College readiness research

Findings from a study (First-Years' Information Literacy Backpacks: What's Already Packed or Not Packed?) examined college research readiness among first-year college students in New Jersey. The authors analyzed qualitative responses from a survey of 325 students using inductive coding. They identify a taxonomy of information literacy skills in three levels: information management, critical thinking, and metaliteracy. Based on their findings and the identified needs of students in the transition from high school to college, the authors propose several implications for instructional designers, including further using learning management systems, incorporating inquiry-based learning, teaching advanced search techniques, and assessing or measuring information literacy skills. The authors suggest further attention to critical thinking, inquiry, and metacognitive approaches in information literacy instruction for K-12 and academic librarians. The authors also propose several areas for future research, such as developing collaborations between high school and academic librarians, examples of successful or innovative instruction, and measurements of information literacy

 Boyer, B., & Dziedzic-Elliott, E. (2023). What I had, what I needed: First-year students reflect on how their high school experience prepared them for college research. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 49(4), 102742. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102742 

Libraries and College Readiness Study

 A study found that first-year college students who had prior high school research experience, especially those from schools with certified librarians, felt more confident in their academic research skills and performed better in using research tools and strategies, such as information and digital literacy, and the difference between a primary and secondary source of information. 

Valenza, J. et al. (2023). First years' information backpacks: What's already packed or not packed? Journal of Academic Librarianship, 48(4).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0099133322000829?via%3Dihub 

HS to College Readiness and Librarians Study

A statewide, multi-institutional research project explored the role of certified school librarians in providing resources and instruction to students and identifying equity issues among first-year college students’ preparation for college research. High school librarians impact students' college preparedness and ability to cite sources. 

Valenza, J., Berg, C., Bushby, R., Charles, L., Dalal, H., Dalyrmple, J., & Demspey, M. (2022). What’s in a Frame? Perspectives of high school librarians and first-year college students. College & Research Libraries News, 83(9), 393. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.83.9.393

Valenza, J., Dalal, H., Mohamad, G., Boyer, B., Berg, C., Charles, L., Bushby, R., Dempsey, M., Dalrymple, EJ., &Dziedzic-Elliott, E. (2022). First years’ information literacy Backpacks: What’s already packed or not packed? Journal of Academic Librarianship 48(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2022.102566.

College-Career Readiness Study

 Differences in access to supports in high school contribute to variation in access to postsecondary opportunities. The study's authors compare nationally representative survey response data from the 2020 and 2021 Learn Together Surveys to examine differences in how high school teachers and principals provided supports to students for successful postsecondary transitions before and during the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Through their analysis, the authors identify equity gaps in which groups of students reportedly received sufficient supports.

Key Findings

• Access to supports for postsecondary transitions was unevenly distributed across student groups.
• High school teachers reported providing fewer students with college and career readiness supports one year into the COVID-19 pandemic.
• High school principals and teachers desired more staff to help with postsecondary transitions.

Mulhern, C., & Steiner, E. (2022). Changes in college and career readiness supports during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rand.

https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA827-5.html?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=NPA:3004:7584:Jan%2012,%202022%205:50:41%20AM%20PST&utm_campaign=NPA:3004:7584:Jan%2012,%202022%205:50:41%20AM%20PST

Report Expresses Data on College Readiness of Students

The College Board’s 2013 SAT Report on College & Career Readiness reveals that fewer than half of all SAT takers in the class of 2013 graduated from high school academically prepared for the rigors of college-level course work. This number has remained virtually unchanged during the last five years, underscoring a need to dramatically increase the number of students in K–12 who acquire the skills and knowledge that research demonstrates are critical to college readiness.

This year’s report underscores the need to act early in order to propel students forward, and offers a blueprint for progress — showcasing the characteristics of higher-achieving students to help establish best practices and detailing efforts that are already under way to spark breakthroughs in student achievement.

The College Board (2013). 2013 SAT report on college & career readiness. New York City, NY: The College Board.

http://media.collegeboard.com/homeOrg/content/pdf/sat-report-college-career-readiness-2013.pdf

College readiness research

The number of students passing high-school exit exams is at an all-time high, but about 60% of students enrolling in community colleges have to take remedial courses, according to recent research. "There is a disconnect that has existed for a long time in terms of the measures used for high-school graduation and if a student is ready to succeed in a college-level class," said Mary Fulton of the Education Commission of the States.
Community College Research Center. (2016). Community college FAQs. New York: Columbia University.
http://ccrc.tc.columbia.edu/Community-College-FAQs.html

College-career readiness report

A recent report shows 31% of high-school students follow a college-ready curriculum, and 13% engage in career-preparation courses. Students from low-income families have less access to college- and career-readiness curricula, compared with students from families in top income brackets, data show. The report spells out the sequence and types of courses that would be considered as a college-prep curriculum, a career-prep curriculum, a combination of both and a curriculum that is neither. "A college-prep curriculum, for instance, would include three credits in math, including Algebra II. A career-prep curriculum, on the other hand, would include three or more credits in a “broad career field such as health science or business.”
Meandering Toward Graduation: Transcript Outcomes of High School Graduates, (2016). Washington, DC: Education Trust. 
https://edtrust.org/press_release/are-schools-preparing-students-to-be-college-and-career-ready/

Nation's report card 2106

     About one-third of high-school students are ready for entry-level college courses, according to the Nation's Report Card. Data also show a one-point decrease in average math scores in 2015, compared with 2013, and a five-point decline in average reading scores, compared with data from 1992. Only 37% are prepared for college-level math and reading. Furthermore,the percentage of students scoring below a basic level increased.

     While 32% of white students and 47% of Asian students scored at proficient or above in math, only 7% of black students and 12% of Hispanic students did.Similar gaps were present in reading: 46% of white students and 49% of Asian students scored at or above proficient, while only 17% of black students and 25% of Hispanic students did so.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2016). The nation's report card. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/

Common Core and Career Readiness study

A new report that surveys curriculum nationally found that many people in education and the workplace don’t think some of the English Language Arts and math standards — which are being used in most states — are what students and workers need to be successful in college and career. Employers say that important skills that ensures success include conscientiousness, ethical use of information, face-to-face oral communication.  In addition, gaps appear between some Core standards and what college instructors consider important for students to succeed — especially in the area of writing. 

ACT. (2016). National curriculum survey. Iowa City, IA: Author.

http://www.act.org/content/act/en/research/national-curriculum-survey.html