"Minding the Gap" argues that in today's highly competitive, global economy, all young people need a postsecondary education. Yet only one in ten students from the lowest economic quintile in the United States currently earns a postsecondary credential. This timely and instructive book from Jobs for the Future explores policies and practices that would quickly enable a larger number of low-income and first-generation college students to earn postsecondary degrees. In doing so, "Minding the Gap" calls for a system that thoroughly integrates secondary and postsecondary education--a system in which a college degree is the goal for all students. This book is divided into six parts. Part I, Why Integrate Grades 9 through 14?, contains the following: (1) Confessions of an Education Fundamentalist: Why Grade 12 Is Not the Right End Point for Anyone (Anthony P. Carnevale); and (2) Doing the Math: What It Means to Double the Number of Low-Income College Graduates (Susan Goldberger). Part II, One System across 9-14: The State of the States, contains the following: (3) Common Ground (Andrea Venezia, Joni Finney, and Patrick M. Callan); (4) The History of the Separation of K-12 and Postsecondary Education (Michael W. Kirst and Michael D. Usdan); (5) A College-Ready Nation: An Idea Whose Time Has Come (Kristin D. Conklin and Stefanie Sanford); and (6) Raising Expectations for Academic Achievement (Stan Jones). Part III, Alignment and Integration of Standards, Assessments, and Curriculum across 9-14, contains the following: (7) Alignment of High School Expectations to College and Work (Christine Tell and Michael Cohen); (8) All One System: The Promise of O*Net (Anthony P. Carnevale); (9) Challenges in the Transition from High School to College (David Conley); (10) Sending Signals to Students: The Role of Early Placement Testing in Improving Academic Preparation (Bridget Terry Long and Erin K. Riley); and (11) The California Early Assessment Program: Implications for States in Developing Readiness Agendas (David Spence). Part IV, Pathways across 9-14: Practices in Place, contains the following: (12) Lessons from the Field: A Tale of Two Early College High Schools (Cecilia Cunningham and Roberta S. Matthews); (13) Another Route to College (Terry Grobe); (14) Combining Middle and High School to Improve College Success (Dan Restuccia); (15) CUNY College Now: Extending the Reach of Dual Enrollment (Tracy Meade and Eric Hofmann); (16) Academic Identity Development: Student Experiences in Two Early College High Schools (Michael J. Nakkula and Karen C. Foster); and (17) Secondary-Postsecondary Learning Opportunities: Some Promising Practices (Jennifer Brown Lerner and Betsy Brand). Part V, Pathways across 9-14: Emerging Policies, contains the following: (18) Creating Pathways for Struggling Students within a 9-14 System (Adria Steinberg and Cheryl Almeida); (19) State Policies that Support the Integration of 9-14: The Case of Early College High Schools (Joel Vargas); (20) Return on Investment Analysis of Integrating Grades 9-14 (Robert Palaich, John Augenblick, and Margaretha Maloney); (21) Using Dual Enrollment to Build a 9-14 System (Nancy Hoffman); (22) Evolution of an Innovation: A Commentary on the State of Accelerated Learning (Travis Reindl); and (23) Exploring Education Reform Systemically: The United Kingdom's Nuffield 14-19 Review (Geoff Hayward). Part VI, What Comes Next? Accountability, Data Systems, Financing, contains the following: (24) Postsecondary Numerical Goals as Catalyst for P-16 Reform: Texas Sends a Message (Michael Collins); (25) Assessing and Reporting Progress: Florida's Integrated Data Systems (Jay Pfeiffer); (26) Data Requirements for a Coherent P-16 System (Chrys Dougherty and Lynn Mellor); (27) Seamless Data Systems to Promote Student Progression (Peter T. Ewell); (28) Developing a P-20 Budget Tool: Giving Direction to Oregon Public Education (Jill Kirk, John Tapogna, and Duncan Wyse); (29) Financing Higher Aspirations and Better Preparation (Arthur M. Hauptman); and (30) Integrating Public Finance into Strategies for Improving Preparation, College Enrollment, and Persistence (Edward P. St. John). Notes, references and an index are included.