March 2012–October 2018
To ensure their students are ready for college, many high schools are using college placement tests to assess 11th and 12th graders’ skills. Some schools are also reconceiving the senior year of high school as a transition year in which the high school and the college have input into a transition curriculum with the goal of helping students avoid remediation in college.
With funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CCRC has examined the goals, designs, core strategies, key players, strengths, challenges, and results associated with early assessment and transition curricula by profiling such initiatives in four states. CCRC has also evaluated the outcomes of students who participate in selected transition curricula in two states.
In a new phase of the research, funded by ECMC Foundation, CCRC will conduct a national scan to obtain detailed information on transition curriculum designs and policies. In addition to identifying curricula that improve math and English skills, the project will look at curricula to help students select a major and career.
This project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and ECMC Foundation.