- Posted by David on September 12, 2008
Why Ninth Grade Is Critical for College Admission
WestEd Report Demonstrates Need for Middle School Interventionwith Minority, Low Income Youth
San Francisco, CA -- A WestEd report finds that too many California high school seniors fail to meet college admission requirements because they fall off the college-preparatory track in ninth grade -- and can't get back on. The study suggests that school districts need better "early warning systems" for ninth graders, especially those not enrolling in the English and math courses accredited by the state's four-year colleges.
The study, "Course Taking Patterns and Preparation for Postsecondary Education in California's Public University Systems among Minority Youth," analyzed high school transcripts to find out which students completed and earned a C or better in California's "A-G Requirements," a sequence of college preparatory courses beginning in ninth grade that act as a gatekeeper for admission to the state's two university systems.
The study's key findings include:
Students who complete key college preparatory courses in ninth grade have a greater probability than students who postpone these courses of meeting the complete set of A-G Requirements.
* White and Asian students are more likely than their Hispanic and African American peers to meet the college eligibility requirements.
* More than a third of all students sampled did not meet the English requirement.
* Only 40% of African American ninth graders enrolled in courses that meet California's public university requirements.
* More than 40% of all students sampled had not completed or received at least a C in two semesters of college-preparatory math by the end of the freshman year, also an A-G requirement.
"Our study indicates students may be unaware that not all courses in which they enroll will meet college admissions requirements," says Neal Finkelstein, senior research scientist at WestEd. "Early intervention and ongoing communication with parents and students about entrance requirements are critical to keeping students on the college track."
The full WestEd study, prepared for the Regional Educational Laboratory West, is available at: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/projects/project.asp?projectID=86&productID=40