College Aspirations and College Knowledge:
Students’ Preparation for Post-Secondary Aspirations
University of Oregon
Liz Gilkey
University of Oregon
The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. Lao-Tzu
Introduction
This school improvement goal is explore eleventh and twelfth grade
students’ aspirations and their understanding of the knowledge and skills
required to enroll and succeed in college in order to better align students’
postsecondary aspirations with their preparation for achieving those
aspirations through school-wide college preparation programs.
As Cooper (2009) writes: “Educational aspirations are critical to
educational attainment because people cannot achieve what they do
not dream” (616). Students with postsecondary aspirations are more
likely to apply to college and students who apply are more likely to
attend. Seniors who aspire to earn a bachelor’s degree (BA) are 28%
more likely to apply to a four-year institution than students with no
aspirations to attend college, and seniors aspiring for an advanced
degree are 34% more likely to apply (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2001).
Key Transition Knowledge and Skills
The Key Transition Knowledge and Skills portion of the Conley model
involves the information students need to successfully prepare for,
apply to, and succeed in college and careers. Key Transition
Knowledge and Skills includes four aspects: Academic Awareness,
College Admissions Process, College and Career Culture, and Tuition
and Financial Aid and these Aspects are further divided into
Components (see Table 1).
Methods
This study analyzed the relationship between eleventh and twelfth
grade students’ responses to items in the Key Transition Knowledge
and Skills dimension (see Table 2 above) and their responses to the
item, “What are your plans for the fall after you graduate from high
school?” Students’ responses to this item are presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Students’ Aspirations
Table 1: Key Transition Knowledge and Skills
Even if students have post-secondary aspirations, they cannot attend
if they are not prepared. Of students who had obtained college
qualifications such as the requisite GPA, class rank, aptitude test
scores, SAT and ACT scores, 69% enrolled in college whereas only
9% of unqualified students enrolled (Cabrera & La Nasa, 2001). In
addition, many enrolled students are not college ready: 40% of
students took at least one remedial course in college costing at least
$1 billion a year (Adelman, 1999; Attewell, Lavin, Domina & Levey,
2006, Conley, 2010).
Theory
College readiness is the level of preparation a student needs to enroll
and succeed without remediation in a credit-bearing general
education course at a postsecondary institution that offers a
baccalaureate degree (Conley, 2005, 2007, 2010).
Conley (2005, 2007, 2010) developed a model of college readiness
through a study of the programs and practices at 38 high-performing
high schools nationwide. Through this study, Conley (2005, 2007,
2010) identified four keys of college readiness: Key Cognitive
Strategies, Key Content Knowledge, Key Learning Skills and
Strategies, and Key Transition Knowledge and Skills (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Four Keys of College Readiness
Note. Adapted from Conley (2005, 2007, 2010)
Data Sources and Sample
Data were collected through the Spring 2011 administration of The
CollegeReady School Diagnostic (Diagnostic), an online, schoollevel measure that assesses the four-part model of college
readiness (see Table 1 above). The Diagnostic enables schools to
identify the areas in which they already excel and offers
approaches for incorporating strategies not yet used through
questions about the activities, policies, and programs at
participating schools. Upon completion of the Diagnostic, each
school receives a descriptive report outlining its results, allowing
schools and districts to see how well their programs compare with
best practices. The report provides individualized, actionable
recommendations to help administrators and teachers see where
instruction could be made more effective and how best to target
limited resources.
The sample of students in this study were 2327 eleventh (50%)
and twelfth (50%) grade students in schools who had administered
the School Diagnostic in the Spring of 2011. Students were 50%
male. One third of students in the sample were potentially firstgeneration college attendees (with neither parent having attended
any college) and 46% of students were eligible for Free or Reduced
Price Lunch. Student ethnicity was as follows:
•50% White
•25% Latino
•8% Asian/Pacific Islander
•7% African American
•7% Multiple Categories/Mixed Race
Note. Adapted from Conley (2005, 2007, 2010)
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A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the
effect of students’ aspirations for after high school on their Key
Transition Knowledge and Skills for students aspiring to attend fouryear college, attend two-year college, enter the workforce, and for
students who do not know their aspirations for after high school.
Some Results and Conclusions
There was a significant effect of students’ aspirations on students’
mean Key Transition Knowledge and Skills score at the p < .05 level
for the aspirations examined (F(3, 2038) = 43.55, p = .00). Post hoc
comparisons using the Tukey HSD test indicated that the mean score
for the group of students with four-year college aspirations (M = 3.81,
SD = 0.93) was significantly different than the mean score for the
students with two-year college aspirations (M = 3.50, SD = 0.97), the
group of students with work aspirations (M = 3.10, SD = 1.12), and the
group of students who did not know their plans for after high school (M
= 3.21, SD = 1.00).
The results of this study indicate that the development of students’
Key Transition Knowledge and Skills is related to their aspirations for
after high school. Students who aspire to attend four-year college
scored significantly higher than students with other aspirations in all
components of Key Transition Knowledge and Skills. Students with
other aspirations may not fully understand the steps required to attend
college, follow up studies are required to determine if those students
do not aspire to attend college because they are making informed
choices or because they lack the Key Transition Knowledge and Skills
to attend.
Contact Information and Acknowledgements
Drs David T. Conley and Mary Seburn of the Educational Policy Improvement
Center also contributed to this work.
For further information, please contact Liz Gilkey, liz_gilkey@epiconline.org
School Improvement Plan
More than half of the students in this study reported that they
planned to attend four-year college after high school. With so many
students aspiring to college, it is all the more crucial that educators
develop school- and district-wide strategies to adequately prepare
students for postsecondary success.
In order to create a college-going culture, high schools can develop
more systematic college preparation programs to gauge student
understanding of Key Transition Knowledge and Skills. Schools can
institute these programs beginning in ninth grade, cover topics
systematically, and revisit topics in junior and senior year.
As part of these programs, schools can do the following:
•Teach students about the types of careers available for individuals
with just a high school education versus the opportunities available
for individuals with a college degree.
•Teach students about the types of financial aid available, the
college admissions process, and the differences between high
school and college.
•Build student schedules with the assumption that all students will
be attending a postsecondary institution.
•Encourage teachers to become aware generally of admission
requirements for four-year state universities and the types of twoyear certificate programs available at the local community college.
•Arrange visitation programs whereby students get a general
introduction to the state university or local community college.
•Enlist college students to work with students in small groups to
explain the challenges of college and how to prepare for them.
•Require that all students complete an application for a college or
community college, first as juniors and again in their senior year.
Students should be encouraged, but not required, to submit the
application.
References
Adelman, C. (1999). Answers in the toolbox: Academic intensity,
attendance patterns, and bachelor’s degree attainment.
Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and
Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.
Attewell, P.A., Lavin, D.E., Domina, T., Levey, T. (2006). New
evidence on college remediation. The Journal of Higher
Education, 77(5), 886-924.
Cabrera, A.F. & La Nasa, S.M. (2001). On the path to college: Three
critical tasks facing America’s disadvantaged. Research in Higher
Education, 42(2), 119-149.
Conley, D.T. (2005). College Knowledge. San Francisco, CA: JosseyBass.
Conley, D. T. (2007). Redefining college readiness, Volume 3.
Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center.
Conley, D.T. (2010). College and Career Ready. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Gilkey, E.M, Seburn, M., Conley, D.T. (2012). College aspirations and
college knowledge: Student preparation for post-secondary
aspirations. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the
American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC,
Canada.