Fault Lines in Postsecondary Educational Opportunity: A Mixed-Methods Examination of At-Risk Students

• In Event: Understanding and Facilitating Students’ College Readiness

Abstract

The present study fills a gap in the literature on college pathways among at-risk students. The purpose of the study is to improve our understanding of the conditions and characteristics that enable at-risk high school students to overcome adversity in pursuit of postsecondary education. Drawing upon data from a national scholarship program in combination with nationally representative data from the Education Longitudinal Study, a mixed-methods approach was used to identify major fault lines in postsecondary opportunity in the United States and to examine resilience as a mechanism by which disadvantaged, at-risk students stay on track towards postsecondary education.

Authors

• Gregory C. Wolniak, NORC at the University of Chicago

• Jesse Rude, NORC at the University of Chicago

• Panagiotis Rekoutis, The McCarton School