With a rising demand for a college degree and an increasingly complicated college search, application, and selection process, there are a number of interventions designed to ease the college-going process for adolescents and their families. One such intervention, the College Ambition Program (CAP), is specifically designed to be a whole-school…

Despite decades of policy intervention to increase college entry among low-income students, substantial inequalities in college going by family income remain. Policy makers have largely overlooked the summer after high school as an important time period in students' transition to college. During the post-high school summer, however, students…

In this chapter, the authors describe nearly a decade of research examining postsecondary outcomes of students in the Chicago Public Schools conducted by the Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR). These analyses include both long-term trends in college going and findings on the dimensions of students' postsecondary transition…

Teachers find that having close personal relationships with students is deeply rewarding in their work and that they contribute to more effective classrooms. The relationships, which many consider to be part and parcel of good teaching, afford teachers the opportunity to reach students intellectually and emotionally. Still, the relationships can…

This article summarizes findings from an experimental evaluation of After School Matters (ASM), a paid, apprenticeship-based, after-school program in Chicago for high school students. Analysis of quantitative data from a mock job interview revealed that ASM participants did not demonstrate more marketable job skills than youth in the control…

This article highlights the limitations of our current educational system in terms of vocational learning and highlights the role that vocational learning can play in supporting youth development and improving youth outcomes. It discusses the role that nonschool settings can play in supporting vocational learning and suggests strategies to improve…

Research in the past decade suggests that a persistent achievement gap between students from low-income minority backgrounds and higher-income white backgrounds may be rooted in theories of student motivation and youth purpose. Yet limited research exists regarding the role of purpose on positive youth development as it pertains to academic…

Many rural youth leave their small home towns, at least temporarily, to pursue education and work opportunities after high school. A strong sense of purpose will likely help these young people navigate their transition to adulthood away from the comforts of home. A case study of high school students in a remote rural county in the Pacific…

Expanded learning time and opportunities (ELTO) requires a committed school leader who is willing to partner with community-based organizations in order to provide strong academic and enrichment daily experiences for his or her students. This article examines four such leaders and the diverse approaches they took to implement ELTO in their…

This article is the first of three brief commentaries on this volume. The authors are highly influential pioneers in the study of youth mentoring relationships, and their contributions helped shape the focus of the conceptual framework featured in the opening article by Karcher and Nakkula. Their commentary sheds light on the history of key issues…

According to current estimates, more than a quarter of all students and over 40 percent of African American and Hispanic students do not graduate from high school on time. The vast majority of those young people who do not graduate with their peers drop out. The enormous costs to these individuals, their communities, and our society require us to…

Schools with large numbers of students falling off the graduation path need comprehensive reforms that create a solid foundation of high-quality instruction and positive behavioral supports for all students. They also need data-driven response systems that provide targeted and intensive interventions for students who need additional academic and…

Districts and states that have begun to get traction in improving their graduation rates are pursuing a reform agenda that includes both the redesign of failing high schools and the development of multiple alternative pathways that help young people get back on track to graduation and to postsecondary education. Unlike traditional alternative…

Interview and survey data reveal significant disconnects among the insights and perspectives of dropouts, parents, teachers, and administrators on the causes and solutions to the dropout challenge. Many educators, for example, do not see boredom as a factor for most dropouts, while young people who drop out see it as the central cause. The author…

The federal role in education will soon be transformed in ways that could produce an even greater society than President Lyndon B. Johnson envisioned. The authors identify underlying principles of this new role and describe how it represents a significant departure from the past. Historically, for example, the federal government has been…