Sub-baccalaureate degrees represent a growing and distinctive sector of American higher education. However, policymakers and community colleges lack a clear understanding of the specific competencies learned in these programs that are useful in graduates' careers. In particular, they overlook non-academic skills. This study uses qualitative…

Florida's College and Career Readiness Initiative (FCCRI) required schools to administer a community college placement test to 11th-grade students and enroll students who did not pass in a college readiness course. Christine Mokher, James Rosenbaum, Alexis Gable, Caitlin Ahearn, and Louis Jacobson surveyed teachers of the course and found that,…

States and districts across the country have experimented with various college and career readiness initiatives designed to help students complete the postsecondary education they need to succeed in the labor market. Yet how do teachers view their students' likely college capabilities following these efforts? Can the reforms help work-bound…

This paper analyzes teacher responses to a distinctive reform that sought to ­implement alignment between high schools and colleges. A survey of 225 teachers is used to examine teachers' perceptions of the reform's effectiveness, further resources needed, and how perceptions changed over time. The reform was perceived as effective for…

Research often focuses on how students fail to meet college expectations, but it rarely asks how colleges fail to meet students' expectations. This study examines students' expectations of college and their institutional confidence--their level of certainty that college will meet their expectations. Drawing on 65 pilot interviews and a survey of…

This study explored whether community college websites are a useful medium for providing knowledge relevant to degree completion. Ten community students used one of three community college websites to answer 10 questions about occupational degree programs. A facilitator asked participants to think aloud while using the website to answer these…

Background: Labor market entry is difficult for two-year college graduates. Job search literature focuses on personal connections, but disadvantaged students often lack useful contacts. Moreover, employers often don't recognize and value two-year college credentials as much as bachelor's degrees. Teacher contacts could help, but studies find that…

This article explores institutional attributes that matter for two-year college students and how they vary by different subpopulations of students, with an eye toward understanding what institutional attributes better support the success of underprepared students. In particular, the authors address the following questions: (1) Which institutional…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey, the article discusses a study to compare effects of high school tracking in two versions of a status-attainment model--one using students' track perceptions and the other using their actual tracks (taken from school records). Findings indicated that students often misperceive their tracks.…

Empirical analysis of data concerning a cohort of employees in a large corporation over a 13-year period indicates that mobility in the earliest period of one's career has an unequivocal relationship with many of the most important parameters of one's later career. (Author/IRT)

Over the past three decades, colleges have experienced revolutionary changes, and the enrollment revolution has had a particularly profound impact on 2-year colleges. We describe the new kinds of students who are entering college today and the ways that colleges have begun to adapt. Then, analyzing interviews with students and administrators and a…

Examines how youths' plans are formed in the Japanese educational system compared with plan formation in the U.S. educational system. Studies the stability of Japanese students' plans by junior high school, the responsiveness of plans to grade changes, and high school rank. Discusses adolescent planning confusion and the effect of grades on…

Interviews with mothers and children from 114 low-income Black families who participated in the Gautreaux housing desegregation program and who attend predominantly White suburban schools reveal that suburban teachers provide more help to the children, but evidence racial discrimination. Neither the children's grades nor their satisfaction…

Interviews with 27 counselors in 8 high schools demonstrate that counselors do not like to give students bad news about their college prospects and do not believe that they have the authority to do so. Counselors' unwillingness to act as gatekeepers may prevent students from getting the information they need. (SLD)

Examines the agreements Japanese high schools have with employers to hire their students, the reasons these ties are made, and the criteria used to select students. Indicates that competition for jobs is shifted from the labor market to schools and among schools. Reports that academic achievement has greater effects on jobs with linked employers…