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This brief examines high school counselor staffing counts relative to four-year college enrollment rates. Recent evidence from a national survey of counselors provides support for claims by counselors and school administrators that current counselor staffing levels are suboptimal. An additional high school counselor is predicted to induce a 10 percentage point increase in four-year college enrollment. A technical appendix is included.

In the next decade, more than half of all new American jobs will require some postsecondary education, yet the current college attainment rate for the nation is 39 percent. The challenges appear well before students begin college: one in four public high school students fails to graduate on time, and of those who graduate, one-third need remedial courses in college. Meanwhile, school districts, which are aiming to prepare all their students for college and careers, are facing higher standards with ever-constrained budgets. In times like these, school administrators must be strategic with all of their educational resources, so that students are prepared for the productive futures they deserve. School counselors are among these critical resources: these professionals are uniquely positioned in schools--and in students' lives--to ensure that students get the support they need to stay on track to graduate from high school ready for college and careers. This report, "True North: Charting the Course to College and Career Readiness," demonstrates that school counselors and their administrators share a vision for their schools and agree on a path to realize it. The 2012 National Survey of School Counselors, supported by a supplemental survey of school administrators, provided powerful evidence that school counselors and their administrators know true north--and they are poised to chart the course of their students' college and career success. This report on school counseling in America, the 2012 National Survey of School Counselors, reveals that America's school counselors are ready and willing to be leaders in the education system--and their school administrators agree. Appended are: (1) Full Wording of the Eight Components; (2) Full Wording of High School Example Activities for the Eight Components; (3) Full Wording of Middle School Example Activities for the Eight Components; (4) Chart on Topline Survey Findings; (5) Chart on Topline Survey Findings, by Free or Reduced-Price Lunches; (6) Data from Eight States; (7) Profile of America's School Counselors; and (8) Survey Methodology. (Contains 11 figures, 17 tables, and 93 footnotes.) [This report was produced for the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center by Hart Research Associates and Civic Enterprises. For "2011 National Survey of School Counselors: Counseling at a Crossroads," see ED527749.]

In 2010, 21 million students across the United States enrolled in one of nearly 4,500 postsecondary degree-granting institutions (Snyder & Dillow, 2011). Students of all academic backgrounds selected institutions they wanted to attend and, likewise, institutions made decisions about which students they wanted to admit. The resulting student-college pairs, observed following students' matriculation decisions, may be evaluated based on the quality of the academic match. In the social science research literature, an "academic match" occurs when a student chooses a postsecondary alternative that is aligned with his or her observable academic credentials (e.g., GPA, SAT[R], etc.). This review of the research literature describes the current state of research on student-college academic undermatch. (Contains 1 table and 14 footnotes.)

In 2010, the College Board's Advocacy & Policy Center, with financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, initiated a project to identify ways of improving the efficiency of the transfer pathway, a century-old mechanism that provides community college students with an opportunity to earn the baccalaureate degree at four-year institutions. Both organizations understand that the national focus on increasing the number of individuals with credentials and degrees will require that transfer play a significant role, especially given the fact that 47 percent of all undergraduates attend community colleges. Now and into the future, the way in which two- and four-year institutions embrace transfer--or not--will influence the educational fate of thousands of students in the U.S. To address this issue, College Board staff reviewed research pertaining to transfer, convened the Commission on Transfer Policy, a committee composed of education leaders having special expertise in serving community college transfer students to identify significant and emerging trends that influence transfer, and engaged the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) to address a series of empirical questions raised by the Commission and College Board staff. This report, as well as several supplemental reports, describes the transfer process as it is currently applied; identifies major challenges facing policymakers wishing to expand this pipeline; and provides a set of recommendations for states, two- and four-year institutions, and other entities, including the philanthropic and research communities, that are designed to advance transfer as a more effective pathway to the baccalaureate degree. The empirical and policy findings gathered for this initiative suggest the following: (1) Transfer continues to be a popular route to the baccalaureate degree, but the transfer rate has not improved despite more students wishing to transfer; (2) The transfer process is too complex; (3) The effectiveness of statewide articulation policies in boosting transfer has not yet been established empirically, but transparent transfer credit policies remain essential for student success; (4) Community colleges and four-year institutions are rarely acknowledged for the work they do on behalf of transfer, and where transfer-related metrics exist, they are often imprecise, inadequate, or misapplied; (5) Community colleges and four-year institutions are different academic cultures that create barriers for students already struggling to maneuver through a too-complex system; (6) Financial aid policy is an essential element for an effective transfer plan, but it is not often aligned with other initiatives to boost transfer; and (7) The authors do not know the capacity of the current transfer system, and this impairs the ability to meet the nation's college completion agenda. The empirical and policy findings gleaned from this initiative invite a set of recommendations targeted to state governments, two- and four-year institutions, and the research, policymaking, and philanthropic communities. (Contains 1 figure, 4 tables, and 32 notes.) [For "The Promise of the Transfer Pathway: Opportunity and Challenge for Community College Students Seeking the Baccalaureate Degree. Summary of Empirical Analyses, Policy Reflections and Recommendations," see ED541969.]

This study focuses on the postsecondary choices of all SAT[R] takers in the high school graduation cohort of 2006, who graduated from 3,172 public high schools in 17 states where the preponderance of college-aspiring students take the SAT, rather than the ACT. The data set analyzed is constructed by merging the College Board's student-level SAT data to college enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The NSC, which is composed of 3,300 participating colleges enrolling 96 percent of American college students, allows the authors to document the postsecondary institutions where SAT takers enroll. Public high school demographic characteristics such as urbanicity and total student enrollment come from the National Center for Education Statistics' Common Core of Data (CCD) for the 2005-06 academic year. The authors restrict the sample to include only the high schools with 50 or more SAT takers. Factors that Determine High School Undermatch Rate are appended. (Contains 5 figures, 2 tables and 12 footnotes.)

In 2010, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the College Board initiated a project to identify ways of improving the efficiency of the transfer pathway, a century-old mechanism that provides community college students with an opportunity to earn the baccalaureate degree at four-year institutions. Both organizations understand that the national focus on increasing the number of individuals with credentials and degrees will require that transfer play a significant role, especially given the fact that 47 percent of all undergraduates attend community colleges. Now and into the future, the way in which two- and four-year institutions embrace transfer--or not--will influence the educational fate of thousands of students in the United States. The project's initial efforts focused primarily on collection and review of the extant research pertaining to transfer, including information on the demographic characteristics of community college transfer students and their academic success in two- and four-year institutions, enrollment trends among two- and four-year colleges and universities, and predicted variations in high school graduating classes (nationally and regionally). The College Board then convened the Commission on Transfer Policy and Practice, a committee composed of education leaders having special expertise in serving community college transfer students. The Commission's charge was to identify significant and emerging trends that influence transfer, highlight especially promising transfer practices and policies, and delineate a research agenda that would address pivotal empirical questions around transfer. The College Board also engaged the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) to tackle the transfer and degree completion research issues identified by the Commission and to supplement these analyses with site visits to two- and four-year institutions. This summary, along with the full report and several supplemental reports, describes the transfer process as it is currently applied, identifies major challenges facing policymakers wishing to expand this pipeline, and provides a set of recommendations for states, two- and four-year institutions, and other entities, including the philanthropic and research communities, that are designed to advance transfer as a more effective pathway to the baccalaureate degree. The authors hope that this effort will highlight the importance of the transfer pathway in U.S. higher education and identify ways in which this avenue to the baccalaureate degree can be improved. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 2 footnotes.) [For the full report, "The Promise of the Transfer Pathway: Opportunity and Challenge for Community College Students Seeking the Baccalaureate Degree," see ED541978.]

Empirical research on the returns to postsecondary education provides a near universal consensus that college confers numerous advantages for both individuals and society. Not only do individuals with a college degree earn more money than their peers with only a high school degree, they lead healthier lifestyles, experience greater job satisfaction, and engage in more civic activity (Baum, Ma, & Payea, 2010). The analyses conducted in this brief show that college price and degree completion rates are positively correlated. If students opt to go to college but have concerns about affordability or the return on their financial investment, they may gravitate toward less expensive (by sticker or net price) institutions. Students who choose what they perceive as a more affordable college may find themselves enrolled at an institution with lower rates of degree completion compared to their other, more expensive college options. In this case, making the college choice based on frugality may not prove to be the best investment in the long run. The authors present data on the trade-offs between annual net price and college completion rates for the high school graduating class of 2004. These analyses are intended to illustrate the magnitude of the trade-off associated with choosing between colleges that differ in terms of net price and completion rates, thereby enabling students and families to think critically about college options in light of long-term outcomes. Student Characteristics by Average SAT Category in "NPSAS:04" and College Board 2004 Data is appended. (Contains 4 tables, 5 figures and 17 footnotes.)

This brief studies California's introduction of the Early Assessment Program to bridge the gap between K-12 educational standards and postsecondary education requirements, similar to the Common Core State Standards movement.

This brief gives an overview of the prevalence, causes, and consequences of college remediation, which aims to improve basic literacy skills among college students.

New evidence on how students' choice of postsecondary institution is sensitive to grant aid offers from the colleges and universities. Institutional aid sensitivity is largest for students from the least wealthy families but does not vary by race/ethnicity or measured academic ability. A technical appendix is included.

This research quantifies the extent of student-college academic undermatch among the 1992 and 2004 cohorts of graduating high school seniors and documents changes in the extent of academic undermatch over time. Tables are appended.

In April 2012, more than 100 educators and administrators from across the nation came together in Reston, Virginia, for a full day of meetings and discussions to launch the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center Affinity Network. The Affinity Network's mission is to facilitate students' successful transition from high school to college by: (1) Helping educators across the K-12 and postsecondary sectors understand and agree on common expectations for the nation's students; (2) Serving as an incubator for ideas and solutions for College Board members and for the education field at the institutional, state, and national levels; and (3) Establishing an ongoing process to encourage creative problem solving and strengthen the links between education sectors. Each year, one cohort of educators will be selected to work intently on one major issue for 9-12 months; at the end of this period, both a new cohort and a new issue will be selected. The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center is providing technical assistance, information, research, policy expertise, and facilitation, as well as an online forum to assist Affinity Network participants in their work together. This report is the first in a series to document the process, progress, and outcomes of the teams engaged in the first cohort of the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center Affinity Network. For this inaugural cohort, College Board Advocacy assembled strong teams drawn from 15 institutions (districts, two-year, and four-year colleges) in five states. They are dedicated to addressing the initial charge: how the Common Core State Standards will result in changes in expectations and alignment across the education sectors. This will not be an easy endeavor, but it is an extremely important one if the nation is going to prepare all students to be college and career ready. The Affinity Network will focus on the following key questions: (1) How might the Common Core State Standards result in improvements to the alignment of high school exit expectations with postsecondary entry expectations? What supports need to be in place to successfully accomplish this alignment?; and (2) How might the Common Core State Standards affect the design of remedial education courses on college campuses? Appended are: (1) The Affinity Network Advisory Committee; and (2) Cross-Segment Challenges and Opportunities of the Common Core State Standards. (Contains 11 notes.

On July 24 and 25, 2012, members of the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century gathered in Reston, Virginia, to discuss the progress made by the implementation team in addressing action items from the Task Force's Preserving the Dream of America 2008 report; the current environment for admission; and actions to be taken to further the task force's work in the months ahead.

The implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) over the coming years will provide an opportunity for K-12 and postsecondary educators to share and use data effectively to support alignment between the sectors and reduce the need for remedial education. This brief describes how these groups can work together to make the most of data and their shared expertise to increase the proportion of students who are college ready. It also provides a framework for collecting data and information on the critical goal of improving college readiness, including data on related outcomes, processes, and inputs. In an upcoming report, the authors will provide recommendations for key data and other information that can be used to support specific goals and strategies being developed by Affinity Network teams. (Contains 9 references and resources and 2 footnotes.)

A college degree is more important than ever before for ensuring the economic prosperity of individuals and for society at large. Individuals with a bachelor's degree who worked full time, year-round in 2008 had median earnings of $55,700, compared to the $21,900 earned by their peers with only a high school diploma (Baum, Ma, and Payea 2010). Despite the many additional benefits associated with college completion, including better health, improved job security, and stronger families and communities, too few college students complete their postsecondary schooling. While there are many determinants of college degree completion, arriving at college academically prepared to do college-level work is among the most predictive factors of collegiate success. The purpose of this brief is to review the evidence on the role of rigorous high school course-taking on students' subsequent college and labor market success. A bibliography is included. (Contains 2 tables and 4 footnotes.)

The Common Core State Standards provide a unique opening for K-12 and higher education institutions to work together to ensure that high school students are better prepared for postsecondary education. The college and career readiness assessments will provide educators the opportunities to intervene with students while still in high school to maximize the likelihood that students will be college ready. The assessments can also open the door to a more nuanced assessment system that considers a variety of variables that can help predict student success in college-level courses. In addition, the standards provide a platform for collaborative work to create clear curricular pathways so students can enter their programs of choice. To assist states with their preparations for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and the assessments, the author offers several suggestions on how to meet the needs of students who are assessed below college ready. (Contains 11 notes.)

The Study of Community College Structures for Student Success (SCCSSS) was launched in 2010 with three goals at its center: (1) To explore a set of promising institutional practices and organizational structures identified through theory and research as having the potential to support community college student success; (2) To present a synthesized overview, or matrix, of these promising practices and structures as a tool for community college leaders and practitioners; and (3) To collect national empirical data on the practices and structures that community colleges currently have in place to improve key student success outcomes, including student retention, successful transfer, and degree or certificate completion. The SCCSSS investigation began with an exploration of the research and practice-oriented literature, augmented by findings from focus groups and interviews with community college leaders and practitioners. A survey, developed from the results of this initial exploration, was then conducted, with the participation of community colleges nationwide. This early phase of the study produced two of the project's central resources: (1) A matrix of promising institutional practices and organizational structures that can be used to facilitate campus discussions, professional development, and institutional planning; and (2) Results from a nationwide survey of community college leaders that provide an accurate, research-based view of how and to what extent the practices and structures in the matrix are currently in place at community colleges across the country. This report first discusses the national context for this work and reviews the key elements in the set of promising practices and organizational structures that were the foundation for the SCCSSS national survey. Next, it reports the survey results to explore the extent to which community colleges have these practices and structures in place. The matrix of promising institutional practices and organizational structures for community colleges, along with other key resources, to serve as a practical tool generated by the SCCSSS effort are included in the appendix. A bibliography and a list of resources are included. (Contains 18 figures and 3 footnotes.)

Across the country, large numbers of young people are dreaming about and planning on attending college. A poll released in 2005 showed that 87 percent of all young people want to go to college. Often, however, parents' and students' dreams for the future are not being realized. Many young people never enroll in a postsecondary institution, and of those who do enroll in college, few graduate. A labor market skills gap accompanies this crisis in high school and college completion. Unlike a generation ago, the majority of job openings in the next decade will require at least some postsecondary education. Experts estimate that American businesses are in need of 97 million middle and highly skilled workers, yet only 45 million Americans currently possess the necessary education and skills to qualify for these positions. This skills gap illustrates the importance of today's postsecondary credentials and sheds light on why postsecondary planning is increasingly an essential component of high-quality school counseling. Counselors are uniquely positioned to address these key gaps in education and workforce development. As such, the purpose of this document is threefold: first, to provide a review of the available research on this under-researched and under-leveraged element of the education system; second, to create a resource that is useful to practitioners and to the public; and third, to inform a report that will both incorporate the findings of a nationally representative survey of school counselors, sponsored by the College Board and conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates, and make recommendations for paths forward. Despite the limited and often uneven research, it is apparent that in the best cases, counselors create dynamic systems that support student success in school and in life. However, there is a linkage missing between what individuals know counselors can do and what they are enabled to do on a broad scale. The research presented in this literature and landscape review reveals that counselors have the potential to place themselves at the crossroads of two key challenges facing the nation. First, the high school and college completion crisis means that there is a chasm between the hopes of many students and the futures they likely face. Second, the gap between 21st-century labor-market needs and current student preparedness means the nation's economic reality is lagging behind its potential. The services that counselors provide could potentially address both of these gaps. Counselors have the potential to place themselves in the center of the education reform movement as an important and highly leveraged player. The decision to step into this space could impact education research, policy, and funding, including counselor accountability in schools. Because of their unique role, counselors ultimately have the potential to significantly impact not just the future livelihood of students but also that of the nation. A bibliography is included. (Contains 1 table and 229 footnotes.)

This survey of more than 5,300 middle school and high school counselors reveals deep concerns within the profession and sheds light on opportunities to better utilize these valuable leaders in America's schools. The frustrations and hopes of school counselors reflect the central message of this report: school counseling as a profession is at a crossroads. Despite the aspirations of counselors to effectively help students succeed in school and fulfill their dreams, the mission and roles of counselors in the education system must be more clearly defined; schools must create measures of accountability to track their effectiveness; and policymakers and key stakeholders must integrate counselors into reform efforts to maximize their impact in schools across America. School counselors believe their mission should be to prepare children for high school graduation, college and careers, and they report that they are ready to lead in the effort to dramatically accelerate student achievement, in school, careers and life. Appended are: (1) Profile of School Counselors; and (2) Civic Marshall Plan to Build a Grad Nation. A bibliography is included. (Contains 15 tables, 12 figures and 61 footnotes.) [This report was produced for the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center by Hart Research Associates and Civic Enterprises.]

This is the Executive Summary for the full report, "Complexity in College Admission: The Barriers between Aspiration and Enrollment for Lower-Income Students." In September 2007, the College Board formed the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century in response to a request from the Guidance and Admission Assembly Council (GAA Council) to more closely examine the high school-to-college transition process. Students and parents complained about the lack of transparency in the process, the confusing nature of the application process, how difficult it was to secure good information about college choice, and how the admission outcomes were unpredictable and sometimes appeared to defy logic. School counselors expressed similar concerns regarding process and outcomes, and they empathized with their students. This report answers three questions: (1) Do lower-income students and their parents find the college application process overly complex? (2) If so, what particular barriers get in the way of applying or enrolling? Lack of understanding? Lack of confidence? Other obstacles? and (3) What issues or people have the biggest influence on their decisions? This summary highlights the findings of the study. [For the full report, see ED619524.]

In September 2007, the College Board formed the Task Force on Admissions in the 21st Century in response to a request from the Guidance and Admission Assembly Council (GAA Council) to more closely examine the high school-to-college transition process. Students and parents complained about the lack of transparency in the process, the confusing nature of the application process, how difficult it was to secure good information about college choice, and how the admission outcomes were unpredictable and sometimes appeared to defy logic. School counselors expressed similar concerns regarding process and outcomes, and they empathized with their students. This report answers three questions: (1) Do lower-income students and their parents find the college application process overly complex? (2) If so, what particular barriers get in the way of applying or enrolling? Lack of understanding? Lack of confidence? Other obstacles? and (3) What issues or people have the biggest influence on their decisions? The results of the research published here, and previous research, will be used to inform the profession -- principally admission officers and school counselors -- and help shape the responses to the needs of students and their parents with a clearer understanding of their experience with the school-to-college transition process. The findings provide a better understanding of why and how the admission process can be made less complex to remove potential barriers to access to higher education for lower-income students. [For the Executive Summary, see ED619522. For previous research, "Complexity in College Admission: Fact or Urban Myth. Research Findings of Parent and Student Perceptions of Complexity in College Admission," see ED520811.]

This brief presents information about the characteristics of the nation's Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) and their students, as well as the HSIs' contributions to the educational attainment of the Latino population. The brief concludes by outlining some of the challenges faced by HSIs as they aim to meet their implied mission of serving Latino students.

The goal of this research brief is to highlight new causal evidence on how the number of colleges to which students apply affects their college enrollment decisions. Using a 2004 sample of students who applied to at least one four-year college, this research brief finds that applying to more colleges causally increases students' probabilities of enrolling in a four-year college, especially for those lower-income students applying to only one or two colleges. A Technical Appendix is included.

As leading measures of student success and institutional quality, persistence and graduation rates are intensely debated at education conferences, institutional meetings and legislative sessions (Adelman, 1999; American Association of State Colleges and Universities [AASCU], 2002; Gold & Albert, 2006; Perna & Thomas, 2006; Tinto & Pusser, 2006; U.S. Department of Education, 2006). Most of the relevant research that might be cited in these debates has focused on the extent to which these outcomes are influenced by students' college experiences and characteristics like academic preparation (e.g., Astin, 1993; Braxton, Sullivan & Johnson 1997; Nora & Cabrera, 1996; Strauss & Volkwein, 2004; Tinto, 1993; Tinto, 2006-2007). These factors are certainly important to individuals' understanding of persistence and graduation rates--as are such factors as national and regional economic contexts as well as students' and families' access to and navigation of financial aid. At least as important as these factors, however, is the institution's role in student persistence and completion. Yet the efforts of institutions to boost these measures of student success through their policies and practices have, until now, been relatively unexamined and underresearched--and remain poorly understood. Research has not yet adequately addressed this key question: How do institutions organize themselves and what actions do they take to improve student persistence and completion? To help fill this gap, the College Board Study on Student Retention has been collecting and analyzing an extensive set of data on institutions' student retention policies and practices, ranging from coordinating and assessing retention efforts to providing services and resources to enhance persistence and graduation. Drawing on findings from a nationwide survey of four-year postsecondary institutions, this report offers insights into the nature, extent and effects of institutions' efforts to improve their students' success as reflected in persistence and graduation rates. This report presents data for comparison by institutional type as well as actionable findings colleges and universities can employ in their efforts to increase persistence and graduation at their institutions. One of the survey's most important findings is that institutions are, indeed, making efforts to improve student retention. Most of the institutions that participated in the survey reported they regularly analyzed their retention rates, most also had an administrator charged with the responsibilities of a retention coordinator, and many had a retention committee--clear indications that these institutions were searching for ways to increase persistence. A majority of the participating campuses also had early warning systems and required first-year students to meet with advisers at least once per term. Yet the evidence from this survey raises serious questions, explored in this report, about whether the resources institutions are devoting to these efforts are sufficient to meet the complex challenge of improving student persistence and graduation rates. For example, among the responding institutions, on average only a little over one-third full-time equivalent (FTE) was formally allocated to the retention coordinator role, and these administrators usually had little authority or resources to implement new program initiatives. Looking at these survey findings--presented by institution type as well as in totals across all institutions--will give campus administrators a sharper, contextualized perspective on how their institution's policies and practices compare with those of similar institutions and will provide both the data as well as the impetus to inform and focus their campus efforts. These findings also provide national comparative data on public institutions that state policymakers need to evaluate institutions' good-faith efforts toward state policy goals. (Contains 4 tables and 6 figures.) [This report is from the College Board Study on Student Retention by the Project on Academic Success at Indiana University and the Center for Enrollment Research, Policy and Practice at the University of Southern California.]

This report seeks to give a balanced view of the issues that exist for young men of color as identified by the research. Its particular value is that it looks at six distinct pathways that young men of color--and all students--take after high school and arranges the research in this way, and for the first time synthesizes the literature for males of all four minority groups--African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics/Latinos and Native Americans and Alaska Natives in one place. In attempting to solve the crisis facing young men of color in the United States, everyone must rely on more than just outcome measures to find solutions. Data will help them identify the issues, but much more thought and research will be needed to find solutions. It is imperative that individuals build a body of literature about young men of color that will help them get to the "why" behind the data. This report synthesizes the available literature, data and case studies relating to minority male achievement. Appended are: (1) List of Tables; and (2) List of Figures. (Contains 36 figures, 8 tables and 2 footnotes.) [Foreword by Ronald A. Williams. For related report, "The Educational Experience of Young Men of Color: Capturing the Student Voice," see ED521426.]

The goal of this study was straightforward: Bring the experiences of minority male students to life in a way that makes their voice central to the conversation about transforming the education system to improve their college experience and completion rates. To capture the student's voice, the researchers conducted an interlocking set of research activities, including individual, group and peer-to-peer interviews (in person and remote); on-site observations; and self-documentation exercises. The key findings are grouped into three broad themes: (1) Pressures of life; (2) Paths to completion; and (3) Webs of support. This report concludes with a discussion of the implications of the students' experiences and avenues of opportunity. (Contains 2 footnotes.) [For related report, "The Educational Experience of Young Men of Color: A Review of Research, Pathways and Progress," see ED521425.]

Paying for college is a challenge for many Americans and navigating the financial aid process can be very difficult, especially for low-income and first-generation college students. The College Board commissioned research to learn more about students' and parents' knowledge, beliefs and attitudes about the importance of a college education and how to pay for it. In addition, students and parents who participated in the research were asked to evaluate whether the recommendations of the College Board's Rethinking Student Aid (RSA) project would improve the effectiveness of the nation's federal student aid system. Focus group participants and survey respondents included students from low- and moderate-income backgrounds, parents with modest financial resources, nontraditional college students and advocates for members of immigrant groups. After analyzing the data, one consistent theme emerged: While participants overwhelmingly understand the importance of college, lack of information and understanding of the college financing process is a barrier that is difficult to overcome for many students and families. This report urges policymakers to pursue the necessary changes to the federal financial aid system to "crack the student aid code" for first-generation students, students from low-income backgrounds, and their parents. By presenting the right information at the right time and in ways that families can understand, individuals can begin to break down existing barriers to college entrance and success. The Research Methodology is appended. (Contains 8 figures and 8 footnotes.)

Recent data from the College Board's Annual Survey of Colleges reveal significant variation in institutional aid patterns among colleges and universities. The undergraduate tuition discount rate--the ratio of institutional grant aid to published tuition and fee charges--is higher at private institutions than at public institutions, but there are also notable differences within sectors. It is not just the magnitude of the discounts offered that is important but also the purposes of the discounts and the distribution of the grants to students in different circumstances. Since 2000-01, the total discount rate has been relatively stable in the public sector but continues to rise in the private sector. Breaking the discount rate down into aid that meets financial need, aid that goes beyond financial need (or goes to students with no documented need), and the more specialized categories of tuition waivers and athletic awards. This report presents a summary of the report analysis and findings.

The current political debate over undocumented immigrants in the United States has largely ignored the plight of undocumented children. Yet children account for 1.8 million, or 15 percent, of the undocumented immigrants now living in this country. Although not born in the United States, these children have, for the most part, grown up in the United States and received much of their primary and secondary school education here. Without a means to legalize their status, they are seldom able to go on to college and cannot work legally in this country. Moreover, at any time they can be deported to countries they barely know. This wasted talent imposes economic and emotional costs on undocumented students themselves and on the U.S. society as a whole. Currently trapped in a legal paradox, undocumented students in the United States have the right to a primary and secondary school education, but then face uncertainty upon graduation from high school. While some states explicitly allow undocumented students to attend college, there are many confusing, gray areas that cloud the college admissions, financial aid and enrollment processes. Moreover, undocumented students cannot legally join their native-born peers in the workforce, where Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate educated workers are needed. A significant proportion of undocumented students have navigated our K-12 schools successfully despite the challenges of migration and discrimination--in addition to the typical difficulties faced by all adolescents. Many have the academic preparation to pursue a postsecondary education, but their economic and social mobility is severely restricted by their undocumented status. The DREAM Act would provide a path to legal residence for undocumented youth. It also would open the door to college for tens of thousands of students who have the knowledge, skills and aspirations to pursue a college degree and to make a healthy, sustained and important contribution to the economic and social well-being of our nation. (Contains 3 figures and 58 endnotes.) [Foreword by Marcelo M. Suarez-Orozco.]

This report is the sixth installment in "Teachers Are the Center of Education," a series created to highlight the critical importance of teachers, salute their great work and amplify their voices. The teachers in this report readily acknowledge that schools of education play an important role in preparing them for classroom success, and they appreciate the job they do. But they also believe there is considerable room for improvement. Underlying the four recommendations presented in this paper is the principle that what is taught in schools of education must better reflect the needs of classroom teachers. This will only be accomplished when schools of education develop and deliver their course work with more formal, ongoing and substantial input from practicing classroom teachers. [For the fifth installment, see ED519458.]

The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population, but more than 23 percent of the world's incarcerated people, putting the U.S. first among all nations. This high rate of incarceration represents costs both for taxpayers and for the communities affected by the many lives interrupted by prison sentences. Race/ethnicity is an important part of this issue. In the U.S., African American men are more than six times as likely, and Hispanic men are two and one-half times as likely, to be incarcerated as whites (West 2010). If the U.S. could reduce its disproportionate level of minority confinement by just 50 percent, its incarceration rate would rank fifth, instead of first, in the world (Hartney 2006). One means of reducing this prison population is to find ways to reduce the recidivism rate. Most inmates will eventually return to their communities, but they are often unprepared for the barriers they face--stigmatization, the inability to find a job and an inadequate education. Education while in prison can provide ex-offenders with the skills that will better prepare them to make a positive contribution to society. This report investigates postsecondary education in prisons as a means of reducing recidivism and of helping ex-offenders, specifically males of color, enjoy a more successful life post release. The first chapter sets the stage by describing the prison population and discussing the problems that ex-offenders experience when reentering their communities. The second chapter presents the economic and social case for community college programs in prisons. The third chapter makes the case that community colleges are the optimum providers of education inside prisons, and summarizes the existing literature on community college partnerships and programs. The fourth chapter discusses the limited access to postsecondary education programs in prisons. The authors describe the limitations to creating and maintaining postsecondary correctional education programs in the fifth chapter. Chapter six describes ways in which obstacles to establishing successful education programs have been overcome and what is necessary to sustain them. Finally, the seventh chapter makes policy recommendations and identifies solutions for providing inmates with access to effective postsecondary education. Appended are: (1) Prisoners under state or federal authority, by gender, Dec. 31, 2000-2009; (2) Estimated number of inmates under state and federal jurisdiction, by sex, race, Hispanic origin and age, Dec. 31, 2009; (3) The growth of private prisons; and (4) Number of facilities under state or federal authority that offered vocational and college courses to inmates, Dec. 30, 2005. (Contains 3 tables and 7 charts.) [Foreword by Ronald A. Williams.]

The CollegeKeys Compact[TM] is a national call to action to school districts, colleges and universities, state education agencies, and nonprofit organizations to identify, share and expand programs and practices that address the needs and challenges of low-income students and help them get ready for, get into and get through college. The College Board is committed to disseminating information about these effective practices and recognizing exemplary programs through the Innovation Awards program. To date, more than 625 institutions and organizations have signed on to the Compact, reaffirming their commitment to expanding opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds. This catalog showcases programs that were submitted for consideration in the 2012 Innovation Awards. It is hoped that this catalog will be a useful resource for educators and policymakers alike, and that others are inspired by the excellent work being done around the nation to help students from low-income backgrounds.