Overview

This applied study sought to offer suggestions for addressing the issue of West Virginia's James Monroe High School's low college preparation gaps. Data collection techniques, both qualitative and quantitative, were employed. The issue of college readiness at James Monroe High School in West Virginia is like what most schools are facing as at the school 28% of the low-income and underserved students were ready for college compared to an 84% overall college readiness rate. This study's goal was to offer suggestions for improving James Monroe High School in West Virginia's low college preparation rates. In contrast to an overall college readiness rate of 84%, the issue was that only 28% of low-income and underprivileged pupils were prepared for college (Vogel & Heidrich, 2020). The Organizational Profile, an Overview of the Issue, the Importance of the Research, the Purpose Statement, the Central Research Question, and the Definitions for this Research are all included in this Chapter of the Report.

Organizational Profile

James Monroe High School in West Virginia forms the base of the education site for the study. James Monroe High School, like most high schools, is tasked with providing education to the student population. This is also according to the school’s mission statement which states “Monroe HS strives to educate its student population with a rigorous, multifaceted curriculum that empowers students to express personal histories, build meaningful connections to the outside world, and become lifelong learners” (James Monroe high school, n.d). James Monroe High School involves motivating every student in achieving academic and personal goals through their academic dynamic program, personalized relationships, and meaningful connections to the outside world. The school is in Monroe County, West Virginia. The student population is 524 which includes a diverse population that includes students from different backgrounds that include white, black, and those low-income.

Introduction to the Problem

States will usually establish school-specific standards which are used to measure college readiness (Leeds & Mokher, 2019). The position of the school in the various factors is college readiness index 10, 750 nationally and 79 within the state, college curriculum breadth index 10, 003 nationally and 73 within the state, state assessment performance 12, 252 nationally and 77 within the state, state assessment rank 7,211 nationally and 44th statewide, and graduation rate rank 4,212 nationally and 23rd statewide (US News, 2023). The rankings show a school that is struggling as the rates are below the national recommended and state recommended rates based on the factors chosen. The student enrolment rate also decreases at James Monroe High School as the students proceed to the next grade.

Various factors have been proposed as the reason why the school has low rates of college readiness in comparison to other schools. Discrimination is one of the highlighted factors which is rampant in West Virginia schools. There is an unequal distribution of resources related to college readiness which also raises questions about the teaching approaches. Students from the majority groups are said to receive better treatment, giving them an advantage over students from low-income families. The biggest cause of the current performance gaps can be related to the inability of the teachers to balance the different needs of the students. A study by Boyce et al., (2020) on the impact of educational attainment and income on students’ performance concluded that factors like ethnicity and racial groupings had an adverse effect on the student’s performance.

The problem affecting James Monroe High School is a problem affecting most schools in America. The problem is also adversely affecting the futures of the students. Therefore, resolving the issue of low college readiness gaps at the school will help in promoting public confidence in the school. It will positively affect the student’s success as they proceed to post-secondary education. Jackson & Kurlaender (2013) showed in their longitudinal study that college readiness affects post-secondary performance and completion rates. The study was able to highlight the importance of college readiness as students who are college-ready are more likely to complete their college education. The impact of college readiness in schools increases the public’s confidence in the school. The various stakeholders of the school like parents, teachers, and students become more confident about the school with the level of trust increasing. The level of public trust diminishes when students are unable to complete their college studies because they were not ready for college.

James Monroe High School is in a mixed community with a 0.06 diversity score. Fixing the problem affecting the high school will be able to promote relationships between all the neighboring communities. According to Leeds & Mokher (2019), college readiness among high school students is an important factor that helps in reducing income gaps between ethnic groups. This will enhance the relationships between the different communities. It will create equal chances for students from different ethnic groups after the completion of college. All the students will have an equal opportunity to apply for jobs that they can manage.

The study will also positively affect the school. The school administration would use the findings from the study to create their own parameters to improve college readiness. College readiness is measured using variables that can either be used to the advantage of the students. The school administration can identify the challenges that have been adversely affecting their own parameters and implement new parameters that work to the advantage of all the students.

Purpose Statement

The second strategy, a quantitative survey, entailed formulating unbiased questions to elicit useful data from respondents on a predetermined research topic. The quantitative survey involved fifteen participants—five teachers and ten students. In addition to the classroom atmosphere and how students' backgrounds impacted their performance, the quantitative survey questions also addressed these topics. Participants were emailed the quantitative survey forms through email. The observation approach includes gathering data at the school by observing interactions between students and teachers, between students, and other elements like timetabling. The researcher will watch the activities taken on in five of the school's classrooms.

The second approach, a quantitative survey, involved developing objective questions to gain insightful information from participants on a given research topic. Fifteen participants participated in the quantitative survey, five teachers and ten students. The quantitative survey questions also focused on the school environment and how students' background affected their performance. The quantitative survey forms were sent to participants through emails. The observation method involved collecting information at the school by looking at the student-teacher interactions, student-to-student interactions, and other aspects such as timetabling. The researcher will sit in five of the classrooms at the school and observe the events that will take place.

Central Research Question

How can the issue of low rates of college readiness at James Monroe High School in West Virginia be solved?

Definitions

1. College readiness – Possession of information, abilities, and behaviors necessary for high school students before beginning their first year of college. (Abraham et al., 2014).

2. College readiness indicators- criteria for judging a high school student's readiness for college. The high school GPA and course-taking are examples of indicators. (Durham et al., 2015)

3. Minority communities- these are populations that have traditionally faced hurdles to accessing employment, equal political representation, etc. They include the elderly, illiterate, low-income families, and people living with disabilities (Durham et al., 2015)

Summary

This applied study sought to offer suggestions for addressing the issue of West Virginia's James Monroe High School's low college preparation gaps. The issue of college readiness at James Monroe High School in West Virginia is like what most schools are facing as at the school 28% of the low-income and underserved students were ready for college compared to an 84% overall college readiness rate.

Overview

This applied study sought to offer suggestions for addressing the issue of West Virginia's James Monroe High School's low college preparation gaps. The issue of college readiness at James Monroe High School in West Virginia is like what most schools are facing as at the school 28% of the low-income and underserved students were ready for college compared to an 84% overall college readiness rate. This chapter of the study presents interview procedures, quantitative survey procedures, and focus group procedures.

Narrative Review

The goal of the literature review is to evaluate pertinent studies and understand the topic. This assessment was done to better understand a recent report about the poor college readiness levels at James Monroe High School. In this literature, college readiness is discussed at the state and federal levels, systematic approaches to college readiness, federal legislation in college readiness, and recommendations like developing bridging programs, Pass Theory, and other potential policies to address the low college readiness rates at James Monroe High School (Hofer, 2020).

According to Mokher et al. (2018), the term "college readiness" refers to the abilities, attitudes, and knowledge a high school student should possess prior to beginning their first year of college. The phrase is typically used to describe and evaluate how prepared students are before enrolling in their first year of college. Placement examinations and GPA are two examples of indicators for college preparedness, and states can select indicators based on their particular settings (Leeds & Mokher, 2019). Many schools now use standardized high school assessments, and disciplines like science, math, and reading are used as benchmarks to gauge students' readiness for college (Fina et al., 2018).

The rate at which students enroll in college and in each grade can be used to compare pupils' preparation for college. As students advance to the following grades, the enrollment rate for each grade at Monroe High School declines (Robertson, 2022). According to statistics from Watson (2020), there has been a minor dip in students enrolling in challenging subjects in high schools, such as mathematics, as their advanced courses, which has dropped from 3% to 1%. The preparedness rate for white students in the United States is 96%, compared to 1% for students of other races. According to estimates, the school currently has a high frequency of students who are prepared for college and careers.

In the United States, legislators at the federal and state levels have the authority to define policy issues through legislation and regulation and to select the tools that will be used to enact policy solutions. The federal government's limited ability to affect education policy, practice, and resources is a result of its inability to have a clearly defined role in educational policy (Leeds & Mokher, 2019). For some time now, the federal government has made efforts to promote and even mandate college readiness. Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) was added to the Higher Education Act of 1965 in 1998. According to Durand et al. (2022), this law was created to help minority and low-income kids prepare for college.

According to Kurlaender, Reed, and Hurtt (2019), higher education institutions operate within a complicated legal framework that includes regulations regarding enrollment, admissions, and privacy. Lawsuits cost money when people break the rules. Students are protected from discrimination based on educational programs by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Cole, 2022). All students' enrollment was supported by the Act. Ensure all children ready for college are recruited, admitted, and given counseling. And that they receive financial assistance for all students.

It may seem simple to be college-ready, but that is not always the case. Aligning high school curricula and expectations with those of colleges is difficult (Stafford, 2019). Students lack early preparation for college and fail to create high-quality syllabi in all of their classes (Kolluri & Tierney, 2020). Many high school graduates want to attend college, but only 68% do so shortly after they graduate, and even among those who do, few really finish the required courses. College preparation raises students' chances of staying in school and earning a degree. Student achievement in college is influenced by their readiness for it (Wariyo & Asgedom, 2021). According to research, schools need to do more to prepare students for college (Convertino & Graboski-Bauer, 2018; Yarnetsky & Morgan, 2021).

The state government aims to address the issue of students who are ill-prepared for college by developing bridge programs between high school and university. 38 states have instituted P-16 or P-20 councils to assist students in making the transition from elementary school to higher education, according to the Education Commission of the States. The planned K-16 changes are focused on curricula, standards, and assessed competencies that reduce preparation shortages (Vogel & Karakaşolu, 2021).

The intricate relationships between interdependent actors that frequently lead to policymaking are known as policy networks. The way that policymakers define college readiness has been strongly affected by a variety of non-profit educational organizations, university institutes and centers, testing providers, and state policymaking associations (Bragg, 2018). The amount of information available about how to prepare students for college is, at best, scant, and actual requirements are sometimes overshadowed by suggested fixes. The achievement disparity between first-year college students and high school graduates is unsustainable, according to everyone who is concerned in educational governance (Floyd et al., 2022).

College Readiness

The emphasis on education in the United States has recently shifted away from high school graduation to college success. Policymakers and practitioners at the local, state, and federal levels, along with their community partners, have focused on preparing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to enroll and succeed—without remediation—in a postsecondary program that leads to a degree after realizing that success in today's economy requires more than just a high school diploma (Conley 2007). This shift in focus has been accompanied by a plethora of programs and efforts, such as federal competitive grant programs, school-wide reform projects, community-based education support structures, and many more, that are designed to help children get into and succeed in college.

Every university and school are unique. However, they will all often include subjects from the common core curriculum, including arithmetic, English, science, history, and even a foreign language. The basis for further education in college is laid by this schooling. Life skills, in addition to academic abilities, are needed to succeed in college (Conley 2007). Writing essays and finishing science experiments are examples of academic competence. Time management, critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and other abilities will all be necessary for college. College is difficult, and therefore, the student must be driven and conscious of their mental health. This implies that their capacity to meet and overcome obstacles will be greatly influenced by their drive and sense of self-worth. Additionally, cultivating an optimistic outlook can be beneficial (Conley, 2007).

Students will be able to handle the complete range of college courses they are likely to encounter if they are prepared to succeed in best practices courses. According to this definition, a student is considered college-ready if they can comprehend what is expected of them in college-level coursework, handle the material information that is provided, and retain the course's most important intellectual lessons and attitudes (Conley, 2007). By comprehending the postsecondary educational culture and structure as well as the methods of knowing and intellectual norms prevalent in this academic and social setting, the student is also better equipped to make the most of their college experience.

More American high school graduates than ever before—about 67 percent—enrolled in college after receiving their diplomas in 2016 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022). The increased college enrollment rate is unquestionably a success. However, there is a need to think about how many of these aspirational and hopeful young people are going to succeed in higher education. The statistics show that fewer and fewer of those who graduate from high school succeed in college. According to the most recent data available, only roughly 15.5 million students enrolled in four-year institutions in 2020 in pursuit of a bachelor's degree and graduated four years later (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022).

According to research, one of the main reasons students struggle in college is the disconnect between what they experienced in high school and what is expected of them there. According to Conley (2007), many first-year students discover that their college courses are fundamentally different from their high school courses. College instructors anticipate that their students will make inferences, interpret findings, examine contradictory sources, back up claims with evidence, work through challenging issues that defy simple solutions, offer explanations, draw conclusions, and generally think deeply about what they are learning. Additionally, college courses move along more quickly, frequently requiring students to read eight or nine volumes in the time it took them to read just one in high school.

The emphasis on education in the United States has recently shifted away from high school graduation to college success (Floyd et al., 2022). Policymakers and practitioners at the local, state, and federal levels, along with their community partners, have focused on preparing students with the skills and knowledge necessary to enroll and succeed—without remediation—in a postsecondary program that leads to a degree after realizing that success in today's economy requires more than just a high school diploma (Conley 2007). This shift in focus has been accompanied by many programs and efforts, such as federal competitive grant programs, school-wide reform projects, community-based education support structures, and many more, designed to help children get into and succeed in college.

The emerging area of college preparedness has developed over the last few years into a vast undertaking involving numerous actors and spanning multiple industries (Bragg, 2018). Keeping up with pertinent policies and efforts is both a difficulty and a requirement given the field's quick rise and growth as well as the many actors engaged. A review of the field of college readiness can identify key roles that the community, business, and philanthropic sectors should play in developing a coordinated strategy for enhancing readiness, as well as successful strategies for doing so and gaps in research, policy, and practice.

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) framework, which suggests that states hold K–12 pupils to higher standards that encourage global competitiveness, was released by the Obama Administration in 2010. Following this request, state leaders and partners launched the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) to create standards that would prepare students for college. This initiative largely reflects the blueprint's recommendation that students should be regularly evaluated on their progress toward these standards and that college-ready students have completed a demanding elementary and secondary academic program in English language arts and math, among other important subjects.

Two overlapping coalitions of states, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) and the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (S-BAC), each received a sizeable Race to the Top grant from the federal government in order to develop assessment syste