December 2007

Happy Holidays from Pathways
The Pathways to College Network staff extend our warmest wishes for a healthy, happy, and productive new year to all of our partners, collaborators, funders, and friends. We look forward to continuing our important work together to advance college opportunity and success for all underserved students.

Pathways receives Nellie Mae Education Foundation Funding
Through generous funding from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Pathways to College Network will enhance its free, online College Readiness for All Toolbox that supports school redesign efforts focused on increasing postsecondary opportunity for all students. The funding will also support a New England College Readiness for All Training Institute to provide school and district leaders, as well as coaches and technical assistance providers with hands-on use in applying the Toolbox and its rich resources to their unique school and district-wide redesign initiatives.

Updates on Pathways Research Program
The Pathways Research Program, managed by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), currently includes three research projects designed to inform policy and practice regarding college-going among underserved populations. Briefly,

• Lumina Foundation for Education and the Ford Foundation are providing funds for Measuring Cognitive Development in College, which is investigating issues related to the college learning of underserved students. This project is collecting and analyzing information from more than 2,300 students at 24 colleges and universities by building on the College Learning Assessment (CLA) Project of the Council for Aid to Education. Preliminary findings will be available in spring 2008.

• The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education is developing web-based tools for evaluating the effectiveness of pre-college outreach programs. Staff has completed a comprehensive inventory of evaluation resources available on the internet as well as a survey of the program evaluation requirements of funders. This Outreach Evaluation Toolbox project is supported by Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and will be available in fall 2008.

• Unbundling Youth, Family and Community Involvement in College Access on the Ground is designed to broaden our theoretical and practical understanding of the ways in which young people, families, and communities can affect college access. Using Austin, Texas as the research site, the project involves field research to document family and community engagement in college access issues and to gauge the effectiveness of existing involvement strategies. Project staff has conducted student and parent interviews, collected survey information from high school seniors, and developed an asset map of organizations that promote youth, family, and community involvement. This project, funded by the Gates Foundation and Time Warner, Inc., will publish its findings and recommendations in fall 2008.

Free Resources for Parents
The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)has partnered with TERI to develop and disseminate two free college planning guides to help prepare teens for college: Tips for Parents with Middle School Teens and Tips for Parents with High School Teens. Both brochures are available (while supplies last) in bulk and free of charge to high school counselors, community groups, and other organizations that help students prepare for college. Order the brochures by downloading the order form or emailing info@nacacnet.org with your mailing address and the number of brochures desired. The brochures can also be downloaded at: http://www.nacacnet.org/MemberPortal/Products/Publications/.

Green Lights & Red Tape: Improving Access to Financial Aid at California’s Community Colleges
Drawing on visits to 21 colleges in the California Community College system, a review of recent literature, and interviews with experts, the authors of this new study by the Institute for College Access & Success looked at institutional policies and practices that may impact students’ access to financial aid. The report provides recommendations for institutions, the system, and the state that may well apply beyond California to other institutions and states. These include reviewing policies and procedures that may create barriers for students; promoting financial aid awareness through student services and faculty; incorporating data and evaluation into office practices; and creating an institutional aid program for community colleges.
[Read the report]

Good Policy, Good Practice
This joint report from The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems suggests that there are replicable cases of how institutions and states can improve productivity in higher education. Prepared for Lumina Foundation’s initiative “Making Opportunity Affordable,” the paper offers specific examples of strategies, programs, and practices that can raise educational productivity, as well as levers that state policymakers can use, directly and indirectly, to influence improvements.
[Read the report]

PISA 2006 Science Competencies for Tomorrow's World
A recent report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provides a comprehensive international picture of science learning today. In relative terms, the U.S. ranked 25th among the 30 OECD member countries in mathematics, down from 23rd of 29 in the 2003 test, and 21st of 30 in science this year, dropping from 19th in 2003. Finland was the highest-performing country on the PISA 2006 science scale; six other high-scoring countries were Canada, Japan and New Zealand and the partner countries/economies Hong Kong-China, Chinese Taipei, and Estonia.
[Read the report]

Voces (Voices): A Profile of Today's Latino College Students
Excelencia in Education's new publication provides a profile of Latino students based on national data as well as narratives from Latino students speaking in their own voice. Drawing upon focus groups and interviews with Latino college students, this resource provides rich insights into how these students and their families view college affordability and opportunity, while also portraying the multiplicity of Latino students in college today.
[Read the report]

Deciding on Postsecondary Education: Final Report
A new publication from the National Postsecondary Education Cooperative's Project on Improving Information for Student Decisions About Postsecondary Education increases our understanding about how underserved students make decisions about postsecondary education. The report is organized into three substantive sections that address the stages of college planning and choice, the influential role of others, and the types of information sought along with sources used and application of information. It also includes findings from its literature review, focus groups, and a review of national and state college search and information websites. The distinct differences between the approaches used by traditional-aged, middle income students and those of low-income, first-generation students and adults are highlighted throughout the report.
[Read the report]

High Schools for Equity: Policy Supports for Student Learning in Communities of Color
This study by the School Redesign Network at Stanford University and sponsored by Justice Matters, documents the practices and outcomes of five urban high schools in California that are exemplary in preparing their students for higher education success and productive careers. With implications for school redesign efforts nationwide, the report details school practices that support student success, highlights the design features that enable these practices, and offers recommendations for the types of policy reinforcements and changes needed to increase the development of such schools on a much broader scale.
[Read the report]