Strategies to Provide Equal College
and Career Readiness to All Students
Jeff Cranmore, PhD
McKinney HS, McKinney, TX
Steven Colón
Vice President, Access to Opportunity
The College Board
Overview
This session will provide school leaders a look at
eight strategies counselors need to provide to
ensure College and Career Readiness and ways
to embed them into the school culture. It also
serves as a guide to ensure all students have
equal access to every opportunity.
Free resources to aid counselors and teachers in
helping students meet their fullest potential.
According to the Southern Regional Education Board
•College Ready : A high school graduate has the reading,
writing and math knowledge and skills to qualify for and
succeed in entry-level, credit bearing, college-degree
courses without the need for remedial classes.
•Career Ready : A high school graduate can read,
comprehend, interpret and analyze complex technical
materials, use mathematics to solve problems in the
workplace, and pass a state-approved industry certificate
or licensure exam in their field.
Source: ©The Next Generation of School Accountability: A Blueprint for Raising
High School Achievement and Graduation Rates in SREB States, 2009.
College Readiness and Career Readiness
Require
– Higher level thinking skills
– Specialized skills
– A rigorous high school education
Does NOT begin in the senior year of high school. We must
start the college and career conversations with our
students and their families the day they step foot into
kindergarten.
The Strategies
Increase College Aspirations
Academic Planning
Extracurricular Activities
Exploring Colleges and Careers
Testing/Entrance Requirements
Admissions
Paying for College
Moving from High School to Adulthood
Increase College Aspirations
Begin Early
– Job Fairs in Elementary School
– College Fairs in Middle and High School
Student Self Awareness
– Career Interest Assessments
– Student Personality Interest Inventories
Benefits of Post Secondary Education
– $$$$
– Reality Check
• Sponsored by Texas
Workforce
Commission
• Allows students to
Look at Cost of Living
Expenses, and Match
Careers
Example: $60,000
http://www.jumpstart.org/realitycheck.html
http://www.californiarealitycheck.com
/
http://www.cdr.state.tx.us/realitychec
k/
Reality Check
Reality Check
•Allows students to explore careers by financial
potential
•Provides real-life scenarios
•Detailed information on methods of entry into
particular career (College, Trade Program,
Certifications)
•Individual State Programs: Texas, California,
Colorado
Building a College Going Culture from Day One
College and Career Advising
K-12th Grade
•Elementary School – To create early awareness, knowledge and skills that
lay the foundation for academic rigor and social development necessary for
college and career readiness.
•Middle School – To create opportunities to explore and deepen college
and career knowledge and skills necessary for academic planning and goal
setting; to begin to identify students who have demonstrated potential and
earned opportunities to succeed (PSAT 8).
•High School – To create access to college and career pathways that
promote personal goals and ensure the widest range of future life options; to
further identify and monitor students with potential (PSAT 9, PSAT/NMSQT)
and help propel them into opportunity (AP).
Source: NOSCA School Counselor’s Guide:
Website: nosca.collegeboard.org/eight-components
Elementary School
Begin College Going Culture
Bombard Families With Subliminal College Information
• College Material in Hallways
• Rename halls: A Hall = Harvard Boulevard
• Teacher’s Classes: Mrs. Smith’s 1st grade = Texas
Tech 1St Grade
Late Elementary
• College and Career Fair
• Parent Meetings on Paying for College
• College Vocabulary
Middle School
Begin Searching College and Careers
• BigFuture
• Personality/Interest Inventories
• Dedicated Class Time to College Preparation
• Projects in Classes
• AVID
Counseling
•Prepare 4 Year Plans that put students on College Path
•Rigorous Courses
•Parent Meetings
•PSAT 8/9
High School
Early HS
• Career Inventories
• College Fair
• Research and Compare Schools
• PSAT 8/9, PSAT 10, PSAT/NMSQT
Late HS
• Schools that Match
• Major
• Fit
• Finances
• SAT
Academic Planning
Rigorous Courses: AP, IB, Dual Credit
Prepares Students for Rigors of College
Offers Potential Savings
Time
Money
Tuition Cost/Housing
(Students Skipped Freshman Year of College)
Academic Planning (cont…)
Balance Courses
 Most rigorous course load students can handle
 Focus on one area
 Play to your strengths
 Combo of AP, IB, Dual Credits
Ex. Student A wants to be an engineer.
Has a great interest in math and science.
Is also very involved in school athletics.
 I might suggest they take Dual Credit Senior
English and Government, while Taking AP
Calculus BC and AP Physics C
 AP Credit Policy search
The Importance of AP
Access to challenging course work in high school is a key piece of ensuring
successful transitions to college and career. This is especially important
because the majority of U.S. students who enter four-year colleges do not
graduate within four years. This can cost students and their families a
significant amount of time and money.
AP students with an average AP Exam score of:
in expected on-time college graduation rate compared to
academically matched peers who don’t take AP.
AP Benefits (cont…)
The typical student who receives a score of 3 or higher
on two AP Exams has the potential to save, on
average, nearly $1,779 at a public four-year college
and over $6,000 at a private institution.
Research studies have demonstrated that students
performing well on AP Exams succeed in subsequent
coursework, persist and complete degrees at a higher
rate and in less time. Data also indicate the powerful
role AP plays in helping students identify their chosen
discipline.
AP Benefits (cont…)
When compared to their matched peers, research
consistently shows that students who score a 3 or
higher on an AP Exam typically:
• Earn higher GPAs in college;
• Perform as well or better in subsequent college
courses in the discipline than non-AP students
who took the introductory class in college;
• Take more—not fewer—college classes in the
discipline;
• Are more likely to earn their college degree on time
in four years; and
• Have higher graduation rates.
Extracurricular Activities
Involvement
– In school
• Consistent (4 years of choir better than 1 year
of 4 different things)
• Leadership roles
In the Community
– Churches
– Volunteer Hours
• Focus on one area
Extracurricular (cont…)
When Colleges look at extracurricular activities,
they want to see depth and leadership, as well as
commitment.
Volunteering
– President’s Volunteer Service Award
• Awards for volunteers hours during one
year or over a lifetime
• Bronze, Silver and Gold Levels.
Exploring Colleges and Careers
Big Future
– Find a Fit
– Interest Inventories
– Match Schools and Majors
– Mentors/Internships/Job Shadowing
Individual College Websites
– Scholarships
– Deadlines
Exploring Colleges (cont…)
The Right Fit
– Size
– Location
– Student Body
– Does it have what the student needs?
Office of Student Services
– Accommodations
– 504 Plans
Testing/Entrance Requirements
SAT/ACT
– Encourage parents and students to take these tests by the end
of 11th grade. This allows time to retest if needed.
– Fee waivers are available.
GPA Requirements
– Colleges often make decisions based on the first 6 semesters
– Weighted Classes (AP, IB, Dual Credit)
Rank
– May determine Testing requirements
KEY POINT- Grades and GPA begin Day one of HS. Make the best
choices from the beginning.
Admissions
Deadlines
– Make sure you know them and follow them.
– Scholarship deadline? Is it the same? Is the
application the same?
– Early Action v. Regular
Test Scores
– Are they required?
– Will they super score?
– When is the latest you can send?
GPA/Rank
– Weighted v. Unweighted
– All Classes or just core
– NCAA Requirements
Rank may determine test score requirements
Admissions (cont…)
Essays
– Set your self apart
– No stories that begin with “the time we went to Europe…” or “the time we
won state champs in (insert here)…”
– Colleges want to hear about you: What makes you special? What makes
you dream? What will you do one day?
Recommendations
– Are they required at that particular school?
– Give ample time for people to write
– Provide all needed info, addresses, name of schools, and current resumes
– Make sure they know if you will be using them for more than one school
Follow up with thank you card/note
Admissions (cont…)
Resume
– Your chance to shine
– Include extracurricular, work, and volunteer
experiences, plus any awards.
Holistic Approach
– Many colleges look at all of these factors and
more
KEY POINT- Colleges will be looking at many
factors. Don’t assume you have no chance.
AVID ADMISSIONS WALL OF HONOR
We post every acceptance letter as a poster size copy
Paying for College
FAFSA
– Apply Every year if legally eligible
– NOTE- If not legally eligible, this may slow down
immigration status.
State Aid
– Varies from state to state
Scholarships
– Private
– Competitive
– Individual Colleges
• Same application as admissions or separate?
Paying for College (cont…)
Other Scholarship Sources
– Parents Work
– Community (Elks, Rotary, etc…)
• Churches
– Foundations (McKinney Education Foundation)
• Students Apply
• Interviews
– Scholarship Search Websites
• Essays (Zombie Apocalypse Scholarships)
• Unique Attributes (Tall Texan, Vegetarian Awareness)
– Greek Life Scholarships/Honor Societies
Moving from High School to Adulthood
Students must take on more responsibility for their
own education.
– Ordering their own transcripts
– Completing their own applications (college
and scholarships)
Taking on more responsibility in their lives
– Cooking
– Laundry
– Alarm clocks/Getting up in the morning
Helping Parents Transition
Parents need reassurance.
Help parents prepare for students leaving, early
on. (No one wants to see a student get accepted
then told they cannot go at the last minute)
Parents should visit the college campus if possible.
Free Resources
•TexasRealitycheck.com
•Bigfuture
•ScholarshipExperts.com
•Fastweb.com
•http://www.presidentialserviceawards.gov/
•NACAC- GPA Game
•The College Board
•ACT
•ASCA
Advancement
Via
Individual
Determination Steven Colón
Vice President, Access to Opportunity
(AVID) The College Board
December 2014
Need to address inequalities of
college access and success
There are large gaps in
enrollment, persistence,
and completion by
income and race.
34
Research finds a number of barriers
to college access
The major barriers include:
• Affordability
• Academic Preparation
• Complicated Information/Complex Processes
• Certain Higher Education Policies and Practices
Aim
Goal
Three-pronged Approach
to Access to Opportunity
Ready
Improve access to rigorous coursework
and reduce the information gap
Connect to colleges where they
can succeed
Go
Finish
Improve postsecondary degree
completion rates
Our Approach
Evidence-based & Scalable
Membership & Partnership
Individual & Systematic
Membership/Partnership
Organization
Go: Connect to Colleges
Where They Can Succeed
Fee Waivers
Exciting New
Partnerships
Ready: Improve Access to Rigorous
Coursework & Reduce the Information Gap
The Dell partnership enabled over 70 schools across
the nation to start 140 new AP courses this fall, reaching
primarily low-income students.
The AP STEM Access Program, with partners Google
and DonorsChoose.org, enabled 10,000 students who did not
previously have access to AP courses take AP Exams this
past May.
Road Trip Nation
Jenny is a 19-year-old freshman
from Mississippi State University.
Jasmine is a 20-year-old
sophomore from the University of
South Carolina.
Felipe is a 24-year-old college
graduate from the University of
California – Irvine.
Jonathan is a 20-year-old
sophomore from the University of
Central Florida.
Go: Connect to Colleges
Where They Can Succeed
Go: Connect to Colleges
Where They Can Succeed
Go: Connect to Colleges
Where They Can Succeed
Go: Connect to Colleges
Where They Can Succeed
Virtual Advising
Derrick Simmons, Luis Hernandez, and Julius Figueroa
Going Back
to our roots
Redesigned SAT
1) Focus
2) Useful
3) Clear and Open
Questions
Dr. Jeff Cranmore
[email protected]
469-302-5723
Steven Colón
[email protected]