High school rigor and good advice: Setting up students to succeed

Posted by on October 29, 2012

Persistent findings

A new brief from the Center for Public Education examines ways to improve first-to-second-year “persistence” rates in college, since students are more likely to drop out their first year than any other. The brief identifies three factors that increase postsecondary chances of staying on track to a credential by roughly 50 percent, factors rooted in high school. The findings also suggests these factors have greatest impact on those who start college least likely to succeed: students who began high school with below-average achievement and socioeconomic status. High-level mathematics, Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate courses, and academic advising all significantly impact student persistence; high-level mathematics instruction is the largest predictor of college success. (Low-socioeconomic status/achievement students who took high-level math in high school were 22 percent more likely to persist.) The analysis also shows that taking an AP/IB course in any subject improved persistence in college, regardless of whether students passed a test for that course. AP/IB courses should therefore not be exclusively for students with the highest academic achievement; even students with low academic achievement their sophomore year benefit from AP/IB courses, and show greater gains than high-achieving students.

Read more: http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/Main-Menu/Staffingstudents/High-school-rigor-and-good-advice-Setting-up-students-to-succeed