Background: Most community college students from low-income families have ambitious educational degree goals, but only a small fraction attains them. For many decades, sociologists have primarily attributed this problem to a cooling out process in which college practitioners diminish students' educational ambitions using academic reorientation…

This study identifies and examines the key practices of California community college programs that have demonstrated success in improving (or that have shown significant potential to improve) the achievement of underrepresented groups whose educational attainment often lags behind the attainment of relatively well-off White students. Unlike many…

Reviews the major contentions of Brint and Karabel's study of the growth and transformation of the American junior college from 1900 to 1985. While recognizing the scholarly contributions of the book, identifies questions that it does not consider and contests a number of conclusions. (DMM)