College Readiness Reflexivity Amid Racialized and Changing Sociopolitical Contexts

Abstract

This case study describes how a college research-practice partnership at an urban California community school grappled with college readiness amid racialized and changing sociopolitical contexts. The concept of college readiness reflexivity is introduced to describe an ongoing process where educators reflect and make continuous changes to improve college preparation. Utilizing critical and asset-based frameworks to examine multiple data sources, the results demonstrate how utilizing college readiness reflexivity helped expand access to college preparatory courses, address the costs and value of a college education, and support the college transition. Implications for research and practice are provided.

The college-for-all movement has influenced education reform efforts to improve college readiness and expand access to higher education. Yet supporting college readiness in high schools requires sustained, strategic, and significant commitments from educational leaders (Mehan, 2015). Schools in urban communities serving a high rate of Black, Latine, low-income, and immigrant-origin students face a unique set of challenges as they contend with a legacy of racialized and sociohistorical inequities in the college preparation of these students. Welton and Martinez (2014) refer to this as the “college readiness debt,” which schools must counter by ensuring marginalized students have access to college preparatory courses, information, and support.

College readiness refers to the skills, knowledge, and behaviors needed for college matriculation, persistence, and degree completion (Conley, 2012). They include both academic and socioemotional skills alongside college knowledge (Kurlaender et al., 2019). Critiques of traditional college readiness approaches have cited their inattention to the college preparation process of low-income students of color in culturally relevant ways (Welton & Martinez, 2014). As such, college preparatory schools working with traditionally underserved students must deliver academic and social supports that recognize and leverage the cultural wealth students and families bring to the college-going process. There are now many scholarly examples of school designs structuring college readiness in curriculum, counseling, and programming (see Farmer-Hinton, 2011; Quartz et al., 2019). However, little research exists about how schools enact changes to college readiness practices based on new knowledge and information. This study considers how a college research-practice partnership (RPP) utilizes college readiness reflexivity, the process in which schools reflect on, interrogate, and make changes to college readiness practices. College readiness reflexivity entails a continuous and sustained process in which school members utilize research, experiential knowledge, and outcome data to determine curricular, counseling, and programmatic needs to improve college preparation.

RPPs bring together researchers and practitioners to address a problem of practice and to find solutions that improve educational outcomes (Farrell et al., 2023). The RPP in this article focuses on how researchers and educators in a southern California community school address the issue of college preparation in an urban-intensive city serving mostly low-income, immigrant-origin Latine and Asian students—a context where geography intersects with historical inequities, resource disparities, and broader sociopolitical forces (Milner, 2012). It also acknowledges the prevalent deficit conceptualizing of urban schools and works to counter it with an asset-based perspective (Welsh & Swain, 2020).

The RPP consists of university researchers and school practitioners working collectively to understand and continuously evaluate the school's college-going supports. While the university partners lead the research design and data collection efforts, school partners are involved in research decisions and make recommendations about how and when to collect data. The RPP also developed infrastructure to ensure collaborative data review and decision-making processes, including yearly college RPP retreats and a multistakeholder research and accountability committee that meets monthly to review and discuss data and research on a variety of topics, including college preparation. For the purpose of this inquiry, the college RPP was guided by the following question: How does college readiness reflexivity within a college RPP in an urban community school shape institutional practices aimed at improving students’ college preparation? This study conceptualizes urban as a geographical location with high population density and significant racial/ethnic diversity. Research in urban school settings demonstrates a unique set of challenges related to enrollment (e.g., funding), competition (e.g., traditional public vs. charter schools), and socioeconomic impact (e.g., COVID-19; Green, 2017; Quartz, Dimagiba, et al., 2020; Quartz, Geller, & Mcqueen, 2020; Russo, 2025).

This case study reports on college-going and postsecondary educational data collected between 2014 and 2022 in an urban school setting. It highlights how the RPP has revisited and sustained its college-going efforts amid a deepening racialized and changing sociopolitical urban context. Specifically, it considers national and local conversations about college affordability and its value. The study also highlights the end of affirmative action and attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. In doing so, it centers the experiences and needs of marginalized students in urban communities. Throughout this study, the term marginalized is utilized to refer to the structural inequities students might experience across multiple social identities inclusive, but not limited to race, class, and immigrant-origin.

Theoretical Frameworks

This study draws on critical frameworks, critical race theory (CRT) and organizational habitus as well as an asset-based framework, community cultural wealth (CCW), to examine how an RPP in an urban school setting utilizes college readiness reflexivity to consider race, systemic inequities, and the strengths of marginalized communities in college readiness. While CRT highlights historical and contemporary racialized structural barriers that limit marginalized students’ access to and experiences with college preparation, organizational habitus illuminates how schools’ structural and cultural norms guide expectations and decisions around college readiness. And, whereas CRT and organizational habitus offer a structural lens, CCW takes an asset-based perspective to center the cultural wealth students and families bring to the college readiness process, deepening understanding of how schools address the college readiness debt.

Critical Race Theory

CRT in education centers the role of institutional racism across K-12 and higher education settings. CRT is rooted in legal studies and has since been applied across multiple disciplines (Delgado & Stefanic, 2012). Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) formally introduced CRT in education by centering the role of race and racism as key factors in differential educational experiences and outcomes for marginalized students. Solórzano (1997) offers five tenets to examine CRT in education: (a) race and racism are central and intersect with other forms of oppression; (b) dominant ideology is challenged; (c) a commitment to social justice is present; (d) experiential knowledge is centered; and, (e) an interdisciplinary perspective is applied. These five tenets are tools to examine the systemic barriers that work to maintain differential outcomes, while centering the voices and experiences of marginalized groups. In addition, Ladson-Billings (2009) notes that categories such as “college-going” and “intelligent” demarcate categories of whiteness while terms such as “poor” and “lazy” are reserved for students of color, resulting in diminished college preparation opportunities. To counter deficit framing, many schools serving marginalized students have structured college-going supports (Knight-Manuel et al., 2019). However, a common concern has been adapting college support services in culturally relevant ways (Noll, 2021). Given these shortcomings, CRT helps center college readiness reflexivity as a process for educators to make sense of how its college preparation systems (e.g., curriculum and choice) sustain and/or remove racialized structural barriers to enter higher education.

Organizational Habitus

McDonough's (1997) study at four high schools highlighted the way school counselors consider individual and community values in their college advising. She conceptualized organizational habitus as the “impact of cultural group or social class on an individual's behavior through an intermediate organization, the high school (pp. 107).” Organizational habitus provides a theoretical lens to understand how schools account for the way different social forces (e.g., educational policies, norms, and opportunities) influence college support efforts (Kolluri, 2019). Kolluri (2019) extends how organizational habitus operates by delineating three forms: social class habitus, market habitus, and communal habitus. He argues that while educational research has most commonly applied social class habitus, market habitus surfaces particular norms and discourses that promote dominant values related to meritocracy and individualism. This form of organizational habitus may also take on a “color blind” approach to improve academic outcomes. In contrast, communal habitus rejects the market value approach and centers students’ “cultural repertoires” when designing and implementing supports. In regards to college readiness, a communal habitus perspective offers a lens to understand how the RPP's college readiness reflexivity process worked to provide access to college preparatory curriculum, align supports to students’ culture and sensemaking of higher education.

Community Cultural Wealth

CCW draws on CRT to challenge dominant and deficit views about marginalized students by providing a lens to examine the strengths they bring to the college readiness process (Yosso, 2005). Building on Bourdieu's (1986) social capital theory—access and utilization of networks—and cultural capital theory—behaviors, attitudes, and dispositions—CCW identifies the forms of capital that exist within communities of color, but are often ignored by institutions. She delineates six forms of capital: (a) aspirational, (b), social, (c) navigational, (d) linguistic, (e) resistant, and (f) familial. These forms of capital offer an asset-based lens to examine how marginalized students leverage their cultural wealth (e.g., higher education aspiration) and networks to learn about and navigate the college-going process (Murillo et al., 2017). More recently, CCW has been conceptualized to examine and address racial microaggressions (Acevedo & Solórzano, 2023). This work also helps to understand how college readiness reflexivity is utilized to adapt and implement college supports that are responsive to students and considerate of social and political forces that might hinder college-going and completion.

Literature Review

The literature review focuses on three scholarly areas: (a) RPPs, (b) community schools, and (c) college readiness. RPPs are a growing approach to addressing problems of practice. Given the study's focus, community school literature is included to situate it alongside ongoing college readiness efforts, noting structural impediments that create barriers for marginalized students in college readiness.

Research-Practice Partnerships

RPPs have been a promising approach to educational transformation in schools and school districts (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Quartz et al., 2019; Roderick et al., 2009; Welsh, 2021). Research demonstrating the utility of RPPs and improving student outcomes has grown in recent years (Anyon et al., 2016; Booth et al., 2015; Welsh, 2021). Moreover, RPPs are an appropriate approach to study “to and through” college initiatives because they are intended to be long-term and symbiotic relationships focused on addressing a problem of practice in ways benefitting school and community members (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Penuel & Hill, 2019). For example, the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research has produced formative research on college outcomes of Chicago public schools (CPS) graduates’ and college-going practices in CPS (Roderick et al., 2009, 2011). The consortium's To and Through Project utilizes research to identify what factors support CPS graduates’ access and success in college, and in turn develop practitioner resources to guide discussions and practice.

However, scholars have noted that RPPs seldom interrogate issues of power and race amid an increasingly inequitable sociopolitical context (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Diamond, 2021). In response, recent RPP scholarship has made efforts to center racial justice issues and conceptualize equity in this work (Farrell et al., 2023). Given the need for research on RPPs, which addresses issues of power and race, this study is situated in efforts to address inequitable college-going and completion outcomes for marginalized students (Doucet, 2019). Furthermore, RPPs’ capacity to drive educational change in urban schools and districts demonstrate the ways research and practice can support local communities’ needs.

Community Schools

Community schools are characterized by various definitions that emphasize core components, foundational pillars, and specific criteria. A common theme across these definitions is the importance of community control achieved through active participation from stakeholders and collaborative partnerships with youth-oriented organizations. The Coalition of Community Schools describes community schools as “a local engagement strategy that creates and coordinates opportunities with its public school to accelerate student success. They serve as a vehicle for hyper-local decision-making that responds to the unique needs of each community” (Coalition of Community Schools, n.d.). Proponents of democratic educational policies frequently highlight community schools as inherently place-based initiatives closely tied to neighborhood schools (Quartz et al., forthcoming). These schools are traditionally defined by specific geographic boundaries for enrollment and often occupy historic school buildings that have long served as central institutions within local civic life. Research on urban community schools that serve marginalized students lift up both the transformative potential of expanding social capital and the need to contend with racial/ethnic tensions (Galindo et al., 2017). Increasingly, community schools’ research on collaborative leadership (Oakes et al., 2017; Sanders et al., 2019), community-centered pedagogy (Daniels et al., 2019), and transformative parent engagement (Hester & Capers, 2019; Ishimaru & Takahashi, 2017; Kane et al., 2022) challenges the common misconception that community schools are simply schools with health clinics or extra services. For marginalized students and families, community schooling can serve as a radical imagining of participation that is more attentive to power and difference and can create a space for hope (Ginwright, 2015).

A review of research on community schools describes them as an evidence-based strategy for equitable school improvement (Oakes et al., 2017). This equity focus is shaping policymaking at the federal and state levels (Brookings Institute Task Force on Next Generation Community Schools, 2021). For example, California has invested $4.1B in its California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP) as “an equity-enhancing strategy that aligns with and can help coordinate and extend a wide range of state, school, and district initiatives (pp. 2).” The guiding framework for CCCSP enables families, educators and community partners to guide decision-making and practices to address the unique needs, assets, and aspirations of their community (State Transformation Assistance Center for Community Schools, 2024). These initiatives allow schools to allocate financial and human resources to support college and career preparation such as funding dual enrollment courses, hiring college counselors, and building partnerships with colleges and college access programs. In urban community schools, these supports have the potential to be transformational when they are contextualized and shaped by the assets and needs of particular communities. Moreover, in urban university-assisted community schools with capacity for RPPs, sustained collaborative inquiry can help ensure responsiveness to continually evolving racial and sociopolitical contexts (Murillo et al., 2021; Quartz et al., 2025). Although research on community schools has not extensively focused on college readiness efforts, our scholarship highlights how a local urban context and critical deliberation informs college readiness.

College Readiness

The path to college can be an onerous process. Many low-income students of color do not have access to the social networks they need to navigate the college choice process (Welton & Martinez, 2014). They are also more likely to attend overcrowded schools with limited resources (Lipman, 2013). In many cases, traditionally underserved students may lack access to the learning opportunities and support they need to prepare to qualify for and enter college such as effective teachers, rigorous curriculum, and AP and/or dual enrollment programs (Martinez & Deil-Amen, 2015). Given these issues, some scholars have called into question whether college preparation continues to stratify students along racial and class lines (Kolluri & Tierney, 2018). As such, while many schools emphasize the development and acquisition of college readiness skills, it is important for these efforts to be grounded in a social justice perspective.

Preparing students to be ready for college is a dynamic and deeply contextualized process involving multiple pieces such as enrolling in college preparatory coursework, creating learning support systems, building and sustaining students’ aspiration, and equipping students and families with college knowledge (Conley, 2012; Kurlaender et al., 2019). Roderick et al.'s (2011) study of college-going students in Chicago found that students who attended a high school where a college-going culture existed were more likely to enter college. Similarly, Hill (2008) found that in schools with structures that encouraged college visits, offered college and financial aid application supports, and facilitated communication with colleges, students’ college enrollment was higher. While these findings encourage investment in the resources to support college-going, institutionalizing college-going support is challenging and requires ongoing evaluation of infrastructures, resources, and relationships (Castro, 2020). Research shows that college readiness efforts in urban school settings may not see the intended benefits of education reforms (e.g., common core standards) to improve college readiness (Kolluri, 2022). Additionally, students of color and first-generation college students often rely on educators to make sense of what it means to be college ready (e.g., studying and performing well on tests), but encounter constrained access to counselors and resources (Duncheon, 2021; Gast, 2022). These barriers may be more pronounced for multilingual learners and undocumented students who require additional information and guidance to and through college (Murillo, 2021). Without structured guidance in urban schools, developing college readiness skills and navigating the college-going process is a particularly daunting for students. As a result, many urban schools have also partnered with college access organizations to disseminate information, validate students’ college eligibility, and connect students with colleges (Duncheon & Relles, 2019). Some of these efforts include following students as they transition into college.

Scholars and practitioners have paid particular attention to the time period between the summer after high school graduation and college enrollment (Castleman & Page, 2014). This is an important time period because traditionally underrepresented students are more likely to begin experiencing interruptions or breaks in their college pathways. For example, scholars have coined the term “summer melt” to account for students with plans to enroll in college immediately after high school, but do not (Castleman & Page, 2014). Additionally, financial aid and college affordability play a major role in students’ ability to persist (Goldrick-Rab, 2016). These institutional factors also interact with students’ sense of belonging across academic, social, and cultural dimensions (Strayhorn, 2018). Specifically, racially hostile environments may hinder marginalized students’ persistence, especially in urban school contexts. Given the multitude of challenges these students encountered throughout their postsecondary education, secondary schools are wrestling with how to prepare them for college.

Methodology

Case study methodology was utilized to demonstrate the college readiness reflexivity process of a college RPP at a K-12 community school. Yin (2018) notes that case study research is a comprehensive mode of inquiry that allows for an in-depth examination of a specific phenomenon. This approach is particularly well-suited for studies that are guided by prior theoretical frameworks and that incorporate multiple sources of evidence. Given the study's application of critical and asset-based frameworks, both quantitative and qualitative data sources are analyzed with attention to how power, race, and community knowledge shape the RPPs efforts to affirm and support students’ college-going trajectories. The aim is to disrupt “majoritarian” stories that frame marginalized groups in deficit ways (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). This case study describes how college readiness reflexivity led a college RPP to navigate the tensions of college readiness, noting its efforts to create and adapt systems that are responsive to students.

School Site and Context

The UCLA Community School opened in 2009 as a university-assisted community school with systems to support RPPs across a variety of local needs (e.g., language and college; Benson et al., 2017; Quartz, 2020). Both practitioners and researchers work collectively to design how to address a variety of school and community initiatives (Quartz et al., 2017). In the early years of the college RPP, college readiness reflexivity focused on framing and supporting college-going amid “college-for-all” reform efforts through a social justice lens addressing inequities in college access (Quartz et al., 2019).

The school instituted a college-going culture that included substantial supports such as one-on-one counseling, workshops, and college visits. The school's efforts have resulted in higher college-going rates, in comparison to state and national rates. In 2022, 97% of students committed to attend a community college or 4-year college. The most frequently attended colleges include California State University, Los Angeles; California State University, Northridge; Los Angeles City College; Santa Monica College; University of California, Riverside; and University of California, Los Angeles. The school demographics for the 2021–2022 academic year included 83% Latine and 12% Asian American students, 95% of whom qualified for the free and reduced program and 32% who were classified as English Learners.

The RPP began tracking college-going starting with its first graduating class in 2012. In 2015, it partnered with the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) to examine college enrollment, persistence, and completion. NSC data has allowed the RPP to understand the rate of students who enrolled in college immediately after high school graduation, the rate of students who persist (e.g., continue enrollment from first to second year), and the rate of students who complete a degree within 6 years. Despite the high college-going rates and initial college enrollment and persistence, only about a third of alumni complete college within 6 years. As such, the RPP has grappled with its responsibility to holistically address the “college readiness debt” by not only getting students to college but through college as well.

Data Sources

The data for this study is part of a longstanding RPP focused on multiple data sources related to students’ college readiness, enrollment, persistence, and completion. As part of the RPP university researchers request college enrollment data from the NSC, collect secondary college enrollment information from school teachers and counselors, and administer a senior school experience survey every school year. The data collected is presented to school teachers, staff, and other university partners during the school's research and accountability meetings and college retreats hosted by the RPP university researchers. Analysis of the data during these meetings spurs discussion (i.e., college readiness reflexivity) about the school's college going practices and the RPP's joint work. For this study, data collected from 2014 to 2022 is examined to provide insights into the way the RPP interrogates college readiness efforts.

Senior school experience survey

Each spring, as part of their senior exit checkout the school administers an anonymous survey to all 12th grade students to learn about their school experience (e.g., academics, supports, and college preparation). For the graduating classes of 2014–2022 the survey had a 94% response rate with a total of 793 out of 840 students completing the survey during their senior year. This study focuses on survey items related to the college choice process (i.e., college plans, information, guidance and support), the school's college-going culture, and Advanced Placement (AP) program. These items provide the RPP information about students’ perceived concerns about going to college as well as important factors (e.g., financial and family) in selecting a college and their perceptions on the school's college-going culture.

Transcript and school site data

The college RPP reviewed student transcripts for the class of 2017. Out of 79 student transcripts, 12 transcripts were selected to understand different high school pathways. For example, transcripts included students who committed to highly selective universities (e.g., University of California), moderately selective (California State University), and nonselective open access institutions (Community College). The RPP was interested in enrollment patterns and pass rates with a C or better. The transcript review was paired with school site data on AP course enrollment, noting pathways of UC-, CSU-, and CC-bound students.

Postsecondary pathways database

The Postsecondary Pathways Database was created to track UCLA-CS graduates’ postsecondary plans and enrollment as part of the school's and UCLA's accountability to increasing college enrollment rates. This longitudinal database houses college enrollment records for UCLA-CS graduates from the school's first graduating class in 2012 to present, and includes demographic data such as gender and race/ethnicity. The university researchers work with the school's college counselor to collect students’ postsecondary plans in May before the school year ends. The university researcher then inputs data provided by the NSC to track students’ immediate college enrollment, persistence, and completion up to 8 years after graduating from high school. It is important to note that while NSC provides detailed information about students’ college enrollment, there are some students whose information is not available (Dynarski et al., 2015). The researchers then conduct secondary data collection for students who are not reported by the NSC with school staff who have contact with alumni, however 26% of the college enrollment data remains missing. In this study, the college pathways for the Classes of 2014–2016 were reviewed using the college enrollment records from the postsecondary pathways database. Classes 2014–2016 were the first three cohorts who completed 9th–12th grade at the school.

College RPP retreats

Notes from six college retreats held between 2019–2022 were reviewed. The retreats provide an opportunity to review college-going, persistence, and completion data. Participants included school staff, university partners, and community members. During college retreats, attendees utilized data to make sense of college-going practices, discussed pressing issues, and identified action steps to better support students and families. This included exploring new partnerships or expanding on existing programs (e.g., dual enrollment credits). The retreats also provided an opportunity to discuss additional data needs. The second author took notes during the 2019–2022 retreats noting insights shared by participants about the college outcome data, 4-year and community college alumni pathways, and the development of a college transition curriculum.

Documents and reports

The RPP has generated multiple documents and reports on college preparation and enrollment such as the school's annual report. Other documents include google slide presentations of the transcript analysis and college enrollment and persistence data. In addition, briefs and reports about college-going support for undocumented students, college persistence, and the importance of maintaining and expanding networks once in college have been published online (see Quartz, Dimagiba, et al., 2020; Quartz, Geller, & Mcqueen et al., 2020). For this article, three briefs and reports published between 2017 and 2020 to ascertain how the RPP has framed college preparation were reviewed. They include a brief on supporting undocumented students, a report on college enrollment and persistence, and a report on aligning support to help alumni navigate postsecondary education.

RPP self-reflection meetings

Two self-reflection meetings were held in January and June 2022 to discuss the state of college preparation and the RPPs learning from this work. Participants included the coauthors as well as the college counselor, school principal, and a UCLA research partner. Both meetings were an hour long and addressed three areas: (a) the school's and partners’ learning about students’ pathways and persistence, (b) how learning about students’ postsecondary education shaped how the school counsels and supports students and families, and (c) institutional changes about how the school brokers college preparation. Prior to the reflection meeting participants were asked to review an excel file containing reports, tools, and products resulting from the RPP. These self-reflection meetings were designed to capture college readiness reflexivity by providing RPP members the time to consider the work completed, what they have learned, and what still needs to be done.

Positionality

The four authors have engaged in the college RPP for several years. We come to this work grounded in ideals of community and social justice. Given our deep connection to the school, it is important for each of us to recognize the subjectivities we bring to the work (Peshkin, 1988). The first author is a Latino, first-generation college graduate, who has worked with the school as a graduate student and now faculty to support college preparation, enrollment, and completion of immigrant-origin students. The second author is Pinay, a first-generation college graduate, who was a college access practitioner for 4 years before working with the school as a graduate student researcher to support the development of culturally relevant and sustaining college-going practices (Alim & Paris, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 2021). The third author is a white female first-generation college graduate who led the design team to establish the school in 2007 and currently serves as the school's research director, overseeing a portfolio of RPPs. The fourth author is a white female National Board Certified teacher in English Language Arts, who is a founding teacher of the school, founding member of the school's Research and Accountability team, and former college counselor at the school. We recognize that the college RPP has involved many others and the partnership continues to address how to best deliver support to students and families. Additionally, given our roles we can have taken careful consideration to ensure the results of the survey accurately reflect the tensions experienced in supporting the school's college readiness efforts.

Limitations

There are some limitations important to note. First, the college RPP presents a unique educational context that has helped institutionalized college readiness reflexivity. As such, the breadth and depth of this work might look different across different schools serving other student populations. Second, the missing data about students’ postsecondary educational pathways makes it difficult to fully ascertain the extent of college persistence and degree completion. Additionally, while student surveys offer insights about academic preparation, school culture, and college choice, because it is anonymous it is not possible to relate this data to college enrollment, persistence, and completion outcomes.

Data analysis

An iterative, multistep process was undertaken to analyze the data. Each summer, the second author conducts descriptive analysis from both the senior school experience and postsecondary database. The RPP utilizes this data to understand students’ college choice decisions, focusing on the role school supports, identity (e.g., being a first-generation college student) finances, and family played in the decision. Descriptive analysis from the postsecondary pathways database provides college immediate enrollment, persistence, and completion rates for each graduating class. The results are shared in the school's annual report in addition to college briefs and reports (see Quartz, Dimagiba, et al., 2020; Quartz, Geller, & Mcqueen et al., 2020). Additionally, transcript analysis conducted in 2017 and internally reported was reviewed. The internal report highlighted postsecondary pathways showing that students who enrolled in AP courses demonstrated a stronger likelihood to attend a 4-year college. For this study, the authors considered how the RPP framed questions about AP accessibility and concerns about available academic supports.

The second step involved reading briefs and reports on the RPP, college retreat notes, and transcripts of both self-reflection meetings to develop and then apply inductive and inductive codes (Saldaña, 2016). For example, the first author read and coded a 2020 report on students’ college-going rates, persistence, and completion that included narrative portraits on three alums who described their journey to and through college. Inductive codes such as “K-12 and Higher Education Alignment” and “Persistent Community” were developed to capture how the RPP conceptualized structuring college readiness support. Additionally, the college retreat notes and reflection help to generate codes on the process of structuring college readiness and including codes such as “Counseling Changes,” “Feelings About Data Results,” and “RPP Actions.” Deductive codes based on the study's framework were then developed and included codes such as “Racial and Structural Inequities,” “Communal Habitus,” and “Navigational Capital” to capture the interplay between race and class, organizational habitus, and CCW.

After coding the data, the first two authors met to discuss how coding across each data source generated overarching themes. For example, the authors noted how the ideas of persistent community—supports that followed students into college—a concept introduced in one of the reports aligned with the school's social justice mission to minimize barriers to college readiness and completion. These ideas about social justice were also reflected in college retreat notes, particularly on addressing college costs and the culture shock in students’ college transition. The authors also discussed how internal school factors (e.g., access to college preparatory courses) and external school factors (e.g., economic hardship) impacted students’ college readiness and transition, focusing on the way the RPP framed college readiness and who the onus on college preparation fell on. Finally, coded segments captured the tension between the story the numbers tell (e.g., enrollment and persistence) and shared externally versus the story the college retreats and reflection meetings tell, and kept internal. The analysis offered insights on how traditional accountability metrics may reinforce majoritarian narratives without contextualizing how schools also work to counter these narratives (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002). To ensure the accuracy of the results, the findings were shared with members of the school's Research and Accountability committee composed of researchers, teachers, and community members (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016). The committee members read the results of the study and confirmed the accuracy of the authors interpretation, specifically, how the RPP has grappled with the tensions of responding to students’ needs.

Results

Despite the college RPP's initial framing and support of college readiness, data demonstrates that only 34% of the Classes 2014–2017 completed a college degree within 6 years. As such, the results present the college RPP's college readiness reflexivity process that resulted in three focus areas: (a) academic preparation in AP courses, (b) college affordability and degree value, and (c) supporting the college transition. The results consider the tension of structuring college readiness supports through a communal organizational habitus that leverages students’ cultural wealth when, traditionally, college readiness has been framed through class and market organizational habitus approaches that render students’ race and culture invisible (Noll, 2021).

Improving Academic Preparation

Analysis of transcript and school site data yielded numerous questions about whether students were being academically prepared to matriculate to college. An RPP team composed of faculty and UCLA researchers was tasked with evaluating this data and making suggestions for changes in school academic policy, specifically in relation to the school's AP program. Results from the 2018 Senior School Experience Survey revealed that 86% (n = 87) of 12th-grade students agreed or strongly agreed that it was important for the school to offer AP courses. However, 46% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that AP courses are only for some students. As such, the RPP raised concerns about what systemic barriers might be present in AP enrollment.

Indeed, analysis of school site data demonstrated student enrollment in AP courses did not reflect the demographics of the school's diverse student population. Asian students and female students were consistently overrepresented in AP courses, while Latine students, students with IEPs, and emergent bilingual students were consistently underrepresented. Racialized gatekeeping and ability-based gatekeeping have been well documented in undermining students’ access to college opportunities (Hirschl & Smith, 2023). Understanding this barrier to college access, the RPP team recommended the school consider changes to the AP program so that the program better reflected the school's demographics, in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, special needs, and language classification. Drawing on Yosso's (2005) CCW model, which the faculty engaged with during professional development, the team recommended the school move toward an asset-based AP program, which would expand AP course offerings that supported students in exhibiting cultural and linguistic capital. Given that the school sustains a TK-6 dual language program in Spanish and that the majority of students speak Spanish as a home language, the team leveraged these organizational priorities and values (i.e., communal habitus) to expand opportunities for students to take AP Spanish Language and AP Spanish Literature. These courses also fulfilled the district and state requirements for students to receive the State Seal of Biliteracy upon graduation. In addition, at the time, the school supported a large population of students who were unaccompanied youth from Central America. Counselors began enrolling newcomer students in AP Spanish courses their first year. The school also hired another Spanish teacher to expand the number of AP Spanish courses and to articulate the dual language program to middle school. As a result, the following year 96 high school students enrolled in an AP Spanish course compared to 55 students the year prior.

Another recommendation of the team was to move toward an “AP for all” model. In this model, all high school students would enroll in an AP course at some point in their high school career. The English department was chosen as a space to pilot this model. In 2021–2022, all 11th grade students were enrolled in AP English Language and in 2022–2023, all 12th-grade students were enrolled in AP English Literature. Although only in Year 3 of the pilot program, initial findings suggest that this approach has improved the number of students taking AP courses and mitigated disparities in demographic representation. For example, enrollment in AP courses has grown from 40% of high school students in 2019 to 71% of high school students in 2023. In terms of demographics, 70% of AP students identify as Latine; 51% of students identify as male; and 40% qualify as emergent bilinguals.

While these changes have improved the enrollment and demographics in the AP program, research has shown that passing AP exams is a better indicator of academic preparation than enrollment (Kolluri, 2018). Pass rates in the AP Spanish courses have consistently met or exceeded 96% annually. In the first 10th-grade cohort of students participating in the AP English for all program pass rates were 46%. Quarterly, the RPP team continues to monitor, assess, and make recommendations for this program. As such, the college RPP data sources continue to inform decisions about access to and completion of college preparatory academic courses.

College Affordability and Questions of Value

College affordability has consistently been the biggest concern for students and families. Eighty-seven percent of students from Class of 2014–2022 who completed the spring survey were “Somewhat Concerned” or “Very Concerned” about their ability to pay for college. Many of them expressed trepidation about relying on loans. This phenomenon is not new. For decades, college costs have risen while financial support has remained stagnant. As a school serving predominantly low-income and immigrant-origin students, some of whom are undocumented, college readiness efforts ensure that students complete the FAFSA and CADAA applications. The college counselor works closely with students and families to prepare financial aid applications, hosting workshops and one-on-one meetings. These efforts provide critical information (e.g., deadlines) and step-by-step guidance that considers families intersecting concerns (e.g., affordability and immigration status). Yet despite most students receiving financial aid, their full need is unmet, necessitating some of them to take out loans. Since postsecondary educational data showed that many of the school's graduates who enter college have not obtained a degree after 6 years, RPP members have raised concerns about the risks associated with loan accruement. The RPP has framed these challenges as a structural problem that disproportionately impacts first-generation, immigrant-origin students of color. As such, RPP responses draw on a communal habitus approach to center students’ and their families’ needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated questions about affordability. The move to online learning and the pandemic's devastating impact on Black, Brown, and immigrant-origin communities raised questions across the United States about higher education. College enrollment numbers experienced a steep decline, in particular, among Black and Brown students (Irwin et al., 2022). Some students questioned whether higher education was the right option. The conversation came to a head during a virtual college retreat in late 2020 after a teacher shared that some students wanted to forgo college in favor of entering the workforce. The school was well aware of the economic hardship students and families experienced. As such, college retreat participants pondered what higher education meant for students, families, and community at the moment in time. And, how the college RPP might reframe its approach when encouraging and supporting students’ and families’ college decisions. These considerations were discussed alongside current public discourse that minimizes the impact a college degree has on social mobility. Despite these benefits, pervasive economic inequities may influence students’ desire to enter the workforce. The RPP balances these perspectives alongside historic exclusion of non-White and immigrant students from higher education that have resulted in persistent inequitable outcomes. Moreover, current efforts across the United States to restrict “diversity and inclusion” initiatives, eliminate affirmative action, and exclude undocumented students from accessing college makes it clear that higher education continues to matter, not just as a means for economic mobility, but as a means to build and sustain networks grounded in social justice. During the RPP reflection meeting the principal captured the sentiment,

I don't think that we're at the point for first-gen Brown and Black students, low-income students, where we can say, “Well, it's really optional. Whether you do it or not, you're going to be fine.” I don't think we have that amount of economic wealth or access and networks to not continue to guide our students to go into a college education or into an education that will give them a skill or access to something to build … We're still building in our community.

The principal's comment frames a college education as a socially just endeavor to build traditionally underserved community economic wealth. It deviates from a social- and market-based organizational habitus to college readiness and degree attainment by recognizing that for traditionally underserved students in historically marginalized communities, a college education uplifts not only the individual, but also the family and community (i.e., communal habitus). Still, the RPP must consider how students’ college decisions are shaped by larger sociopolitical forces impacting college affordability. This means preparing students to enter college, but also recognizing that their pathways require additional information, resources, and support. For example, the school serves a high population of undocumented students. An RPP brief on college-going support for undocumented students described that while most of the school's undocumented students qualified for in-state tuition and receive state financial aid, increases in college costs make higher education out of reach. At present, undocumented youth are not able to apply for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which would allow them to legally work and save for college. And, even in an undocumented-friendly state like California, the financial support they receive is often not enough to persist in higher education.

Given the state of higher education, the RPP is intentional about mitigating financial hardship. Since 2012 the school has partnered with a local community college to offer classes on its campus. Despite these benefits, many students have been unable to enroll because of scheduling conflicts. In response, the school's academic counselor has designed the school course offerings to increase dual college enrollment. In 2022, the school changed the schedule to align with the local community college schedule and increase opportunities for students to take community college classes during the school day. In addition, college retreats notes highlight the need for additional counseling support. As such, the school also utilized COVID-19 funds to hire an additional college counselor during the 2022–2023 academic year. This additional counselor supports students in enrolling and persisting in community college courses offered at the school. Rather than placing the onus on students and families to find sources outside of school, the RPP is attempting to institutionalize additional supports. The additional staff also allows the school to more effectively review financial aid packages with students and help them make decisions that center themselves and their family needs. For some students, this might result in committing to a less selective institution such as a regional 4-year college. The RPP is mindful about selectivity issues but also recognizes that the school's commitment to increase community college course offerings may aid some students in matriculating to those institutions upon high school completion and in enrolling with more credits to accelerate college completion. As such, the school is mindful about counseling students toward a variety of college transition pathways that meet their personal needs and overall postsecondary goals.

College Transition and the Warm Handoff

The examination of graduates’ postsecondary educational outcomes prompted conversations about the school's and RPP's responsibility to get students “through” college. The RPP's infrastructure for tracking alumni trajectories across the different California college systems is a core RPP practice that fosters reflexivity. As part of their ongoing collaboration, RPP researchers share college-going outcomes at annual college-retreats and the school's monthly research and accountability meetings. In both forums, RPP members have the opportunity to make sense of the data and propose action plans.

For example, RPP members reviewed data on students’ college trajectories and noted declining persistence for students after the second year in college, in particular among students in community colleges (for data see Quartz, Dimagiba et al., 2020; Quartz, Geller, & Mcqueen, 2020). Findings prompted RPP members to ask critical questions about institutions of higher education lag in providing robust support for Latine, immigrant-origin, first-generation college students. These insights let to subsequent college retreats data dives to examine what community colleges students were attending, how many students transferred, and to which institutions. In doing so, it prompted the RPP to have a deeper discussion aimed at developing supports to help prepare students to navigate their transitions into different college environments.

This communal approach recognizes that graduates’ benefit from a “warm handoff” from high school to college. It also challenges the notion that supports ends after students commit to a college. The RPP reflected on its capacity to maintain sustainable practices toward college transition support and the role of the university partner in these endeavors. It also keeps in mind how its graduates will likely experience different college environments across multiple social identities (e.g., race, low-income, first-generation, and immigrant-origin).

The school has focused on providing robust support during the college enrollment process and connecting students to college support programs such as summer bridge and first year experience programs. These programs may also help graduates meet peers from similar backgrounds and begin to build a community of support. School staff have learned that many students find the onboarding enrollment process confusing, and that in a few cases have led students to withdraw before starting. As such, the academic counselor walks students through these portals, ensuring they understand important deadlines and who at the college to reach out to for additional support. The technical support offered has helped ensure students enroll in college immediately after high school graduation. The school's communal approach includes partnerships with programs like AmeriCorps and the Fulfillment Fund to further support college-going and enrollment. In addition, the school implemented a high school internship program and developed an alumni network. For example, in 2019, the RPP supported the hiring of two alumni mentors at two CSU campuses where a large number of alumni were enrolled. These alumni mentors conducted outreach and check-ins with alumni in order to answer questions, offer support, and provide resources. These supports offered students access to contextualized information about their college transition. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic and lapses in funding prevented the continuation of this program.

The college postsecondary educational outcome data revealed that students attending community colleges were more likely to have nonlinear postsecondary pathways. And, despite students indicating that they planned to transfer in the school's senior survey, few did so 2 years after graduating from high school. Rather than blame students, the academic counselor has continued to affirm students’ decision to attend community college, but has recognized that community college-bound students were especially in need of institutional program support. The academic counselor has been more intentional about connecting students, in particular those attending a community college, to programs that can help them transfer. She shared during the June 2022 reflection meeting:

When we sit down to do community college applications, I automatically look for those four-year programs that are on there, that … It's an automatic transfer, so I sign them up. When they're signing up for school, I'll sign them up for that program. Because I don't want to leave it up to chance.

The school has also discussed formalizing partnerships with university transfer programs, but institutionalizing partnerships has been difficult. Additionally, the school's focus on connecting students to college support programs at their prospective colleges has been critical in supporting their college transition. For example, students applying to CSU are encouraged and receive one-on-one support to complete Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) applications. EOP provides admission, academic, and financial support for historically underserved students. These supports have helped to alleviate some of the barriers students encounter after being admitted such as navigating a variety of campus portals and enrollment deadlines.

In addition to academic preparation, equipping students with the knowledge and ability to navigate structural and everyday racism has become an important part of the work. During the RPP reflection meeting, the school principal shared:

I think the other piece is around preparing students for the challenges they will face. I think sometimes, we’re not explicit about the forms of racism, microaggressions, they're going to encounter and how to leverage their own identities to support each other and themselves.

One way the school has done this has been by implementing a college transition curriculum focused on developing a college-going identity, critical consciousness, and strategies to navigate college. The shift to online instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic required new ways to connect with students and families. To facilitate college-going efforts for 12th-grade students, the school created a new college class. The class was led by the college counselor to disseminate college information and assist them with their college applications. Given the structured support available to students, the school decided to maintain the class moving forward. The fall semester is primarily focused on completing college and financial aid applications. The second semester helps students with college decisions and college transition.

Given the RPP's learning about students’ postsecondary pathways and experiences, it was decided to develop a culturally relevant and sustaining college transition curriculum to foster students’ critical consciousness on systemic barriers first-generation, students of color face in accessing and persisting through college (Alim & Paris, 2017; Ladson-Billings, 2021). The intent of the curriculum is to expose and prepare students to some of the challenges low-income, first-generation college students of color encounter in college. The curriculum teaches topics including Yosso's (2005) CCW framework, college resources, and the postsecondary pathway experiences of UCLA-CS alumni as first-generation college students. Additionally, the RPP's university partners have expanded the partnership with UCLA by hiring undergraduate students as mentors who further develop and teach the second semester curriculum. Mindful of the social backgrounds of the school's student body, university partners actively recruit college students who share similar backgrounds (e.g., race/ethnicity and first-generation college student) or demonstrate a deep commitment to work with first-generation college students. As such, the university assisted community school model fosters the school's communal habitus where school staff, university partners, and other community partners are responsive to the realities and aspirations of the students and their families.

Discussion and Implications

Structuring college preparation and creating a culture around college-going requires educators to be attuned to both external and internal factors influencing students’ decisions to pursue higher education. This article describes a case study of how a college RPP between university researchers and an urban community school embodies college readiness reflexivity in its work to interrogate college readiness practices amid racialized and changing sociopolitical contexts. Guided by critical and asset-based frameworks, the results demonstrate the need for educators to consider how racialized structural systems work to obstruct marginalized students from accessing the content, skills, and knowledge to be college ready (Ray, 2019). Additionally, while instituting a college-going organizational habitus is important, a communal approach that aligns with students’ cultural wealth and adapts to evolving needs and interests is crucial. As a community school serving predominantly low-income students of color, the RPP applies a holistic, communal habitus approach to support students and families on the path to college. In doing so, the RPP's college readiness reflexivity process demonstrates that numbers (e.g., college enrollment, persistence, etc.) are just one aspect of its work. They don’t, however, fully capture the school's efforts to address college readiness through a social justice and equity lens (Kolluri & Tierney, 2018). This work requires a continuous commitment to question how existing curriculum, counseling, and information meet or fall short in supporting college readiness.

Revisiting Schools’ College-Going Culture

Establishing a college-going culture that is culturally responsive and asset-based is important to support students’ college journey (Knight-Manuel et al., 2019). The RPP has done so for over a decade, yet it continuously reflects on its practices, centering how its structures and supports meet the needs of students, and how it must adapt to changes in policies and sociopolitical contexts (Quartz et al., 2019). Traditional thinking about college presents postsecondary education as a linear process in which students enroll immediately after high school and complete their degree within 4 years. However, many students do not follow a linear pathway toward degree attainment (Cox, 2016). Scholars also argue that college readiness and postsecondary pathways are commonly examined through a colorblind lens, decontextualized from students’ lives and lived experience, and which require them to conform to “no excuse” behaviors (Rohn, 2024). In contrast, this RPP attempts to address “college readiness” through a critical and asset-based approach, balancing the norms of college preparation while centering students’ needs through a communal organizational habitus approach. Shifting responsibility to the RPP and the school to find new ways to prepare students for college complements its engagement in a community school movement that encourages school leaders, teachers, and research partners to get to know the students, families, and community.

The school's high college-going rate as well as high first year persistence rate demonstrated promising results. Despite these promising results, students’ college completion 4 and 6 years after graduating were low. While these results were jarring, they also led to organizational changes to support college-going and deep reflection on what it means for students to be college ready. Scholars applying race- and class-based critical frameworks to examine enrollment in AP courses have found that racial and language discrimination constrain access (Kanno & Kangas, 2014; Solórzano & Ornelas, 2004). For this reason, the school has adopted an asset-based approach to AP courses to build on students’ linguistic capital, as well as an “AP for all model” to increase access to AP courses, building students’ aspirational capital. Research shows that marginalized students are often excluded from AP courses and that the rigor of the courses, if they do enroll, may not prepare them to pass the exam or for college (Hallett & Venegas, 2011). For this reason, the school will continue to look at AP pass rates as well as students’ feedback about academic preparation for college. Additionally, the school hired a second college counselor. Research also demonstrates that counselors are critical in supporting students’ postsecondary educational goals (Nix et al., 2024). Yet, the student to counselor ratio remains high, constraining access to college information and support. The school has also made changes to its course offerings to allow more students to enroll in dual enrollment classes offered on campus. Doing so exposes more students to college curriculum while also earning college credits that may allow them to save money and time.

The RPP results demonstrate the importance for educational leaders to revisit their college-going efforts and to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. A traditional organizational habitus that structures a college-going culture may be insufficient in meeting the college readiness of today's students (McDonough, 1997). While academic preparation is crucial for college eligibility, enrollment, and completion, other factors must be considered in supporting to and through college for marginalized students. Institutionalizing culturally relevant supports requires praxis from educational leaders and a critical understanding of how racialized and stratified systems function to hinder college completion (Quartz et al., 2019). Schools’ organizational habitus should be informed through a communal approach, recognizing that students and families possess “cultural repertoires” that need to be considered in the college preparation and choices made available (Kolluri, 2019). Moreover, given limited resources for secondary schools to support students after graduation, the study's findings and implications provide ways for leaders to be strategic and intentional about how to align services and resources that addresses students’ needs.

The RPP has considered the messages students receive about college, its practices related to college-going, and how it brokers the college transition (Duncheon & Relles, 2019). The RPP work demonstrates that college-going efforts are not static and require close attention to facilitate change. These changes are facilitated through the partnership in multiple ways. For example, while university partners stay abreast of college readiness literature as well as help support data collection and analysis, school partners’ proximity to students, families, and the community help determine a course of action. Moreover, the RPP's university partners continue to reevaluate how they can leverage university resources to support the school as a university-assisted community school. The symbiotic relationship has allowed for the partnership to design and maintain college-going efforts (e.g., creating a college center and ensuring that family is included in the process) that are culturally responsive to the school and students. These findings are also aligned with research and policies supporting the development of community schools. For example, the California Community Schools Partnership Program currently supports more than 2,000 community schools across the state to develop asset-based, community-connected classrooms. While these results and efforts are promising, additional work is needed to understand how college readiness is considered and enacted in other school settings with different partners and student populations.

College Access Amid Rising Costs and Attacks on Diversity Efforts

Earning a college degree has shown to increase economic mobility and stability. Lifetime earnings of individuals with a bachelor's degree tend to be higher than those with only a high school degree (Irwin et al., 2022). In addition, early pandemic data showed that college degree holders were more likely to have job security and the flexibility to work from home (Daly et al., 2020). Despite these known benefits, recent news headlines and social media posts have questioned whether people still need a college degree in today's tech-driven economy. Billionaires like Elon Musk and social media content creators have encouraged entrepreneurship and the completion of specialized programs. With college-goers accruing more than $1.7 trillion debt there is an ongoing debate about the financial soundness of higher education (Hanson, 2023). In 2022, the Biden administration proposed a debt cancelation program; however, it was struck down by the Supreme Court in June 2023. Since student loan repayments restarted in fall 2023, conversations about the benefits of a college degree have increased (Brenan, 2023).

The RPP's work is occurring at a moment when college affordability remains burdensome for many and the value of a college degree is being increasingly questioned. Some school staff report talking to students who express the desire to work immediately after high school. As a community school focused on college-going and with a university partnership, these moments are difficult but important to advance the work. A CRT perspective contextualizes the historical and contemporary exclusion of marginalized students in higher education and how college pathways (access, enrollment, and persistence) are shaped by both structural support and student choice (Pérez Huber & Muñoz, 2021). More recently, in June 2023, the Supreme Court's decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (2023) struck down the use of Affirmative Action and is expected to have devastating enrollment effects for Black and Latine students. Despite the court's denial to consider race in college admissions, it will continue to play a significant role in students’ college journey.

Although systemic issues within higher education (e.g., lack of financial support) remain, it continues to be a means for economic stability, better health outcomes, and increased civic engagement (Irwin et al., 2022; Newell, 2014). Moreover, discussions on the value of higher education fail to consider what a college degree means for marginalized students. For these reasons, secondary schools and universities must be better about connecting the value of higher education to people's lives and purpose. They also need to deliberately plan and explicitly teach supports that enable marginalized students to enter, persist, and complete a college degree (Kolluri, 2020). Building students’ navigational capital (e.g., accessing financial aid and program centers) may attenuate some concerns about postsecondary education.

“To and Through College”: Role of K-12 and Higher Education

As a college-going school, most students commit to attend a 2- or 4-year college. However, commitment does not ensure enrollment. Many students experienced what researchers call “summer melt” and never enrolled in classes (Castleman & Page, 2014). In addition, the college RPP found that many students continued to rely on school staff after graduating. For example, in some cases counselors have helped students navigate confusing college portals, while other cases might involve helping a student re-enroll at community college or transfer. The postsecondary education pathway data revealed that students attending a community college were more likely to experience nonlinear pathways. As a result, the school became more intentional about connecting community college students to college support programs and transfer information. Partnerships between high schools and colleges can help ensure that persistent and caring support is provided while equipping them with skills to navigate the college transition (Murillo & Worrell, 2022). Doing so can allow students to have a culturally affirming college transition and be positioned to have a support network across both systems.

Additionally, questions remain about ensuring that students make it “through college.” A point of tension has been the responsibility of the school and RPP to support students once in college. However, these efforts require significant funding, school site staff, and time. It also raises questions about secondary schools’ responsibility on the “through college” support piece. Research shows that traditionally underrepresented students may struggle in college for a variety of reasons that include difficulties adjusting to college (Gibbons et al., 2019), finances (Goldrick-Rab, 2016), and lacking a sense of belonging (Strayhorn, 2018). While it is the responsibility of institutions of higher education to address campus racial climate, the school's awareness of its students’ racialized college experiences (e.g., systemic racism and racial microaggressions) led to the development of a new curriculum for 12th-grade students to support their college transition. This includes moving beyond the technical processes of the college transition (i.e., financial aid, course selection, and paperwork submission) to include ways for students to build a network of support, develop a sense of belonging, and understand the role of the college in supporting persistence and degree completion.

Conclusion

College readiness is multidimensional, requiring continuous and close attention. Given that the work demands a deep commitment in time, resources, and efforts it is difficult to adapt to changing needs. The results from this inquiry provide insights for adopting college readiness reflexivity to understand students’ college enrollment, persistence, and completion outcomes. While structuring college readiness in urban school settings is a significant step toward improving postsecondary educational outcomes, it is important for educators, researchers, and other community partners to reflect, interrogate, and make changes to college preparation practices as they learn more about their students and their contextual needs.