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

Program CategoryTexas College Readiness Partnership ProgramsTable 3.1Number of College Readiness Partnership Programs by Type and RegionDallas–FortWorthHoustonSouthTexasWest Texas Other TotalFederal programs 29 18 27 20 2 96Talent Search 5 4 6 5 1 21Upward Bound 22 10 14 10 0 56GEAR UP 2 4 7 5 1 19State programs 7 3 8 2 1 21GO Centers 6 0 5 0 1 12College Connection 0 2 2 0 0 4Summer bridge 1 1 1 2 0 5Local programs 7 4 2 2 1 16Total 43 25 37 24 4 133Out of 133 programs that met the research criteria, 72 percent were federallyfunded. The majority of the federal programs in the state were either Talent Search orUpward Bound programs. Both of these are part of the federal TRIO programs establishedin the 1960s. The remaining federal programs identified through the online scan wereGaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Thefederal programs generally included both academic and college knowledge components.State programs accounted for 16 percent of the 133 programs, while locallydeveloped and funded programs accounted for 12 percent. Of the local and state initiatives,65 percent of the programs focused exclusively on college knowledge, while the other 35percent focused on academic preparation but often incorporated college knowledge as well. 3Table 3.2 describes the federal and state programs found in the scan. Local programs aredescribed individually in Appendix A.3 These two categories are not mutually exclusive. Of the 13 programs with an explicit academicfocus, eight also offered college knowledge content, three included college knowledge and criticalthinking content, and one included critical thinking content. Only one was classified as solely academicbased on the goals of the program as they were represented on the program’s webpage.14