Partnerships for College Readiness

• In Event: Creating Conditions That Support Students’ Postsecondary Pathways and Success: The College Readiness Indicator Systems Initiative

Abstract

Objectives and Significance

The education spotlight has shifted from high school graduation to postsecondary success. This shift has created new opportunities for community-based organizations (CBOs) and universities to partner with school districts and schools to support the work of K-12 systems. As more partners collaborate and work with students, many recognize that sharing data can help measure the impact of their strategies, reduce redundancies in their efforts, and provide targeted student aid. Our interest is to learn how districts and their external partners interact through college readiness data and indicator systems to collaborate and support college readiness.

Theoretical Framework

Equitable access to, and preparation for, success in postsecondary education has become necessary to meet economic demands. More than 80% of high school seniors aspire to four-year degrees (Roderick, Nagaoka, & Coca 2009), yet only a fraction enroll in a degree-bearing program within one year of high school graduation (Aud et al. 2011). Collaborations between K-12 systems, postsecondary institutions, and CBOs have increased significantly to support students’ journey to college. While not all collaborations include all three sectors, scholars have found that successful partnerships require shared visions, responsibilities, and cultural norms (Bosma et al. 2010; Goldring & Sims 2005; Núñez & Oliva 2009; Bruce et al. 2011). Another element of a successful collaboration is the role of data in strengthening not only organizations’ internal capacity but also the relationships between partners (Dougherty, Long, & Singer 2009; Sanders 2008).
Research Questions

We pursue three research questions: (1) How do districts and external organizations – higher education and CBOs – collaborate around issues of college readiness? (2) How do partners develop, share, and act on college readiness indicators? (3)What are some of the barriers - institutional, cultural, and technical - to these partnerships?

Mode of Inquiry

We conducted interviews with members of the district office, CBOs, and higher-education institutions from the CRIS site. Using a snowball sampling method, we began with our site liaisons and their partner organizations, including CBOs and higher-education institutions. We conducted 43 interviews, each lasting approximately one hour.

Findings

Several findings emerged. First, there are multiple types of partnerships and levels of engagement between districts and partners, ranging from informal, ad hoc groups of organizations who meet to discuss common interests in college readiness to formal partnerships with memoranda-of-understanding and detailed data-sharing agreements. Second, sharing data around college readiness is a key feature of many partnerships, though there are significant technical and potential privacy issues that make data sharing difficult. Third, intermediary organizations are emerging in many CRIS sites. These organizaitons raise the profile of college readiness across their communities, and help coordinate groups focused on preparing young people for higher education. Finally, a number of partners are extending their supports from college readiness to college completion as many recognize that college entrance does not guarantee students’ success in college.

Authors

• Jacob Mishook, Achieve, Inc.

• Warren Simmons, Brown University