Preparing High School Students for College - ERIC - U.S. ...

Chapter 2Research Design and MethodsThis study seeks to expand knowledge about summer and school-year programsintended to support high school students’ access to and readiness for postsecondaryeducation. Focusing primarily on the state of Texas, the two specific goals of this researchare:To identify, describe, and classify existing college readiness partnershipprograms intended to better prepare high school students for college,particularly those students who are at risk of placing into developmentaleducation courses or who are otherwise underprepared for postsecondaryeducation.To investigate and describe the partnerships between high schools andcolleges, specifically their engagement with each other as they work toprepare high school students to take credit-bearing courses upon collegeentry.To accomplish these goals, the study team carried out three activities: a literaturereview, an online scan, and site visits.Literature ReviewOur first step was to find and evaluate relevant literature from scholarly, publicpolicy, and government sources on four topics: (1) college readiness, (2) early interventionmodels, (3) the role of partnerships in P-16 policy, and (4) Texas state policy. Many of theresults of this review are summarized in the previous chapter. We found only a handful ofhigh quality evaluations of existing college readiness programs that included evidence onthe programs’ effectiveness. Highlights of our review of the literature are integratedthroughout this report.Online ScanIn order to assess the landscape of college readiness partnership programs in thestate of Texas, the research team conducted a scan of such programs, grouped by region.These regions included the Dallas–Fort Worth area, the Houston area, South Texas, WestTexas, and an “other” category. Programs were identified by searching the websites ofcolleges and universities in the state, K-12 districts, and the THECB; lists provided by9