GEAR UP Research Articles

Evaluating the Influence of an Urban High School Reform Effort on College Readiness and Access Outcomes: A Quasiexperimental Cohort Study

It is widely accepted that postsecondary education has become a necessity for US youth. College access, however, has been found not to be equal for all. As a result, federally funded college-readiness programs, such as Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), have been established to increase the numbers of economically disadvantaged students with access to college. This quasiexperimental case study compared academic and nonacademic college-readiness indicators between cohorts of GEAR UP students and nonparticipants in 1 urban high school. Overall, cohorts of GEAR UP students outperformed their non-GEAR UP peers on all measures (grade-point average, attendance rate, behavior, graduation rate, and college enrollment) despite a dramatic demographic shift that led to greater proportions of educationally disadvantaged students in the GEAR UP cohorts.

Education America—“Welcome to My Nightmare”

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes An early version of this article appears as “Postscript: Education America—’Welcome to My Nightmare’” in Peters (2012 Peters , M. A. ( 2012 ). Obama, Education and the End of the American Dream . Rotterdam : Sense Publishers . [Google Scholar]). Youth unemployment rates in 2011 (approximately): Spain, 47%; Eurozone, 21%; United States, 17%; and Germany, 9%. The United States defines the poverty line as income of $22,314 a year for a family of four and $11,139 for an individual (U.S. Census Bureau 2011 Line , M. ( 2011 ). Providence Plans to Pink Slip All Teachers . http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/24/providence-plans-to-pink-slip-all-teachers/#ixzz1evnTU63G [Google Scholar]). The poverty rate for children under age 18 increased to 22% in 2010; the poverty rate for adults ages 18 to 64 rose to 13.7%; for people 65 and older, the poverty rate was barely changed at 9%. Non-Hispanic whites had the lowest poverty rate, 9.9% (Asians, 12.1%; Hispanic 26.6%), and blacks had the highest rate at 27.4%. About 14% of men were below the poverty line, compared to 16.2% of women. Families headed by a married couple had only a 6.2% poverty rate, whereas families with a single mother had a 31.6% rate, and families with a single father had a 15.8% rate. (Censky 2011 Censky , A. ( 2011 ). Poverty Rates Rise in America . http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/13/news/economy/poverty_rate_income/index.htm [Google Scholar]; U.S. Census Bureau 2011 Line , M. ( 2011 ). Providence Plans to Pink Slip All Teachers . http://liveshots.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/02/24/providence-plans-to-pink-slip-all-teachers/#ixzz1evnTU63G [Google Scholar]). On October 15, tens of thousands of demonstrators staged rallies in 900 cities around the world, including Auckland, Sydney, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo, São Paulo, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg, and Leipzig (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_Wall_Street). Early Childhood: The Zero to Five Plan funds and helps states move toward voluntary, universal preschool education; expands Early Head Start and Head Start; provides affordable, and high-quality child care. K12: To reform No Child Left Behind; support high-quality schools and close low-performing charter schools; make math and science education a national priority; expand high-quality afterschool opportunities (21st century learning programs); support college outreach programs (e.g., GEAR UP, TRIO, and Upward Bound); support college credit initiatives; support English Language Learners; recruit, prepare, retain, and reward teachers. Higher education: To create the American Opportunity Tax Credit—universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service; simplify the application process for financial aid. (See http://change.gov/agenda/education_agenda/.)

<em>Increasing Educational Attainment among Urban Minority Youth: A Model of University, School, and Community Partnerships</em>

This article discusses the educational attainment status of racial and ethnic minorities, specifically African Americans and Hispanics as compared to their Caucasian peers. In addition, the authors describe the U.S. Department of Education's educational initiative, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) that is designed to improve educational equity and increase access on the part of low-income and underrepresented minorities into institutions of higher learning. The promise of this educational initiative is illustrated with a case study of the Yale University GEAR UP Partnership Project.Keywords: higher education, educational attainment, college access programs, low-income youth, GEAR UPNadia L. Ward Yale UniversityMichael J. Strambler Yale UniversityLance H. Linke Yale UniversityIntroductionResearch suggests that educational attainment beyond high school is associated with higher median earnings for young adults (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2008), sustained employment (U.S. Department of Commerce, 2004), increased civic engagement (Finlay & Flanagan, 2009), decreased involvement in delinquent behavior (Lochner & Moretti, 2004; Nally, Lockwood, Knutson & Ho, 2012) and better health outcomes (Cutler & Lleras-Muney, 2006). However, student enrollment rates among low-income and minority youth into institutions of higher learning continue to lag behind their non-minority peers. According to the U.S. Department of Education (2007), 50 % of low-income students enroll in college immediately after high school, compared with 80 % of students from high income backgrounds.Ethnic differences in high school graduation rates are also troubling. Calculating such rates have been notoriously difficult to accomplish as reports of graduation rates among minority students have ranged from 50 to 85 %. However, rigorous analyses that account for biases in such data suggest that 65 % of African Americans and Hispanics leave high school with a diploma (Heckman & LaFontaine, 2007). Moreover, this research indicates that this gap has largely remained constant over the past 35 years. In terms of college completion rates, data show that more students across the aforementioned racial or ethnic groups have completed college during the past four decades; however, the gap between Caucasians and African Americans has widened as well as the gap between Caucasians and Hispanics since 1971. In 2011, 39% of Caucasian 25- to 29year-olds completed a bachelor's degree or higher, as compared to 20% of African Americans and 13% of Hispanics. In 1975, those figures were 15%, 6% and 6%, respectively (Aud et al., 2011).In addition to marked differences in college completion rates between African American and Hispanic students as compared to Caucasian students, African American and Hispanic students require more time to complete an undergraduate degree than their Caucasian peers (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). Persistently low academic performance, graduation rates, college enrollment and completion rates among African American students negatively impact their ability to successfully transition into the world of work (Feliciano & Ashtiani, 2012). Therefore, efforts to recruit retain and graduate African American youth from institutions of higher learning requires that schools establish a 'college-going culture' at primary and secondary levels (Gulatt & Jan, 2003; Stillisano, Brown, Alford, & Waxman, 2013).Urban school districts face particular challenges in educating low-income and minority youth. The effects of poverty (Feliciano & Ashtiani, 2012; McLoyd, 1998; Perry & McConney, 2010), limited social capital resources (Gordon, 1999) and low parental educational attainment can severely thwart the educational trajectory of urban youth. Despite low college enrollment and graduation rates four-year institutions of higher education on the part of African American and Hispanic students, this trend is not reflective of their early aspirations. …

The Impact of GEAR UP on College Readiness for Students in Low Income Schools

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) on college readiness outcomes using a quasi-experimental design. GEAR UP is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education by providing 6-year grants to states and district partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools. Specifically, this study sought to evaluate whether 173 schools that participated in GEAR UP showed increases in the percentages of students who were prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education, as compared to students from similar, non-GEAR UP schools. Seven years (2003–2009) of matched cohort data were compiled to include all regular (e.g., nonspecial education) high schools with grade 12 enrollment as documented by the National Center for Educational Statistics. Participation in and performance on three College Board assessments that measure college readiness at the high school level (SAT, PSAT/NMSQT, and AP) as well as percent free/reduced-price lunch were used to identify comparable schools. Results showed that, overall, the GEAR UP program showed positive evidence of improving college readiness outcomes for low income students using a variety of college readiness measures.

Urban High School Students’ Experiences in an Afterschool College Readiness Program

This transcendental phenomenological investigation examined urban students’ experiences in Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), an afterschool college readiness program. The federally funded program provides low-income and minority students information and access to services that lead to increased opportunities for post-secondary education. Interviews with 10 participants revealed that (a) navigating the college system; (b) expansion of career options; (c) counseling relationship; (d) personal insight; and (e) future orientation were major themes. Implications for school counselor preparation and practice are discussed.

Access to Higher Education among High School Students: Challenges and Solutions

Problem statement: Although there have been increases in student enrollment in tertiary (university) educational settings in many countries, there continues to be students who experience challenges bridging secondary (high school) and university education. Approach: This study includes a description of strategies used in a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduates Program (GEAR UP) that assisted students whose parents did not continue education beyond high school to pursue a college or university education. Results: The relationship between both student academic support and parent support of students attending college and students’ participation in the college preparation activities (termed university preparedness) in 10 and 11th grades were examined. Conclusion: The analyses showed that higher levels of both types of supports are associating with higher student university preparedness scores and that parent-related supports proved especially important as a determinant of pursuing a tertiary degree.

Foster Care and College

Despite an overall increase in college attendance, low-income youth and particularly those in the foster care system are less likely to attend college (Wolanin, 2005). Although youth in foster care report high educational aspirations, as little as 4% obtain a 4-year college degree (Nixon & Jones, 2007). The purpose of this study is to explore differences in educational aspirations and expectations among foster care and nonfoster care youth and to explore key predictors of these differences. Using baseline data generated from Kansas Kids @ GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), 1,377 youth were surveyed in regard to their future educational goals, academic self-perception, and level of social support. Results demonstrated that youth from the foster care system report lower educational aspirations and expectations, of which academic self-perception and parental support for education were the best predictors. Limitations and implications for future research will be discussed.

Using Media as Subject Matter to Teach Thinking

Learning should occur in social environments in which students are engaged in meaningful activities that require them to think critically and solve problems (Dewey, 1933; Phillips & Soltis, 1998). This article describes how an urban middle school interdisciplinary teaching team partnered with the authors to create a hands-on, highly engaging curriculum project designed to provide a safe way for students to explore and think critically about profound, sometimes frightening aspects of their lives. Sixth grade students used photography to gather data depicting their fears, hopes, community supports, and barriers to academic achievement. The Media-based Inquiry Project engaged students in data collection, data analysis, decision making, and writing. On the pages that follow, we describe the planning process, the implementation of the project, and the results and impacts upon student behavior and academic achievement. Description of the Media-based Inquiry Project The Media-based Inquiry Project began as part of a school-university partnership formed through a federal (GEAR UP) Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs grant. The project was designed jointly by an interdisciplinary team of language arts, science, history, math, and special education teachers in a Midwestern urban middle school and the authors, two researchers from Western Michigan University's GEAR UP Learning Centers. During initial conversations between the authors and the team members, the teachers shared that the personal problems and issues in their students' lives were often barriers to their learning and developing a sense of efficacy as individuals and as learners. They wanted to learn more about their students' lives without being inappropriately intrusive. They also wanted to find ways to support students' lives so that they could improve academic achievement and gain self-empowerment. How we began We met with the sixth grade team to begin planning an intervention during the fall of 2005. We acquired the following information and shared it with the teachers: retention rates, number of behavioral referrals, and GPA trends of the middle school as a whole and by ethnicity. These data showed a high number of behavioral referrals and an appalling failure rate in core courses, especially by eighth grade. Although teachers were aware of these issues, viewing and discussing the actual data gave teachers a forum for acknowledging the severity of the school's problems. We decided to use this data as a benchmark for assessing the impact of the instructional strategy intervention. Our GEAR UP project goal was to help teaching teams develop curriculum that was personally meaningful (Brooks & Brooks, 1993) thematic and interdisciplinary (Protheroe, 2007), and authentic (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005). During our planning, the sixth grade team was especially focused on its students' personal, social, and community barriers to school engagement and achievement. This team was also refreshingly nonjudgmental about its students and their families. As initial conversations with the team progressed, a focal question emerged from the teaching team about how to offer students a way to explore their lives and to communicate their strengths and needs to adults in a nonjudgmental context that could be engaging for the students (Brooks & Brooks, 1993; Desautels, Garrison, & Fleury, 1998). Their goal was to better understand their students and to provide real supports that would help make the school a community of connection and care. Lee (2005) affirmed the importance of emotional connection, particularly when teaching children from diverse cultural backgrounds. Rather than simply imposing their own understandings of what their students needed, the teachers wanted to open a dialogue with their students. They were deeply concerned about being inappropriately intrusive, so we explored with them various ideas of how to reach their goals, including a workshop with a professional psychologist about the differences between teacher-student and psychologist-client discussions. …

Quick Reads: Promising Partnerships: Gearing Up for Mathematics

[M]ore low-income families will be well-informed of postsecondary options and financial aid, and take the steps necessary for admission into an institute of higher education. With GEAR UP, more low-income students will go to college and succeed. (Silver, n.d.)

A Comparison Study of AVID and GEAR UP 10th-Grade Students in Two High Schools in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas

This study examines 4 groups of high school students enrolled in 2 college preparatory programs, AVID and GEAR UP. Differences in student educational aspirations, expectations and anticipations, knowledge of college entrance requirements, knowledge of financial aid, and academic achievement in mathematics were examined. Adelman's (1999) anticipations scale was used to measure the college plans of the 4 groups of students. Main findings included higher aspirations and college knowledge for AVID and GEAR UP students, and significantly higher academic preparation for AVID students. This study examined 10th graders and is the first part of a 2-year study of AVID and GEAR UP students.

Hispanic College Attendance and the State of Texas GEAR UP Program

AbstractThis article reports the results of an evaluation of the state of Texas GEAR UP project implemented in six school districts from 1998 to 2005. The intent of the program was to enhance preparation for post‐secondary education among low‐income, Hispanic students. The program was comprised of practical interventions including vertical curriculum alignment, training teachers in advanced placement techniques, encouraging students to take rigorous courses, and increasing outreach about college attendance to students and parents. The central dependent variable is reports by parents of graduating seniors about whether their children would be attending college. A multivariate analysis, controlling for household SES, student grades and attendance, household composition, and language spoken in the home indicates that increased student exposure to the GEAR UP program markedly increases the probability that parents will report that their children are going to attend college.

At-Risk High School Students in the “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness” Program (GEAR UP): Academic and Behavioral Outcomes

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a GEAR UP intervention with at-risk high school students at a large urban high school in Florida. The goals of the GEAR UP program were to improve academic performance, decrease behavior-related problems, and reduce truancy and absenteeism. The study design consisted of a three-group comparison of the 447 students in GEAR UP: the No Participation Group, the Low Participation Group, and the High Participation Group. Participation levels were calculated for each category of activity (academic, behavior-related, and social), and propensity scoring was used to match the groups on sociodemographic characteristics and other differentiating variables. Results indicated that race (i.e., African American) and sex (i.e., female) are associated with high participation in program activities. Also, students who spent a substantial amount of time on academic activities improved their GPAs over a semester, and students who took advantage of behavior-related services and participated in social activities significantly reduced disciplinary referrals (p < .05). Suggestions for program refinement resulting from the study are discussed.

Increasing the College Preparedness of At-Risk Students

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) emerged in the late 1990s as a comprehensive outreach program seeking to enhance awareness of and readiness for college among low-income middle school students. After controlling for students' preprogram test scores and school characteristics, findings indicate that students participating in GEAR UP and in a comparison group gained in their reading and mathematics test scores. Analyses, however, found no statistically significant 2-year effects of program participation on students' reading scores, although a slight, nonsignificant trend across the study period suggested some closing of the statistically significant gap between the 2 groups in the baseline year.

Improving Equity and Access for Low-Income and Minority Youth Into Institutions of Higher Education

This article discusses the educational achievement status of racial and ethnic minorities, specifically African Americans and Latinos as compared to their Caucasian peers. In addition, this article describes several long-standing federal educational initiatives designed to improve educational equity and access on the part of low-income and underrepresented minorities into institutions of higher learning. Finally, the promise of a relatively new educational initiative called GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is illustrated with a detailed description of Connecticut's successful implementation of this approach. Underscored are implications this article has for research, policy, and practice in the educational arena.

Psychologists Back Women, Chuck Magazine, Gear up for NHI

Psychologists Back Women, Chuck Magazine, Gear up for NHI