This book reveals why so many students are entering college unprepared for college level work and often unable to complete a degree. This important book presents the findings of the Bridge Project, a major national research study conducted by Stanford University and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts and the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers examined the fit between what high schools were doing to prepare students for college admissions and course work, and what colleges considered when admitting and placing incoming freshman. Based on hundreds of interviews with teachers and counselors, thousands of surveys with students and parents, and a thorough examination of the policies and practices in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, and Texas, this book offers recommendations for bridging the gap between high school and college and for improving college admission and graduation rates. The nine chapters comprising this book are: (1) Bridging the Great Divide: How the K-12 and Postsecondary Split Hurts Students, and What Can Be Done About It (Michael W. Kirst and Kathy Reeves Bracco); (2) Working Toward K-16 Coherence in California (Anthony Lising Antonio and Samuel H. Bersola); (3) K-16 Turmoil in Texas (Andrea Venezia); (4) Roadblocks to Effective K-16 Reform in Illinois (Betty Merchant); (5) Oregon's K-16 Reforms: A Blueprint for Change? (Andrea Conklin Bueschel and Andrea Venezia); (6) Georgia's P-16 Reforms and the Promise of a Seamless System (Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner, Lisa M. Jones, and James C. Hearn); (7) K-16 Reform in Maryland: The First Steps (Heinrich Mintrop, Toby H. Milton, Frank A. Schmidtlein, and Ann Merck MacLellan); (8) The Missing Link: The Role of Community Colleges in the Transition Between High School and College (Andrea Conklin Bueschel); and (9) What Have We Learned, and Where Do We Go Next? (Michael W. Kirst, Andrea Venezia, and Anthony Lising Antonio). The following are appended: (1) Research Design and Methodology; and (2) RAND Data.