success at every step

Herbert Cook

Description

terials, many of which may be viewed on our website (www.aypf.org). FUNDERS: AYPF ...... ence37, sports37, and words37, which offer paid apprenticeships in ...

Sujets

• Sport

Informations

• Publié par: Sportif
• Publié le: 23 avril 2012
• Nombre de lectures: 113
• Langue: Français
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Successat EveryStep: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond

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A M E R I C A N Y O U T H P O L I C Y F O R U M O C T O B E R 2 0 0 9

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B r i d g i n g Yo u t h Po l i c y, P r a c t i c e , a n d Re s e a r c h

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Mission: To improve opportunities, services, and life prospects for youth, we provide learning experiences for national, state, and local policymakers and practitioners.

The American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), a nonprofit, nonpartisan professional development organization based in Washington, DC, provides learning opportunities for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working on youth and education issues at the national, state, and local levels. AYPF’s goal is to enable participants to become more effective in the development, enactment, and implementation of sound policies affecting the nation’s young people by providing informa- tion, insights, and networks to better understand the development of healthy and successful young people, productive work- ers, and participating citizens in a democratic society. AYPF does not lobby or advocate for positions on pending legislation. Rather, we believe that greater intellectual and experiential knowledge of youth issues will lead to sounder, more informed policymaking. We strive to generate a climate of constructive action by enhancing communication, understanding, and trust among youth policy professionals.

Founded in 1993, AYPF has interacted with thousands of policymakers by conducting an average of 40 annual events such as lunchtime forums, out-of-town field trips, and policy-focused discussion groups. Participants include Congressional staff; federal, state, and local government officials; national nonprofit and advocacy association professionals; and the press corps. At forums, these professionals interact with renowned thinkers, researchers, and practitioners to learn about national and local strategies for formal and informal education, career preparation, and the development of youth as resources through service and skill development activities. Study tour participants visit schools undergoing comprehensive reforms, afterschool and community learning sites, and youth employment and training centers, where they learn experientially from the young people and adults in the field.

AYPF focuses on three overlapping themes: Education, Youth Development and Community Involvement, and Preparation for Careers and Workforce Development. AYPF publishes a variety of nationally disseminated youth policy reports and ma- terials, many of which may be viewed on our website (www.aypf.org).

FUNDERS:AYPF events and policy reports are made possible by the support of a consortium of philanthropic foundations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, and others.

COPYRIGHT:American Youth Policy Forum, Washington, DC, 2009. The publication is copyrighted, but may be quoted without permission provided the source is identified as: Hooker, S. & Brand, B. (2009).Success at Every Step: How 23 ProgramsSupportYouthonthePathtoCollegeandBeyond. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum.

ISBN # 1-887031-98-7

This report is made possible by the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Cover photos and photos throughout the publication are provided by the following organizations and schools: Baltimore Talent Development High School (photos by Will Kirk); Diploma Plus, Inc.; Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection (photos by Paul Van Hoy II); KIPP Ascend Charter School (photos by Andrew Collins); and KIPP AIM Academy, KIPP Austin College Prep, and KIPP 3D Academy (photos by Ethan Pines).

Success at EveryStep: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond

■ S A R A H H O O K E R B E T S Y B R A N D

A m e r i c a n Y o u t h P o l i c y F o r u m

Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond

Acknowledgements

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e acknowledge with deep gratitude the many individuals who helped with this publication. First, we give our thanks to the dozens of program directors, evaluators, and researchers patience W throughout our project as we returned to them with innumerable questions and clarifications, and we whose programs and research efforts are included in this compendium. Their willingness to share their knowledge and expertise proved invaluable to us. We appreciated their continued thank them for doing the hard work of evaluating their programs. We also applaud their continued commitment to helping youth improve their life chances by preparing them for college and careers. We benefited from the wise counsel and advice of our Advisory Group, whose names appear at the end of this publication. They helped us by sharing information about their own work and research related to preparing youth for college and careers, by raising important issues and questions for us to consider in our reviews of research, and by providing access to program evaluations and research. In addition, they helped review summaries of the evaluations and gave us thoughtful advice about framing the document, developing the logic model, and formulating the policy recommendations. We also commend our advisors for their ongoing commitment to ensuring that youth are well served by these programs and acknowledge their efforts to build public policy support for such programs. We thank JoAnn Jastrzab, with Abt Associates, who reviewed each program profile and aided us tremendously in ensuring that we represented the findings and data accurately and completely. We appreciate her expertise, knowledge, and professionalism, as well as her easy-going nature, which makes working with her such a pleasure. We also wish to express gratitude to the many AYPF staff, consultants, and interns who contributed to the development of this publication, in particular Elizabeth Grant and Sebastian Modak. Lastly, we sincerely thank our generous funder, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, for their commitment to this project and to expanding the knowledge base about programs that help young people be better prepared for college and careers. Their support over many years has allowed AYPF to work with national, state, and local policymakers to help them learn more about effective strategies to improve high school and postsecondary outcomes for young people and to create policies to bring positive change to our educational system.

Although many people provided a wealth of suggestions and ideas for this document, the views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of AYPF.

Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond

Contents

About This Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

Part I

Setting the Stage: College- and Career-Readiness for All . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

A Logic Model for College- and Career-Readiness and Success. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Methodology and Research Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Part II

Elements of Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Programs to Watch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Admission Possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Virtual Enterprises Program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Young Women’s Leadership Charter School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Program Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 After School Matters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Career Academies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Citizen Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Communities in Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Digital Bridge Academy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Diploma Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Dual Enrollment in Two States: Florida and New York City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Early College High Schools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Enhanced Math in Career and Technical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 First Things First . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Hillside Work-Scholarship Connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 National Guard Youth ChalleNGe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Opening Doors and Enhanced Opening Doors at Chaffey College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Opening Doors Learning Communities at Kingsborough Community College. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Project Graduation Really Achieves Dreams (GRAD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Talent Development High School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

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Talent Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Upward Bound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Upward Bound Math-Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Washington State Achievers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Part III

Participant Outcomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Policy Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Part IV

Matrix of Programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

Glossary of Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205

About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

American Youth Policy Forum Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213

Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond

About This Publication

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his publication is designed to help policymakers and practitioners learn about effective programs supporting college- and career-readiness. These programs help diverse youth to improve their aca- T demic performance, identify career aspirations, build employer-desired skills, plan for postsecondary education, and develop the personal resources necessary to achieve their goals. Twenty-three program evaluations are briefly summarized to give policymakers and practitioners an understanding of the research find- ings on effective programs along with a description of why the programs work. The 23 initiatives summarized in this publication clearly do not represent the universe of programs that are successful in helping youth progress along the pathway to postsecondary success; rather, they are the ones that had recent, high-quality evaluations. This review was limited to programs that serve older youth, primarily in middle school, high school, and post- secondary education. Other chapters present information as follows: Setting the Stageframes the imperative for college- and career-preparation by reviewing research on the personal and societal benefits of postsecondary education, and presents sobering national data on the current level of achievement, attainment, and labor market preparation of many youth. This section also briefly reviews some of the leading perspectives on what it takes for youth to become ready for postsecondary success, includ- ing cognitive and noncognitive skills, personal resources, contextual knowledge of the college-going process, and career awareness. After this overview, we present AYPF’s comprehensive definition of college- and career-readi- ness, which is used throughout the publication. The chapter closes with a discussion of the importance of adopt- ing a long-term focus on college retention and completion, beyond college access, as persistence and graduation rates leave much room for improvement. A Logic Model for College and CareerReadiness and Successpresents AYPF’s conceptual framework, or logic model, that illustrates what it takes for youth to be prepared for postsecondary education, careers, and long-term success, based on the information drawn from an analysis of the 23 effective programs included in this compendium. AYPF posits that if young people have access to a range of quality supports that lead to the attainment of foundational knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal resources, they will achieve positive out- comes at every stage of the educational and developmental process. Methodology and Research Notesdescribes the process and criteria that AYPF used to identify and review evaluations for inclusion in the compendium, provides some observations about the limitations of existing re- search in the field, and suggests improvements in data collection and evaluation for programs related to college- and career-readiness. Elements of Successdescribes the common themes that emerge in the profiles that may contribute to the programs’ effectiveness in improving educational, career-related, and developmental outcomes. Ten Elements of Success have been identified. They were derived from the evaluations and grouped into two broad categories: Programmatic Elements of Success and Structural and System-Focused Elements of Success. The programmatic Elements of Success include Rigor and Academic Support, Relationships, College Knowledge and Access, Rel- evance, Youth-Centered Programs, and Effective Instruction. Structural and System-Focused Elements of Success consist of Partnerships and Cross-Systems Collaboration, Strategic Use of Time, Leadership and Autonomy, and Effective Assessment and Use of Data. Program Profilesthe 23 included programs and the evaluations thatincludes a brief summary of each of demonstrate their effectiveness. Each profile provides an overview of the program; AYPF’s analysis of the ele- ments that may have contributed to the program’s success; AYPF’s Policy Takeaways, which are key points related to the program that AYPF believes can inform policy; an overview of the key findings, a description of the program and the evaluation methodology; funding sources; and contact information.

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Participant Outcomessummarizes the range and patterns of the outcomes observed across the included pro- gram evaluations. The most common outcomes measured in these programs can be organized into the categories of Secondary-Level Academic Outcomes, Planning for College and Careers, Postsecondary Academic Outcomes, Career-Related Outcomes, and Developing Personal Resources. This chapter also provides a table illustrating which of the 23 program evaluations indicate positive results in each of these five main areas. Policy Recommendationspresents a number of considerations for developing college- and career-readiness policies, which can be used to inform national, state, and local policy, as well as to help inform the work of practitioners. These guidelines include developing a continuum of services for all youth across the community; holding all providers accountable to shared outcomes; supporting collaboration among providers; promoting the attainment of a range of skills and competencies, including those that are valued by employers; supporting initiatives to use time differently; ensuring that youth who drop out have opportunities to reconnect to college and career pathways; building the capacity of the adults in the various systems; and collecting data to assess programs against long-term outcomes. The final section of the publication includes a matrix of programs that provides a very brief description of each program and evaluation, as well as the evaluation outcomes and elements of success, a glossary of com- monly used terms, and a list of references.

Success at Every Step: How 23 Programs Support Youth on the Path to College and Beyond

Executive Summary

About this Publication his publication is designed to help policy- makers and practitioners learn about pro- and c T areers. Twenty-three evaluations of programs grams and policies that have been effective in helping youth become ready for college that support youth as they prepare for college and careers are briefly summarized to give policymak- ers and practitioners a quick understanding of the research findings on effective programs along with a description of why the programs work. The 23 pro- grams summarized in this publication clearly do not represent the universe of programs that are success- ful in helping youth prepare for college and careers; rather, they are ones that had quality evaluations. This review was also limited to programs that serve older youth, primarily middle and high school youth.

Setting the Stage

The Imperative for College and Career Preparation Obtaining a high school diploma is no longer sufficient for young people who hope to land a job that pays a family-sustaining wage in today’s economy. Without some type of education beyond high school (four-year college, two-year college, an industry certificate, or apprenticeship program), most young adults will find themselves out in the cold in the current labor market. Postsecondary education plays an increasingly important role in economic mobility for youth from low-income communities, and the financial benefits of education for young adults have only risen since the 1980s. Four-year college graduates earn approximately one million dollars more over their lifetimes than those with only a high school diploma. Higher levels of education translate to higher earnings for all racial and ethnic groups. Closing the racial and income-based achievement gaps within US schools would increase the nation’s productivity, raising the Gross Domestic Product by $400 billion or more. Education is also associated with improved health and increased civic participation. Moreover, the education of today’s young adults bears sig- nificant consequences for the next generation, as

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parental education is a strong predictor of children’s achievement, college-going rates, and future income.

College and CareerReadiness: A Distant Reality Despite the importance of postsecondary education, many youth in the United States never even earn a high school diploma. Approximately one-quarter of all students do not graduate from high school in four years. For the class of 2006, graduation rates hovered at 55 percent or lower for African Ameri- can, Native American, and Latino youth, and that number dropped to 44 percent for African Ameri- can males. Across the educational pipeline, African American and Latino students lag approximately two to three years behind their White peers, in terms of achievement and graduation rates. Approximately 7,200 US students drop out of high school each day. With regard to college enrollment, low-income students are 23 percentage points less likely to enroll directly in college than high-income students, and the corresponding gap is 35 percentage points when comparing students with a parent who has obtained a bachelor’s degree to those whose parents had no college experience. In addition to low levels of college-readiness, many young people leave high school without critical skills and competencies for success in the labor mar- ket. Employers indicate that the level of preparation of many youth is inadequate for entry-level jobs in fields offering career ladders and pathways to a fam- ily-sustaining wage. Sixty percent of employers rate high school graduates’ basic skills as “fair or poor.” In today’s unforgiving labor market, youth who are high school dropouts, ex-offenders, aging out of the foster care system, English language learners, or students with disabilities have the hardest time over- coming labor market barriers, and are most likely to join the growing ranks of disconnected youth.

Framework for College and Career Readiness AYPF takes a broad view of the concept of college- and career-readiness, expanding it to include the concept of success, not just readiness. By this defi- nition, readiness means being prepared to success-