Barriers to College Opportunity

Abstract

This study explores the ways that state high school testing policies shape college opportunity among students attending 15 high schools in five states. The authors use multiple descriptive case studies to explore how testing policies influence key predictors of college enrollment (e.g., high school graduation, academic preparation, knowledge, and information) and a high school's capacity to promote college enrollment. The study identifies several unintended consequences of state-mandated high school tests for factors related to college enrollment and shows that the unintended negative consequences are greater at schools with the lowest average socioeconomic status and academic achievement than at other schools.

Academic Tracking, High-Stakes Tests, and Preparing Students for College: How Inequality Persists Within Schools

“…One consequence of current accountability policies, therefore, seems to be that high stakes cause teachers and students to focus more on the content of the exam than on a broader curriculum needed for a well-rounded education. Case studies by Perna and Thomas (2009) likewise showed that state-mandated testing creates an atmosphere in high schools that reduces academic preparation, knowledge, and information and lowers graduation rates. The authors contend that the pressure to perform well on exams distracts teachers and students from focusing on activities that will foster academic preparation and college enrollment, particularly in settings where students are at the greatest risk of failing to meet “proficiency” or “progress.” Overall, these studies suggest that an emphasis on test scores only contributes to leaving more students behind.…”

Financing College Opportunity

“…As suggested in other articles in this volume, college attainment in the United States depends on several forces including students’ academic readiness for college, the social and economic backgrounds of students, social and cultural cues about the importance of attending college that students may (or may not) receive early in their lives, the information (or lack thereof) that students possess about college costs and student financial aid, the pricing and financial-aid practices of campuses, and public policies that may directly and indirectly shape the conditions for college attainment. Indeed, state policies can be exceedingly important in shaping postsecondary opportunity and success (e.g., Kirst and Bracco 2004; Perna 2010; Perna and Thomas 2008).…”

Psychosocial academic behavioral skills and college enrollment

“…Many scholars have studied factors that predict college enrollment (e.g., Coleman, 1988;Engberg & Wolniak, 2010;Erdman, 1983;Hurtado, Inkelas, Briggs, & Rhee, 1997;Kena et al, 2015;Perna, 2000;Perna, 2006;Perna & Thomas, 2009;Perna & Titus, 2005;Ross et al, 2012). I review predictors of college enrollment and dedicate special attention to barriers that diminish rates of college enrollment for traditionally underrepresented racial and ethnic minority populations.…”

“…underrepresented college student populations (e.g., Albert & Luzzo, 1999;Ali & Saunders, 2006;Hurtado et al, 1997;Luzzo & McWhirter, 2001;McWhirter, 1997;Perna & Thomas, 2009). In 2005, Perna and Titus' cogently summarized several barriers that influence the enrollment patterns of African-American and Hispanic populations:…”