The research behind Ramp-Up: access
Printer-friendly versionThe divide between high school and higher education in the United States is wider than in most other developed countries. After six years of field research, literature review and data analysis, researchers at Stanford University’s Bridge Project concluded that:
The current organization of secondary schools and postsecondary institutions is such that communication and information dissemination between levels are often difficult. For instance, students—especially those who are economically disadvantaged or whose parents did not attend college—often do not know what colleges expect of them in terms of meeting their admission requirements. Many believe that nonselective four-year institutions and community colleges do not have academic standards. This is not the case, as is evidenced by the widespread use of placement tests for access to credit-level courses. Also, policies across the segments, particularly those concerning the transition from high school graduation to college admission, are fragmented and confusing.cit.Kirst, M.W. and Venezia, A., eds. (2004). From High School to College: Improving Opportunities for Success in Postsecondary Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, p. 3.
Many students and families lack information on and understanding of key components of college access. In a survey conducted of parents of students in Ramp-Up design programs, 27.2 percent of parents reported that they did not know what tests their child needed to take to be eligible for college, and 43 percent of parents reported that they did not know the different options for financing a college education.cit.Center for Advanced Research in Educational Improvement, Ramp-Up to Readiness Preliminary Data presented to CAREI Assembly, May 15, 2009. A national survey of middle-school parents conducted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy found that 45 percent of parents did not report any college planning. About one-third had started saving money, and less than 20 percent of parents reported taking steps such as researching colleges or looking into college admissions information.cit.Cunningham, A., Erisman, W., and Looney, S. (2007). From Aspirations to Action: The Role of Middle School Parents in Making the Dream of College a Reality, Institute for Higher Education Policy.
Yet David Conley’s extensive research on what students need to be college ready identifies what he calls ‘contextual skills and awareness’ as critical. This includes understanding the postsecondary educational system, the norms and values of the academic world and the human relations skills necessary to interact within this system. Contextual awareness also includes ‘college knowledge’, formal and informal knowledge about the admissions process, academic and testing requirements, types of colleges, tuition, placement and levels of challenge.cit.Conley, D. T. (2007). Toward a more comprehensive conception of college readiness. Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.
Access programs such as College Summit and Admission Possible have been shown to produce effective results in increasing enrollment in college.cit.Wilder Research evaluation of Admission Possible, PDF download These programs focus on the admissions and financial elements of college readiness.
