College Readiness Strategies

During the past year the Principal's Leadership Program has developed several resources that can help you and your staff help to prepare students for college. The research shows that four factors are critical to student success.

1. They take the right classes in middle school and high school so that they can take rigorous classes in high school and college. The course selection should be guided by the rigor of the class, not the course title.
2. They develop the cognitive and meta cognitive skills for success beyond high school. This includes critical-thinking, problem analysis, synthesis, inquisitiveness, and intellectual openness.
3. They have a supportive structure in high school that embraces their college aspirations and provides them with the knowledge and skills to navigate in a very different social structure.
4. Students and their families are provided accurate, up-to-date information about admission requirements, timelines and availability of financial assistance.

A paper prepared by EPI for Oregon GEAR UP Principals titled Pathways to College is available at www.educationpartnerships.org/pdfs/Pathways%20to%20College.pdf. It is accompanied by a Research Brief on the Transition from Middle School to High School, and one on the Transition from High School to College. Both are available at the EPI website.