Secondary school initiative in creating advanced placement opportunities

The most important opportunity available to secondary school students to earn college credit for college-level work done in high school is the series of advanced placement tests provided by such organizations as the College Entrance Examination Board. This paper presents three models of initiatives that can be taken by secondary school educators to create exams in those areas for which advanced placement tests do not currently exist and better serve the needs of their students who could prepare for current exams: adapt existing exams as credit-earning proficiency exams; work with interested universities in creating new advanced placement programs; and reorganizing the existing advanced placement program offered in the high school.     

THE IRONIES OF MANDATORY PLACEMENT

Despite the efforts of the past decade to prepare students for the rigors of college course work, higher education continues to find that a high percentage of students need varying degrees of remediation to help them succeed in college courses. Most, if not all, community colleges conduct placement testing to assess student skills in reading, writing, and mathematics and sometimes for study skills and learning styles. However, the dilemma arises concerning the appropriate action to take once underprepared students are identified - requiring mandatory placement in developmental classes or allowing them the right to fail. In Colorado, placement testing is mandatory, but students have the right to waive placement into developmental courses. The overarching dilemma involving mandatory placement rests at the heart of what community colleges pride themselves on most - the egalitarian position of open access and the effort to provide all students with the highest quality of education. This dilemma raises ethical issues as well as exposes a number of ironies, which this article explores: access versus success, course prerequisites for college-level courses, the junior-level writing requirement at the University of Colorado-Boulder, performance indicators in Colorado, a rising junior exam, self-esteem, the right to fail, egalitarianism, and context.     

Examining the Impact of Redesigned Developmental Math Courses in Community Colleges

At community colleges, student preparedness for college-level work is a significant initial barrier. Over 70% of community college students are reported to be inadequately prepared for college mathematics. Because students need to pass college-level math in order to enroll in subsequent courses required for their majors or to complete general requirements for their degrees, community colleges have searched for instructional redesign approaches that can produce more positive results. This study reports on a developmental math redesigned curriculum that dramatically improved student course completion rates and resulted in some advantage in enrolling in college-level math compared with their peers in the traditional developmental sequence. Results are discussed in terms of their practical significance and implications for further research.     

Does an Early College Readiness Signal Discourage College Application and Enrollment?

States are currently seeking ways to improve alignment between K–12 and postsecondary education and better prepare students for postsecondary schooling. Some states have begun implementing policies that inform high school students that they are not ready for college-level courses well before they graduate, in order to give both notice and time to prepare. However, if the early information from these tests suggests that a student may require remedial coursework upon entry to college, the student may be discouraged from attending college. This article focuses on one state's effort to increase students’ information about college readiness. Regression discontinuity design is used to determine whether a student receiving a signal that he/she needs remediation lowers the probability of that student applying to or enrolling in participating universities. Results indicate that the policy has had little to no impact on application and no impact on enrollment.     

Struggling for recognition: access to higher education through the International Baccalaureate

The recognition of the DP (diploma programme) for university admission is crucial for the development of International Baccalaureate (IB) schools and the expansion of the IB network worldwide. In an era of higher education (HE) massification, accompanied by high failure and dropout rates, intense debates on access to HE are taking place in many countries. It is within this context that the IB organization struggles for the recognition of the DP for admission to universities throughout the world. Through a global comparative approach, this study analyzes the ‘DP-HE admission’ assemblages in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Spain and the United States. Based on interviews with senior IB officials and principals at the head of IB schools associations, this study intends to understand the way the IB network fosters the recognition of the DP for HE admission. The recruitment of new allies to the IB network includes a myriad of negotiations and translations whose results are unpredictable. In Argentina, Chile and Spain, the efforts for DP recognition failed but in Canada and the United States, the DP-HE admission assemblage shows that by translating the skills acquired by DP students as a way to improve retention rates at universities increased their support of IB programs.     

Heterogeneity in the Effects of College Course Placement

Traditionally colleges have relied on standalone non-credit-bearing developmental education (DE) to support students academically and ensure readiness for college-level courses. As emerging evidence has raised concerns about the effectiveness of DE courses, colleges and states have been experimenting with approaches that place students into credit-bearing coursework more quickly. To better understand which types of students might be most likely to benefit from being placed into college-level math coursework, this study examines heterogeneity in the causal effects of placement into college-level courses using a regression discontinuity design and administrative data from the state of Texas. We focus on student characteristics that are related to academic preparation or might signal a student’s likelihood of success or need for additional support and might therefore be factors considered for placement into college-level courses under “holistic advising” or “multiple measures” initiatives. We find heterogeneity in outcomes for many of the measures we examined. Students who declared an academic major designation, had bachelor’s degree aspirations, tested below college readiness on multiple subjects, were designated as Limited English Proficiency (LEP), and/or were economically disadvantaged status were more likely to benefit from placement into college-level math. Part-time enrollment or being over the age of 21 were associated with reduced benefits from placement into college-level math. We do not find any heterogeneity in outcomes for our high school achievement measure, three or more years of math taken in high school.

     

The Aftermath of Remedial Math: Investigating the Low Rate of Certificate Completion among Remedial Math Students

Nationally, a majority of community college students require remedial assistance with mathematics, but comparatively few students who begin the remedial math sequence ultimately complete it and achieve college-level math competency. The academic outcomes of students who begin the sequence but do not complete it are disproportionately unfavorable: most students depart from the community college without a credential and without transferring to a four-year institution. Interestingly, however, many of these students continue to attend the community college after they exit the remedial math sequence, sometimes for an extended period. One is led to ask why students who do not complete the sequence generally are not finding their way to an alternative credential objective that does not require college-level math competency, such as a career and technical education certificate, sometimes referred to as a vocational certificate. In this study, I explore three possible answers to this question, including difficulty navigating to the alternative credential, declining participation in the community college, and declining academic performance. I find that all three of these explanations contribute (to varying degrees) to explaining the low rate of certificate completion among remedial math students who do not achieve college-level math competency.     

“因材施教”原则下关于高中文理分科的思考

对于高中文理分科,高校教师与理论工作者大多主张不分,而高中教师、学生与家长们大多主张分。改革必须正视适龄人口与当今教育的现实。与解放初期相比,我国人口增长了2．3倍,大学招生人数却增长了35．7倍,招生规模的激增扩大了考生的入学机会。普通高中空前发展,学生之间的竞争加剧,负担也随之加重。文理分科问题由于与学生学业负担密切相关也备受关注。要解决这一问题,必须遵循“因材施教”原则,对能适应“精英教育”的学生实施不分科教学,而对进入一般大学的大部分学生还得实施分科教学。     

Effectiveness of Summer Bridge Programs in Enhancing College Readiness

An alarmingly high percentage of recent high school graduates are not prepared to succeed in college-level courses, and the impact of this educational shortcoming is substantial. Underprepared college students incur a monetary cost of enrolling in remedial courses, and states and taxpayers subsidize much of the overall cost of developmental education. In addition, underprepared students are less likely to graduate from college, thus impacting their earning potential and the nation's economic need for a more highly educated workforce. One approach to reducing the need for developmental education is high school bridge programs. These programs, which usually take place on a college campus, provide interventions that help targeted students aspire to, prepare for, and achieve college enrollment. This article reports on the effectiveness of bridge programs at Texas colleges in the summer of 2007; it covers two community college programs that demonstrated the highest pre- to postprogram student achievement gains of the participating institutions. Findings from this study and previous research suggest that effective bridge programs (a) have very strong relationships with their partner school districts; (b) provide professional development to all program staff; (c) conduct preprogram orientation sessions and closing ceremonies; (d) provide bus transportation; (e) involve parents in the program; (f) provide students with labs to support classroom instruction; (g) provide academic advising and other support services; and (h) implement both formative and summative evaluation methods.     

陈嘉庚精神与当代大学生成长成才

陈嘉庚精神内涵丰富,学习和弘扬陈嘉庚精神,引导大学生做事、做人、做学问,力行嘉庚精神,使其内化为大学生优良品质,培养大学生树立爱国主义精神,常怀感恩之心、积极回报社会,培养勤俭节约、艰苦朴实的生活作风,发扬革故鼎新、锐意进取的创新精神。积极实践探索陈嘉庚精神,引导大学生成长成才,是新时期高校学生思想教育工作的有效途径。     

Thornburn Junior High Helps Pupils to Choose Their Clubs

Too often, students reach college without the learning, critical thinking, and literacy skills they need to succeed in higher education. Recent educational trends that promote teaching to the test, short reading and writing assignments, group work, and technological resources contribute to students' difficulties transitioning to college-level work. Instead, students need practice in sustaining attention to longer readings and writing exercises, researching through more traditional library methods, learning from a variety of teaching styles, and working individually to show subject mastery and creativity. These five Do's and Don'ts of preparing students for college represent a college professor's wish-list of secondary classroom experiences to help students make a smooth transition to higher education.     

“90后”高职生就业心理问题探究

2012年是“90后”高职生步入职场的第一年,“90后”高职生的张扬、任性、脆弱、好享受和养尊处优的特点,不仅体现在学习和生活中,也体现在就业过程中。怕苦怕累、依靠从众、自负自卑和畏惧创业等心理伴随着他们的就业过程,使得他们消极对待就业。作为就业工作者,应该帮助他们树立正确的就业观,做好就业准备,增强社会适应能力,顺利踏上社会。     

大学生体育明星崇拜行为的调查与分析

通过文献资料、问卷调查、数据统计和逻辑分析等方法,对大学生体育明星崇拜行为进行了调查,旨在为帮助大学生形成健康人格和正确的价值取向.调查表明:大学生体育明星崇拜现象有着很明显的性别差异,崇拜的男体育明星居多.大学生体育明星崇拜产生的行为有购买其代言的体育用品、模仿其体育动作和喜欢其体育项目并参与.大学生多数认为适量的崇拜行为没有害处,可以激励自己,放松紧张的学习生活,使自己参与到某一个体育项目和增强体育意识.没有体育明星崇拜的大学生对这一现象一般持认同或无所谓的态度,这些人对体育也不是太热爱.     

Developmentally Effective Experiences for Promoting Self-Authorship

ABSTRACT—Many national studies have identified types of experiences that are associated with enhancing college students' learning. This study contributes to the small but growing body of research on transformative educational experiences that assist and enable college students to develop ways of understanding and being in the world that help them adapt and respond to life's complexities and prepare for future civic, occupational, and family roles. The focus of this exploratory study is on those experiences that had a positive impact on college students' development toward self-authorship ( Baxter Magolda, 2001 ; Kegan, 1994 ). Using interview data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education, we analyzed 300 selected experiences from 174 students. We found that students' approaches to interpreting and understanding their experiences was the major student characteristic that affected their learning (the effect of the experience). We then mapped these findings onto a sequenced developmental curriculum designed to promote self-authorship.     

Recently Published Dissertations

The Institutional Research Officer and Vice President of Student Services from North Arkansas College, and the Mathematics Facilitator at the local educational cooperative have initiated a tracking study to determine (1) if area students who take college preparatory math courses in high school place into, and succeed in, subsequent college-level math courses at North Arkansas College and (2) if area students who come to college for a degree have taken sufficient college preparatory coursework in high school. The study disclosed that (1) students who take a high school course more rigorous than Algebra 2 place into, and succeed in, College Algebra at a high rate, and (2) most students have not taken sufficient college preparatory coursework in math. The second, and more important part of the project, has been to bring college and high school personnel together to work on solutions.     

Transforming Developmental Reading Through Information Literacy: Developing A Contextualized Course Curriculum

ABSTRACT

Skill and drill remediation in developmental reading courses do not prepare students for reading tasks in future college-level courses. When a skill and drill model is replaced with a model that utilizes contextualization, students engage in relevant activities with authentic texts to prepare students for college-level activities. The reading department at Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) eliminated the skill and drill textbook from its courses and teamed with library faculty to create a curriculum integrated with information literacy. Reading and library faculty provided students contextualized project-based activities that integrated reading and information literacy strategies. The development, redesign, and implementation of CGCC’s reading program that eliminated textbooks and contextualized information literacy and reading strategies through project-based activities are described in the present study. This study further addresses gaps in the literature regarding a fully contextualized reading course that can be implemented for no more cost than the cost of a traditional curriculum.     

Networks for Success: Preparing Mexican American AVID College Students for Credentials,Completion, and the Workforce

This qualitative study examines how Mexican American students participating in an AVID for Higher Education course perceived their preparation for the workforce and efficacy of completing a college credential. A focus group approach was used to explore how social and cultural networks (networks for success) contribute to college completion. The study is guided by the theoretical framework of building social networks through the availability and reception of social capital. Findings include Mexican American students’ efficacious beliefs of how networks for success assist in their persistence toward college graduation and entry into the workforce. Major themes are college success and social/cultural capital.     

为什么和干什么：大学生入党动机问题的思考

端正入党动机,是大学生争取入党的首要问题。针对当前少数大学生对入党的错误认识,建议从＂为什么要入党＂和＂入党后干什么＂两个关键问题入手,引导大学生端正入党动机。     

Special education trainee teachers’ perceptions of their professional world: motives,roles, and expectations from teacher training

To open a window into perceptions entailed in the professional world view of special education teacher trainees, three research questions were developed: (a) What are their motives for joining the profession? (b) How do they perceive the role of the special education teacher? and (c) What are their expectations from teacher training? The research was carried out using a qualitative approach. Ninety-three students about to begin their professional training in special education in an Israeli teacher-training college completed a questionnaire consisting of five open questions. The data were analyzed according to the grounded theory approach. The research findings showed that the trainees chose special education because they wanted to belong to a group of teachers perceived as the most ethical; one that considers its mission to help ‘vulnerable’ individuals, mold their characters, and ‘have an impact on society.’ The role of special education teachers was perceived mainly as caring for students and their parents; the trainees expected that during their training, they would become completely familiar with the range of disabilities and how to deal with them, as well as learn about themselves and strengthen their teaching skills. The world of special education was perceived as ‘mysterious,’ having a high moral standing; as a closed profession, in that relations are limited to teacher, child, and parents; but with a spiritual aspect. The professional world of special education as perceived by the teacher trainees was different than that actually waiting for them, and for which teacher training institutes must prepare them.     

Career oriented and university bound: higher education outcomes of IB Career-related Programme graduates in the US

The Career-related Programme (CP) is an innovative education programme by the International Baccalaureate (IB). Designed to promote college and career readiness equally in the last two years of high school, the CP combines rigorous university preparatory coursework with targeted career-related studies. This study examines the patterns of higher education enrolment, destination and persistence of all CP graduates from high schools in the US between 2013 and 2015. The results indicate that CP graduates enrol in higher education at higher rates than do all high school graduates nationally and career and technical education concentrators specifically: 81% versus 68% versus 70%, respectively. They persist for 1 year at higher rates than do all high school graduates: 89% versus 72%, respectively. Results of logistic regression show that the number of IB exams and the completion of the CP certificate are significant predictors of postsecondary enrolment and that higher mean IB exam scores predict higher odds of a student attending a 4-year institution over a 2-year institution. The results suggest that students who engage in career and technical education alongside rigorous university preparatory coursework within the CP are well-prepared to succeed in higher education.