportunity to learn valuable skills, gain job experience and support from participating sponsor companies and mentors, and complete coursework to graduate with a high school diploma and, often, an associate’s degree as well. This article explores new high school technical and career programs in Texas, Minnesota, and North Carolina that specifically provide a pathway to careers in NDT. These new initiatives are fueled by the desires of students, parents, and educators for options outside of the traditional four-year college path, as well as urgent workforce needs within industry. Support from local industry and academia (such as community colleges) are essential to the success of the programs.

scholarly journals Stakeholder Perceptions of Barriers and Solutions to Significant Post-Secondary Enrollment Option Expansion for High School Students

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Wozniak ◽  
Louann Bierlein Palmer
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Advanced Placement ◽  
High School Principals ◽  
Dual Enrollment ◽  
School Students ◽  
Middle College ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Career And Technical ◽  
College Programs

Post-secondary experiences for students still in high school have been promoted as a means to increase academic rigor and create a better-trained workforce. Yet little is known regarding supports needed to significantly increase such options. This study obtained input from 411 stakeholders in one Midwestern state, including 201 district superintendents, 181 high school principals, and 23 college dual enrollment officers regarding their use of these options, their perceptions of barriers to program expansion, and their ranking of possible solutions to overcome the barriers. Findings demonstrate that all parties find postsecondary options of value, with traditional dual enrollment the most used option. Although all groups identified funding as a primary barrier, other systemic barriers were of great concern. Participants suggest that expansion of Advanced Placement and early and middle college programs, financial assistance for dually enrolled students, and increased program availability for career and technical options would be beneficial.

scholarly journals The Effect of Career and Technical Education on Human Capital Accumulation: Causal Evidence from Massachusetts

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaun M. Dougherty
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Human Capital ◽  
Career And Technical Education ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Technical Education ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Career And Technical

Earlier work demonstrates that career and technical education (CTE) can provide long-term financial benefits to participants, yet few have explored potential academic impacts, with none in the era of high-stakes accountability. This paper investigates the causal impact of participating in a specialized high school-based CTE delivery system on high school persistence, completion, earning professional certifications, and standardized test scores, with a focus on individuals from low-income families, a group that is overrepresented in CTE and high school noncompleters. Using administrative data from Massachusetts, I combine ordinary least squares with a regression discontinuity design that capitalizes on admissions data at three schools that are oversubscribed. All estimates suggest that participation in a high-quality CTE program boosts the probability of on-time graduation from high school by 7 to 10 percentage points for higher income students, and suggestively larger effects for their lower-income peers and students on the margin of being admitted to oversubscribed schools. This work informs an understanding of the potential impact of specific CTE program participation on the accumulation of human capital even in a high-stakes policy environment. This evidence of a productive CTE model in Massachusetts may inform the current policy dialog related to improving career pathways and readiness.

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