The Problem of College Readiness

234 Pages·2015·3.166 MB·English

by  William G. Tierney, Julia C. Duncheon

THE PROBLEM OF COLLEGE READINESS
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The Problem of
College Readiness
EDITED BY
William G. Tierney and Julia C. Duncheon
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Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2015 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic,
magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise
without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production: Jenn Bennett
Marketing: Anne M. Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The problem of college readiness / edited by William G. Tierney and Julia C. Duncheon.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-5723-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4384-5725-3 (e-book) 1. Educational equalization—United States.
2. College preparation programs—United States. 3. Academic achievement—United
States. I. Tierney, William G., editor of compilation, author. II. Duncheon, Julia C.,
1984– editor of compilation, author.
LC213.2.P755 2015
379.2'6—dc23
2014034930
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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CONTENTS
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgments ix
PART I
Introduction
1. The Problem of College Readiness
JULIA C. DUNCHEON 3
2. The Roots of College Readiness: An Old Problem
with New Complexities
DANIEL J. ALMEIDA 45
3. The Challenge of the Least Ready: A Historical Perspective
BRYAN ADÁN RODRÍGUEZ 65
PART II
Using Theory, Policy, and Practice to Analyze a State Response
4. College Readiness and Low-Income Youth: The Role of
Social Capital in Acquiring College Knowledge
DANIEL J. ALMEIDA 89
5. The Early Assessment Program: Is Early Notification Enough?
LISA D. GARCIA 115
v
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vi CONTENTS
6. Making Sense of Contested Terrain: Writing Remediation,
Faculty Perspectives, and the Challenge of Implementation
JULIA C. DUNCHEON 143
7. On the Path to Completion: Exploring How Higher Education
Policy Influences the Least Ready College Students
BRYAN ADÁN RODRÍGUEZ 179
PART III
Conclusion
8. The Way Forward: Looking Back
WILLIAM G. TIERNEY 201
Contributors 213
Index 215
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ILLUSTRATIONS
Table 1.1. High school to college pipeline: Nationwide outcomes
for the year 2010 4
Table 1.2. Average U.S. remediation rates among incoming college
students, Fall 2006 5
Table 1.3. Remediation rates among incoming students at
California State University, Fall 2013 6
Table 1.4. Components of college readiness 8
Table 1.5. The college readiness policy agenda for public high
schools 20
Table 3.1. Percentage of students who tested into each level of
math and English, Fall 2010 76
Table 3.2. Percentage of students who passed each level of
remedial math based on initial placement 77
Table 3.3. Number of least ready students by subject in California
community colleges, Fall 2010 77
Figure 3.1. Distribution of students across remedial math levels
by race/ethnicity 78
vii
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viii ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 3.2. Distribution of students across remedial writing levels
by race/ethnicity 78
Table 4.1. Demographics and academic indicators of sample and
school populations 98
Table 5.1. CSU regularly admitted first-time freshman English
and math remediation rates, total and by ethnicity (1998–2013) 122
Table 5.2. 2006–2013 EAP English and math results 129
Figure 5.1. Early Assessment Program letter to eleventh grade
students 139
Figure 5.2. EAP results as shown on the 11th Grade CST
Score Report 141
Table 6.1. Campuses, remedial programs, and participants 155
Table 6.2. Participants’ roles 156
Figure 6.1. English faculty sense-making and implementation
of the Early Start Program 157
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
e are grateful to the Rossier School of Education and the Pullias
W
Center for Higher Education at the University of Southern Cali-
fornia for the financial support to undertake this project. Monica Raad and
Diane Flores in the Pullias Center, and Noel Alumit in the Research Of-
fice were extremely helpful in the final production and editing of the text.
Our editor at SUNY, Beth Bouloukos, also was supportive throughout the
project and a pleasure to work with from beginning to end. All royalties for
the book will be donated for financial aid for low-income youth to attend
a postsecondary institution.
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