Postsecondary educators have expressed concerns for many years about how prepared high school students are for college. As a result, states and organizations have launched a variety of initiatives designed to increase high school students' readiness for college, including increased access to college-level courses. One of the most promising…

This case study describes how Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), a rural school district in California's Central Valley, began to fulfill its vision to transform high school and career education through the implementation of Linked Learning. Linked Learning is a state-wide initiative for redesigning large comprehensive high schools into…

Response to intervention (RTI) protocols at the secondary level require a systems approach that is supported by professional learning teams (PLTs). PLTs create viable courses in which most students experience success and work together to plan further interventions. PLT protocol work begins with the design of uniform summative assessments and is…

This article reviews history, models, and benefits of credit-based transition programs between high schools and institutions of higher education. The goal of these programs is to enable high school students to take college courses and earn college credit while still in high school, thereby easing the transition to college through a variety of…

Students preparing for college and careers need access to career-focused programs of study that combine challenging academic content and intellectually demanding career/technical (CT) studies. Schools wanting to raise student achievement can create career-focused programs of study that connect a solid academic core with a sequence of CT courses.…

A new program linking the Phoenix Union High School District with local community colleges and state universities identifies high-risk high school students, brings their work up to college level, counsels them, and monitors their progress to graduation. The high dropout rate forced institutions in the different segments to cooperation. (MSE)

The Pre-College Summer Institute (PCSI) program has been in effect at the University of Hartford, College of Basic Studies, since the summer of 1968. PCSI was a five-week, five-days-a-week program designed to evaluate and prepare marginally acceptable students for the college's entering freshman class. Initially, the program was designed to…

The "2001-02 Budget Act" included approximately $127 million to fund 19 different outreach programs designed to encourage and support high school students to attend college. Since some programs also receive additional funds from federal, private, and local school districts the combined outreach program revenue is even greater. Over the…