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College-Bound Students

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Commentary
Ready, Set, College
With the nation investing at least $1 billion a year in developmental education, states and colleges are rethinking their approaches to reform. Are states moving too fast to mandate developmental education policy? It depends on the policy.
Mar 5, 2018
Commentary
Bridging the Growing College Divide Among Young Americans
Over the last decade, more Americans age 25 to 34 earned four-year college and graduate degrees, but the number of those without college degrees also increased. New ways of communicating educational options and outcomes to young people are needed.
Apr 13, 2018

Explore College-Bound Students

Multimedia
The Pandemic’s Effect on College and Career Readiness Supports
RAND policy researcher Christine Mulhern describes findings from her recent study that examined how college and career readiness supports changed during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apr 14, 2022
Report
Changes in College and Career Readiness Supports During the First Year of COVID-19
Emerging evidence suggests that high school students' postsecondary aspirations and their engagement with school counselors have changed during the pandemic. What were some of the perceived barriers to supports for postsecondary transitions?
Jan 12, 2022
Periodical
RAND Review: September-October 2021
The cover story highlights strategies to mitigate homegrown terrorism and ideologically inspired violence in the U.S. A second feature describes Costa Rica's ambitious decarbonization plan and its implications for nations around the world.
Sep 7, 2021
Commentary
Next Year's Freshman: How Corequisites Might Help Address COVID-19 Learning Loss
As states and colleges look to address learning loss due to COVID-19, it is important that they not turn to traditional models of remediation that prevent students from directly entering college coursework. Instead, they should look to new, effective models of corequisite support.
Jul 13, 2021
Journal Article
Heterogeneity in the Effects of College Course Placement
To better understand which types of students might be most likely to benefit from being placed into college-level math coursework, this study examines heterogeneity in the causal effects of placement into college-level courses using administrative data from Texas.
Apr 6, 2021
Research Brief
How Does Corequisite Remediation Change Student Experiences? Results from a Randomized Study in Five Texas Community Colleges
Corequisite remediation for non–college-ready students provides early opportunities to earn credit, more-intensive instruction, greater rigor, greater alignment, and increased opportunities to learn from peers.
Mar 24, 2021
Report
Student Experiences in English Corequisite Remediation Versus a Standalone Developmental Education Course: Findings from an Experimental Study in Texas Community Colleges
In this report, researchers use data from a randomized control trial at five community colleges in Texas to examine contrasts in student experiences between corequisite remediation and standalone developmental education courses.
Mar 24, 2021
Journal Article
When Financial Aid Is Scarce: The Challenge of Allocating College Aid Where It Is Needed Most
This study estimates the effects of the Wisconsin Grant, a state-funded, need-based financial aid program for Wisconsin residents attending in-state colleges and universities.
Oct 9, 2020
Report
How Are Educators Teaching and Leading Through the Pandemic?
U.S. teachers and principals shifted quickly to support students with distance learning during the early weeks of the coronavirus crisis. But unfortunately, the pandemic is likely to make existing inequalities worse.
Jun 22, 2020
Multimedia
How Schools Can Support Students During COVID-19
Melanie Zaber, associate economist with the RAND Corporation, offers insights into how education leaders and policymakers can support students during COVID-19.
Jun 10, 2020
Commentary
Is It Time to Rethink the Separation Between the High School and Postsecondary Systems?
We do not yet know how long or deep this economic downturn will be, or how the pandemic will affect the way we work and learn. But just as the post-coronavirus workplace is surely being re-envisioned, this crisis should motivate us to reconsider the structure of our educational system. Early college is a model that can help inform these discussions.
Apr 16, 2020
Research Brief
Financial Aid Can Help Low-Income Students Finish Two-Year College Programs
In Wisconsin, a state-funded grant helped the lowest-income college students meet living expenses and supported degree completion. A grant of $1,100 made graduation 9 percent more likely for students enrolled at technical colleges.
Mar 30, 2020
Report
Supporting College Enrollees Who Test at the Lowest Levels of Readiness: Lessons from Texas Community Colleges
Beginning in fall 2015, Texas policymakers recommended that colleges offer targeted supports to students who tested at the lowest levels on the state's placement exam. This report describes the reforms and their implementation by community colleges.
Aug 26, 2019
Report
Raising the Bar for Graduation Pathways to College and Work: Early Signals on How Louisiana's Education Policy Strategies Are Affecting College and Career Readiness
This report, part of a four-part series on implementation and outcomes of Louisiana's education initiatives, focuses on Louisiana's high school graduation pathways, which aim to improve college readiness, career readiness, and financial aid access.
Jun 11, 2019
Commentary
Dual Enrollment for High Schoolers Can Expand Access to College—with Some Caveats
Targeted federal investments in high school and college dual enrollment programs can boost postsecondary access for students currently underrepresented in postsecondary education. But thoughtful implementation could be key to ensuring those students are successful in college.
Jun 6, 2019
Journal Article
Market Power and Price Discrimination in the US Market for Higher Education
We estimate an equilibrium model of private and public college competition and pricing using the NPSAS. We find substantial exercise of inefficient market power and, importantly, sizable variation by both college quality and student characteristics.
Feb 15, 2019
Report
Evaluation of the Creating College and Career Readiness Initiative in Kentucky
This report presents findings from an evaluation of the Creating College and Career Readiness initiative, which used a suite of personalized software in the kindergarten-12th grade setting in rural Kentucky schools.
Sep 27, 2018
Dissertation
Choose Wisely: A Study of College Major Choice and Major Switching Behavior
This dissertation explores the college major decision-making process, both for initial and subsequent major choices, and analyzes the associations between major choice behaviors and student outcomes such as time to degree and probability of graduation.
Aug 31, 2018
Commentary
The Case for Corequisites: What Are the Ingredients of Success?
More than two-thirds of community college students and 40 percent of four-year college students take at least one developmental education course. States and colleges across the United States are experimenting with innovative approaches to developmental education to improve graduation rates for struggling students.
May 23, 2018
Testimony
Five Options for Long-Term Sustainability of Pennsylvania's State System Universities
Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education faces significant challenges to its long-term sustainability, including population shifts and limited state funding. There are options to address these issues and avoid closures, but major structural changes will be needed.
Apr 25, 2018

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Researcher Spotlight

Elaine Leigh

Associate Policy Researcher

Elaine W. Leigh (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. Her research broadly examines policies and practices that address inequities in postsecondary and workforce transitions for historically excluded students. Recent areas of inquiry include understanding workforce…
Jenna W. Kramer

Associate Policy Researcher

Jenna W. Kramer (she/her) is an associate policy researcher at the RAND Corporation who specializes in education and workforce policy and practice. Her research interests and expertise span postsecondary readiness, access, and success; secondary and postsecondary career and technical education;…

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