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

easons to work together, policy changes (e.g., Closing the Gaps by 2015) or fundingavailability (e.g., College Connections funds from the state) influenced the extent to whichcollaboration actually occurred. Partnerships in which policy or funding appeared veryinfluential were at risk of not being sustained once the funding or policy mandate lapsed.Benefits of PartnershipsWe did not learn about any evaluations of the efficacy of the college readinesspartnerships we visited. This is not surprising, given that few evaluations of this kind havebeen undertaken anywhere. While our literature review yielded documentation of promisingpartnerships nationwide, it revealed a lack of rigorous research assessing their value.Nevertheless, those we interviewed in Texas reported a number of benefits they believehave emerged from the development of these partnerships. These benefits are listed below,with specific examples.Optimization of Efforts to Improve Student OutcomesCollege and high school representatives both stressed the potential of partnershipsto reach more students more effectively and efficiently. For example, Lone Star College inHouston places college counselors in local high schools, where they help students withcollege applications and provide outreach services from the college.Additional Opportunities for College Student RecruitmentAdministrators of the Houston Community College (HCC) Southeast TransitionalProgram value the program’s function as a recruitment tool for the college. Programparticipants receive Houston Community College identification cards and are encouraged toaccess the college’s resources and services. One of the program’s objectives is to make highschool students feel comfortable on the HCC campus.Alignment of Academic Standards and AssessmentAt San Jacinto College (SJC), the regional coordinators of the Houston PathwaysInitiative explained how modifying SJC’s version of the COMPASS math test improvedtheir ability to assess students’ skills and knowledge. College faculty and high schoolteachers in vertical alignment teams took the COMPASS exams and found that thedifficulty level of the initial questions needed to be lowered to allow students to moreaccurately demonstrate what they know. In Houston, school district and college facultyworked together to create a course at Nimitz High School explicitly designed to helpstudents place out of developmental math when they enroll at Lone Star College.26