Increasing Access to College: Extending Possibilities for All Students

10. Reflective Evaluation: Improving Practice in College Preparation Programs

217 C H A P T E R 10 Reflective Evaluation Improving Practice in College Preparation Programs WILLIAM G. TIERNEY Throughout this book we have argued that college preparation programs, otherwise known as “enhancement programs,” have taken on increased national importance for a variety of reasons. As Yonezawa and her colleagues pointed out, in California, the elimination of affirmative action led to a precipitous drop in minority student enrollment to the University of California system; policy makers wondered what other actions they might take to enable access to college and their chapter offered one such remedy. Oakes and her colleagues discussed a second possible remedy. The problem, of course, is not simply limited to California. As Knight and Oesterreich discussed, in New York City well over 50 percent of public school students have been unable to pass the statewide Regents exam, which has led to a similar concern about the drop in minority student enrollment to City University (CUNY, 1999). One response to the dilemma of college access has been the proliferation of college preparation programs. As urban public schools in general continue to grapple with a myriad of what seem to be long-term structural problems, educators and policy makers have turned to discrete solutions that offer a chance for success. In the first part of this book we outlined the conceptual terrain, and subsequently discussed the problems and dynamics of particular programs. A brief glance at the abundance of programs and multitude of goals that we outlined in Part I highlight a basic inherent tension: How does one decide which programs are most appropriate for particular kinds of students? We have limited the focus of our attention in this book to programs that cater to urban students who attend schools where students are unlikely to attend college. Previous studies using national data sets developed a set of characteristics associated with an increased probability of not making the transition to 218 WILLIAM G. TIERNEY college (Kaufman and Bradley, 1992). Researchers have pointed out, for example, that lack of college attendance highly correlates with students’ demographic characteristics, especially ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status. As I discuss below, the following factors also increase the likelihood that the student will not go on to college: • Grade point averages of C or lower from sixth to eighth grade • Family socio-economic status in the lowest quartile • Reading at or below grade level • Recent immigration to the United States • Having siblings who did not graduate from high school • A member of a single-parent family (Horn and Chen, 1998). Because students who match these conditions are in general those who are most likely not to attend college, they may benefit from the kind of college preparation programs that have been discussed elsewhere in this book. College preparation programs are suited to particular schools that have low transition rates to college and where the students exhibit many of these characteristics . Surely, by outlining these characteristics none of us have posited a deficit model of individuals. Indeed, Hagedorn and Fogel, as well as Jun and Colyar and others throughout the book, have offered analyses of the cultural capital necessary for success. The college preparation programs we have discussed here seem to come in all shapes and sizes. A rapid increase in college preparation programs has occurred at many funding levels—federal, state, and through private foundations. The congressional GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) initiative is an example of a significant commitment of federal funds for transition programs. As has been discussed earlier, states such as Florida and California have increased state monies for programs such as CROP (College Reach Out Program) and MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement). Foundations continue to provide significant funds for direct services of college preparation programs. However, there has been very little analysis of the worth of these programs ; therefore, my purpose in this chapter is to offer a preliminary scaffolding for how we might think about evaluating college preparation programs. As I will elaborate, I am not interested in evaluation simply for evaluation’s sake. The point of evaluation ought not be merely a theoretical argument or a bureaucratic requirement that does not lead to change. Instead, I propose a reflective schema whereby those involved in operating college preparation programs might undertake specific activities that will lead to direct program improvement. Reflective Evaluation 219 Background The vast...