Gleaning into the Aspirational-Pursuit Gap of GEAR UP Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to conduct a quantitative, exploratory analysis of key variables at transition grade levels (i.e., 7th, 9th, 12th) toward retention and completion in postsecondary education among Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) students. The exploration included variables that were retrieved from existing data on 65 students from one of the state's GEAR UP subawards in order to conduct correlations, t-tests, sign tests, and binomial regression to explore the variables across the transition years in relation to GEAR UP participation and postsecondary outcomes. Students represented by the data were GEAR UP participants since their 7th-grade year, having engaged in twice monthly peer-mentoring and summer programming activities within a university partnership. Importantly, most students were of Latinx heritage backgrounds, and the majority enrolled in postsecondary education; notably, the 4-year postsecondary completion rate was 84%. A discussion and conclusion of this exploratory analysis are provided.

Keywords

GEAR UP college readiness aspirations quantitative Latinx postsecondary education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Arif

Massey

M. D. B.

Klinard

Charbonneau

Jabre

Martins

A. B.

Gaitor

Kirton

Albury

Nanglu

(2021). Ten simple rules for supporting historically underrepresented students in science. PLoS Computational Biology, 17(9), e1009313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.100931

Bausmith

J. M.

France

(2012). The impact of GEAR UP on college readiness for students in low-income schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 17(4), 234–246. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2012.717036

Berkner

Chavez

(1997). Access to postsecondary education for the 1992 high school graduates (No. NCES 98-105). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

Bourdieu

Passeron

J. C.

(1977). Reproduction in education, society, and culture. Sage.

Bowman

N. A.

Kim

Ingleby

Ford

D. C.

Sibaouih

(2018). Improving college access at low-income high schools? The impact of GEAR UP Iowa on postsecondary enrollment and persistence. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 40(3), 399–419. https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.3102/0162373718778133

Cabrera

A. F.

Deil-Amen

Prabhu

Terenzini

P. T.

Lee

Franklin

R. E.

Jr . (2006). Increasing the college preparedness of at-risk students. Journal of Latinos and Education, 5(2), 79–97. https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.1207/s1532771xjle0502_2

Conley

D. T.

(2005). College knowledge: What it really takes for students to succeed and what we can do to get them ready. Jossey-Bass.

Conley

D. T.

(2010). College and career ready: Helping all students succeed beyond high school. Jossey-Bass.

Dance

(2021, July). Has the Pandemic Put an End to the SAT and ACT? Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/has-pandemic-put-end-to-sat-act-180978167/

10.

Dyce

C. M.

Albold

Long

(2012). Moving from college aspiration to attainment: Learning from one college access program. High School Journal, 96(2), 152–165. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23351967

11.

Erickson

Peterson

L. R.

Lembeck

(2013). Middle to high school transition Tiers 1, 2 & 3. (Strategy brief). Student Engagement Project.

12.

Fina

A. D.

Dunbar

S. B.

Welch

C. J.

(2018). Establishing empirical links between high school assessments and college outcomes: An essential requirement for college readiness interpretations. Educational Assessment, 23(3), 157–172. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2018.1481387

13.

Flink

P. J.

(2018). Latinos and higher education: A literature review. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 17(4), 402–414. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192717705701

14.

Garcia

L. M.

Bayer

A. E.

(2005). Variations between Latino groups in US post-secondary educational attainment. Research in Higher Education, 46(5), 511–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-005-3363-5

15.

Gibson

D. M.

Jefferson

R. N.

(2006). The effect of perceived parental involvement and the use of growth-fostering relationships on self-concept in adolescents participating in GEAR UP. Family Therapy, 33(1), 29–43.

16.

Grodsky

Jones

M. T.

(2007). Real and imagined barriers to college entry: Perceptions of cost. Social Science Research, 36(2), 745–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2006.05.001

17.

Harper

C. E.

Scheese

Zhou

Darolia

(2021). Who do college students turn to for financial aid and student loan advice, and is it advice worth following? The Journal of Student Financial Aid, 50(3), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1729

18.

Harrison

Waller

(2018). Challenging discourses of aspiration: The role of expectations and attainment in access to higher education. British Educational Research Journal, 44(5), 914–938. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3475

19.

Leuwerke

W. C.

Ingleby

L. D.

Tillery

C. Y.

Cech

T. G.

Sibaouih

C. M.

(2021). Narrowing the college readiness gap: Assessing GEAR UP Iowa’s intermediate impact on underserved students. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 26(4), 352–370. https://doi.org/https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10824669.2021.1884864

20.

Hwa Kim

Keum

B. T. H.

Wang

Y.-W.

Bishop

(2021). A broken pipeline: Effects of gender and racial/ethnic barriers on college students’ educational aspiration–pursuit gap. Journal of Career Development, 49(4), 753–768. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845321994196

21.

Long

B. T.

Riley

(2007). Financial aid: A broken bridge to college access? Harvard Educational Review, 77(1), 39–63. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.77.1.765h8777686r7357

22.

Lunceford

C. J.

Sondergeld

T. A.

Stretavski

E. L.

(2017). A comparative case study of student preparation for postsecondary education: How GEAR UP, socioeconomic status, and race influence academic and non-academic factors. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 22(4), 185–199. https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/10824669.2017.1364643

23.

Markus

Nurius

(1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954–969. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.41.9.954

24.

Martinez

G. F.

Deil-Amen

(2015). College for all Latinos? The role of high school messages in facing college challenges. Teachers College Record, 117(3), 1–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/016146811511700302

25.

Morgan

Sinatra

Eschenauer

(2015). A comprehensive partnership approach increasing high school graduation rates and college enrollment of urban economically disadvantaged youth. Education and Urban Society, 47(5), 596–620. https://doi-org.unr.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/0013124514536437

26.

Parker

J. D.

Taylor

R. N.

Keefer

K. V.

Summerfeldt

L. J.

(2018). Emotional intelligence and post-secondary education: What have we learned and what have we missed? In Emotional intelligence in education (pp. 427–452). Springer.

27.

Perna

L. W.

(2005). A gap in the literature: The influence of the design, operations, and marketing of student aid programs on college-going plans and behaviors. The Journal of Student Financial Aid, 35(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.55504/0884-9153.1063

28.

Pew Hispanic Center (2005). Hispanics: A people in motion. Author. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/40.pdf

29.

Roderick

Nagaoka

Coca

(2009). College readiness for all: The challenge for urban high schools. The Future of Children, 19(1), 185–210. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.0.0024

30.

Sanchez

J. E.

Lowman

Hill

K. A.

(2016). Performance and persistence outcomes of GEAR UP students: Leveling the playing field in higher education. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, 1–22.

31.

Sanchez

J. E.

Usinger

Thornton

B. W.

(2015). Predictive variables of success for Latino enrollment in higher education. Journal of Latinos and Education, 14(3), 188–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2014.973565

32.

Schaefle

(2018). The relationship between GEAR UP program involvement and Latina/o students’ performance on high-stakes tests. Journal of Latinos and Education, 17(3), 201–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348431.2017.1310653

33.

Schwandt

T. A.

(2007) The SAGE dictionary of qualitative inquiry (Vols. 1-0). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986281

34.

Standing

Judkins

Keller

Shimshak

(2008). Early outcomes of the GEAR UP program, final report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.

35.

Tienda

(2009). Hispanicity and educational inequality: Risks, opportunities and the nation’s future. 25^th Tomás Rivera Lecture. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

36.

Tillery

C. Y.

(2013). The summative impact of college access interventions: A program evaluation of GEAR UP North Carolina. Appalachian State University.

37.

U.S. Department of Education (2008). Early outcomes of the GEAR UP program: Final report. U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development, Policy and Program Studies Service.

38.

U.S. Department of Education (2023). Gaining early awareness and readiness for undergraduate programs (GEAR UP). Washington, DC: Office of Postsecondary Education. https://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html.

39.

Watt

K. M.

Huerta

Lozano

(2007). A comparison study of AVID and GEAR UP 10th-grade students in two high schools in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 12(2), 185–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824660701261136

40.

Williams

Roberts

(2023). I just think it’s really awkward’: Transitioning to higher education and the implications for student retention. Higher Education, 85(5), 1125–1141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00881-1

41.

Witteveen

(2023). The effects of undergraduate financing on advanced degree attainment. Social Forces, 101(3), 1258–1287. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soac044

42.

Yampolskaya

Massey

O. T.

Greenbaum

P. E.

(2006). At-risk high school students in the “gaining early awareness and readiness program” (GEAR UP): Academic and behavior outcomes. Journal of Primary Prevention, 27(5), 457–475. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-006-0050-z

43.

Yosso

T. J.

(2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006