Where students are in their development shapes how they behave and whether they succeed. An awareness of how students develop identity and motivation can help educators guide students as they set goals for the future. Bouffard and Savitz-Romer share strategies for helping students see themselves as college graduates. They also explain how the…

Educators can have a powerful influence on the future of low-income and minority students whose paths might appear uncertain. By developing trusting relationships, acting as mentors, and sharing information about the education system, teachers, counselors, and other adults can create pivotal moments that transform students' lives. Espinoza shares…

The author, principal at North Point High School of Science, Technology and Industry in Charles County, Maryland, describes how the school merges traditional academic classes with cutting-edge career and technical education courses to prepare students for the real world. Realizing that its traditional "vo-tech" model was undersubscribed…

In its analysis of more than 15,000 high school transcripts, the Education Trust-West found that non-college-bound students tend to take a weak academic load and disconnected electives. As a result, far too many students--most often low-income students and students of color--are bound for low-level jobs, prepared for neither college nor career.…

Like all early college high schools, Clear Horizons Early College High School in Houston, Texas, tries to help its students earn a high school diploma and a two-year associate's degree simultaneously through taking dual credit courses while in high school. Although many of the school's students were successful, Clear Horizon's leaders realized…

For many English language learners, the endgame isn't passing state exams--it's attending and graduating from college. Yet schools often focus on a lower target: proficiency. To support the transition of English language learners to postsecondary success, schools should create formal transition plans, provide differentiated guidance, focus on…

High-achieving kids from low-income families too often fall into the achievement trap; as they progress up the grades, their academic performance falls, and they are far less likely to remain star students than are middle-class or wealthy high-achievers. So says the first U.S.-wide analysis of high-achieving students from poor families (published…

Project AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) is a four-year elective high school program that prepares underachieving, disadvantaged students to attend college. The program is now implemented in 58 secondary schools in San Diego County, California. (TE)