Soluna Phoenix Amen

A Case Study of “Low-Achieving” High School Students’

Transition to College

Is the Road to Deception Paved with Good Intentions?

Regina Deil-Amen

Assistant Professor, EDTHP

From High School Through College Completion% of 25-29 year olds

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

HSCompleters

Enrolled inCollege

BA or higher

White

Black

Latino

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

HSCompleters

Enrolled inCollege

BA or higher

White

Black

Latino

1971 1999

Why the gap between college enrollment and college completion?

Structures of inequality will ingeniously find ways to re-emerge within the very reforms that

were meant to destroy them”- Ricardo Stanton-Salazar (USC)

3 TRANSFORMATIONS IN EDUCATION1. EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY

COLLEGES

2. “COLLEGE-FOR-ALL” PHILOSOPHY

3. GROWTH OF REMEDIATION

3 TRANSFORMATIONS IN EDUCATION

1. EXPANSION OF COMMUNITY COLLEGES– The expansion of community

colleges, and their open admissions policies, represents one of the greatest shifts in our educational structure in the past few decades. Since 1960, four-year college enrollment has doubled yet two-year college enrollments have quintupled.

The reality of college access among most low SES, first generation college

students has been access to community college.

Community colleges are not peripheral. They are central components of the higher

education system in the U.S.

Community college students make up about 40% of all college

undergraduates

Half of these students will leave college with no credential at all.

% of Post-Secondary Students in Two-Year Colleges by Race/Ethnicity

36.742.2

56.5

39.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

White Black Latino Asian

Race

3 TRANSFORMATIONS IN EDUCATION

2. “COLLEGE-FOR-ALL” PHILOSOPHY– Teachers and guidance counselors

favor a college-for-all philosophy, and they advise nearly all students to try out college, even if they expect students will fail. They say things like, "Who am I to burst their bubble?"

– About 85% of high school graduates now plan college degrees, an increase of almost two-thirds since the 1970’s, and all but 6% of those with such plans enroll in college.

– Yet most do not end up attaining any degree, especially those with low grades in high school

3 TRANSFORMATIONS IN EDUCATION

3. GROWTH OF REMEDIATION

“Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in high school anymore.”

• 46% of high school students who enroll in college end up in remedial classes

• 64% of high school students who enroll in community college end up in remedial classes

THINK AGAIN DOROTHY

So, although students might look forward to college and think,

“There’s no place like college,” in fact there is - it’s called high school –

at least for those who will end up in remedial classes, repeating high school

academic work.

Meet

new and

different

people…

Different Instructors

% of Community College Students Who Dropped Out

(within 4 years – no degree, not enrolled)

0 20 40 60 80

NoRemedial

RemedialWhite

Latino

African-American

Open admissions allows for more access and fewer “gatekeepers”……

Yet few remedial students end up with “diplomas” (degrees) after attempting college.

Data Sources (in 3 urban community colleges)

• Quantitative– Student survey

• Qualitative– Student interviews– Faculty and Administrator Interviews– Content analysis of college catalogs, course

schedules, archival data– Observations of daily life: classes, events,

meetings, advising sessions, registrations, informal interactions

many students had not anticipated their remedial placement

• Lacked awareness of college level skills

• High school grades provided false signals

• High schools held low standards and demanded little effort

While in high school:

many students were unclear about their remedial status and its implications

• Confused about whether or not they were in remedial classes

• Lacked clear information about whether remedial courses count toward degree and/or transfer requirements

• Uninformed about the length of time it would take to attain a degree

• Failed to realized remediation might affect their likelihood of degree completion

• Unaware of the potential for discouragement before their plans are realized

• Lacked information about alternative degree and program options

Once in college:

Why?“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.”

In an effort to prevent discouraging community college remedial students

• college staff downplayed students remedial status and actively encouraged them to pursue their BA degree, despite their low likelihood of completion

• classes were not labeled “remedial”

Ironically, attempts to reduce inequality and barriers have created new conditions for blocked opportunity.

• Students are being gently deceived into a long-term process without having any idea of how little progress they are making or how long it will take to attain their goal. There is a real risk that many will get no degree and some will get few or no college credits.

• Students hold misperceptions and wrong assumptions about their college trajectory, which prevents them from developing realistic strategies

After Dorothy’s journey through Oz, she ends up right back where she started. Like her, too many students journey through college and end up right back where they started – with failed dreams, no college degree, few new skills, and no credentials.