Assessing the Effects of a Community-Based College Preparation Program on the Academic Performance and Noncognitive Factors of Middle School Students

Abstract

This study examines the intermediate effects of a community-based college preparation program in a fast growth, high-needs exurban district in Texas. Participants and a matched group of nonparticipants were compared on a variety of academic and noncognitive measures. Findings indicate program participation is associated with higher scores on the state reading assessment and self-reported expectations of college graduation but do not fully explain the previously documented long-term impact of the program. Using a developmental systems perspective, the authors illustrate interactions between multiple ecological contexts and how this approach can be useful when investigating the efficacy of college preparation programs.

Keywords

college access achievement gap out-of-school time middle school urban education noncognitive skills

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alderman

M. K.

(2013). Motivation for achievement: Possibilities for teaching and learning (3rd ed.). Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis.

Arnold

K. D.

E. C.

Armstrong

K. J.

(2012). The ecology of college readiness. ASHE Higher Education Report, 38(5), 1-138.

Aud

Hussar

Kena

Bianco

Frohlich

Kemp

Tahan

(2011). The condition of education 2011 (NCES 2011-033). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Government Printing Office.

Bandura

Barbaranelli

Caprara

G. V.

Pastorelli

(2001). Self-efficacy beliefs as shapers of children’s aspirations and career trajectories. Child Development, 72, 187-206.

Beckett

Borman

Capizzano

Parsley

Ross

Schirm

Taylor

(2009, July). Structuring out-of-school time to improve academic achievement: A practice guide (NCEE 2009-012). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

Bedsworth

Colby

Doctor

(2006). Reclaiming the American dream. Boston, MA: The Bridgespan Group.

Berube

Singer

Wilson

J. H.

Frey

W. H.

(2006). Finding exurbia: America’s fast-growing communities at the metropolitan fringe. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.

Blackhurst

A. E.

Auger

R. W.

(2008). Precursors to the gender gap in college enrollment: Children’s aspirations and expectations for their futures. Professional School Counseling, 11(3), 149-158.

Bronfenbrenner

(1976). The experimental ecology of education. Educational Researcher, 5(9), 5-15.

10.

Bronfenbrenner

(1994). Ecological models of human development. In International encyclopedia of education (Vol. 3, 2nd ed.). Oxford, UK: Elsevier. (Reprinted in Reading on the development of children, pp. 37-43, by M. Gauvain & M. Cole, Eds., 1993, 2nd ed., New York, NY: Freeman)

11.

Bryan

Holcomb-McCoy

Moore-Thomas

Day-Vines

N. L.

(2009). Who sees the school counselor for college information? A national study. Professional School Counseling, 12, 280-291.

12.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2014, April 22). College enrollment and work activity of 2013 high school graduates. Economic News Release. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm

13.

Coles

(2012, October). The role of community-based organizations in the college access and success movement. Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy.

14.

College Board National Office for School Counselor Advocacy. (2010). Eight components of college and career readiness counseling. New York, NY: College Board Advocacy and Policy Center.

15.

Conley

(2007). Toward a more comprehensive conception of college readiness. Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.

16.

Cunningham

Corprew

C. S.

III Becker

J. E.

(2009). Associations of future expectations, negative friends, and academic achievement in high-achieving African American adolescents. Urban Education, 44, 280-296.

17.

Deci

E. L.

Ryan

R. M.

(1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum.

18.

Dynarski

Clarke

Cobb

Finn

Rumberger

Smink

(2008, August). Dropout prevention: A practice guide (NCEE 2008-4025). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

19.

Eccles

J. S.

(1986–1995). Childhood and beyond (Murray Research Archive). Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1902.1/01930

20.

Eccles

J. S.

(2009). Who am I and what am I going to do with my life? Personal and collective identities as motivators of action. Educational Psychologist, 44, 78-89.

21.

Eccles

J. S.

Wigfield

(2001). Development of achievement motivation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

22.

Eccles

J. S.

Wigfield

(2002). Motivational beliefs, values and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 109-132.

23.

Elliott

(2007). Specifying children’s educational expectations: The potential impact of institutions (CSD Working Papers. No. 07-17). St. Louis, MO: Center for Social Development, Washington University in St. Louis.

24.

Engle

Bermeo

O’Brien

(2006). Straight from the source: What works for first-generation college students. Washington, DC: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education.

25.

Engle

Yeado

Brusi

Cruz

J. L.

(2012). Replenishing opportunity in America: The 2012 midterm report of public higher education systems in the access to success initiative. Washington, DC: The Education Trust.

26.

Executive Office of the President. (2014). Increasing college opportunity for low-income students: Promising models and a call to action. Washington, DC: The White House.

27.

Farrington

C. A.

Roderick

Allensworth

Nagaoka

Keyes

T. S.

Johnson

D. W.

Beechum

N. O.

(2012). Teaching adolescents to become learners: The role of noncognitive factors in shaping school performance: A critical literature review. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.

28.

Gottfried

A. E.

(1985). Academic intrinsic motivation in elementary and junior high school students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77, 631-645.

29.

Gottfried

A. E.

Fleming

J. S.

Gottfried

A. W.

(2001). Continuity of academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through late adolescence: A longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 3-13.

30.

Gutman

L. M.

Schoon

(2013). The impact of non-cognitive skills on outcomes for young people: Literature review. London, England: Education Endowment Foundation.

31.

Harter

(1981). A new self-report scale of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation in the classroom: Motivational and informational components. Developmental Psychology, 17, 300-312.

32.

Harvey

D. W.

Slate

J. R.

Moore

G. W.

Barnes

Martinez-Garcia

(2013). College readiness gaps: A review of the literature. Journal of Education Research, 7, 181-204.

33.

Hidi

Harackiewicz

J. M.

(2000). Motivating the academically unmotivated: A critical issue for the 21st Century. Review of Educational Research, 70, 151-179.

34.

Hooker

Brand

(2009). Success at every step: How 23 programs support youth on the path to college and beyond. Washington, DC: American Youth Policy Forum.

35.

Hurwitz

Howell

(2013, February). Measuring the impact of high school counselors on college enrollment (Research Brief). New York, NY: College Board Advocacy and Policy Center.

36.

Kena

Aud

Johnson

Wang

Zhang

Rathbun

. . . Kristapovich

(2014). The condition of education 2014 (NCES 2014-083). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014083.pdf

37.

Kneebone

Berube

(2013). Confronting suburban poverty in America. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.

38.

Larson

R. W.

(2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, 55, 170-183.

39.

Leonard

(2011). Using Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory to understand community partnerships: A historical case study of one urban high school. Urban Education, 46, 987-1010.

40.

Lieber

C. M.

(2009). Increasing college access through school based models of postsecondary preparation, planning and support. Cambridge, MA: Educators for Social Responsibility.

41.

Malerba

C. A.

Caplovitz

A. G.

(2011). Breakthrough Austin impact study. Unpublished report. Austin, TX: Technology & Education Consulting Associates.

42.

Mau

W.-C.

Bikos

L. H.

(2000). Educational and vocational aspirations of minority and female students: A longitudinal study. Journal of Counseling & Development, 78, 186-194.

43.

McDonough

(2006). Effective counseling in schools increases college access. Arlington, VA: National Association for College Admission Counseling.

44.

McKillip

M. E.

Godfrey

K. E.

Rawls

(2012). Rules of engagement: Building a college-going culture in an urban school. Urban Education, 48, 529-556.

45.

McKillip

M. E.

Rawls

Barry

(2012). Improving college access: A review of research on the role of high school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 16(1), 49-58.

46.

Mickelson

R. A.

(1990). The attitude-achievement paradox among Black adolescents. Sociology of Education, 63, 44-61.

47.

Milner

H. R.

IV . (2012). But what is urban education? Urban Education, 47, 556-561.

48.

Mishook

(2012). College readiness and smart education systems. Voices in Urban Education, 35, 42-50.

49.

Nagaoka

Roderick

Coca

(2009, January 27). Barriers to college attainment: Lessons from Chicago (The Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago). Chicago, IL: Center for American Progress.

50.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Digest of education statistics: 2012. Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/index.asp

51.

National College Access Program Directory. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.collegeaccess.org/accessprogramdirectory/rep_state.aspx

52.

Nichols

S. L.

Valenzuela

(2013). Education policy and youth: Effects of policy on practice. Theory Into Practice, 52, 152-159.

53.

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2011). Education at a glance 2011: OECD indicators. OECD Publishing. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2011-en

54.

Ramsey

(2008, June). Creating a high school culture of college-going: The case of Washington state achievers (Issue Brief). Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy.

55.

Root Cause. (2010, September). College access and success (Social Issue Report). Boston, MA: Author. Retrieved from http://www.rootcause.org/resources2/college-access-and-success

56.

Savitz-Romer

Bouffard

S. M.

(2012). Ready, willing, and able: A developmental approach to college access and success. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

57.

Sokatch

(2006). Peer influences on the college-going decisions of low socioeconomic status urban youth. Education and Urban Society, 39, 128-146.

58.

Swail

W. S.

Quinn

Landis

Fung

(2012). A blueprint for success: Case studies of successful pre-college outreach programs. Virginia Beach, VA: Educational Policy Institute.

59.

Tangney

J. P.

Baumeister

R. F.

Boone

A. L.

(2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72, 271-324.

60.

Tierney

W. G.

Hagedorn

L. S.

(2007). Making the grade in college prep: A guide for improving college preparation programs. Los Angeles: The Center for Higher Educational Policy Analysis, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California.

61.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. (2010). ESEA blueprint for reform. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

62.

Weiner

(1992). Human motivation: Metaphors, theories and research. Newberry Park, CA: SAGE.

63.

Wimberly

G. L.

Noeth

R. J.

(2005). College readiness begins in middle school. Washington, DC: ACT.