State Policies to Increase Retention
and Persistence
David T. Conley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Oregon
Director, Center for
Educational Policy Research
Historical Background of the High
School-College Connection
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High school and college evolved along separate
paths in the U.S.
U.S. high schools have always been concerned
with more than college prep
U.S. postsecondary system is the most complex
in the world
Communications between systems are ad hoc
and outside formal governmental control
Policies connecting the systems are largely the
result of practice, rather than vice-versa
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What Is The Challenge?
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A range of surveys conclude that 90% of
students entering high school say they are
going to college
About 40% take a full program of study that
prepares them to do so
Well over 2/3 eventually go on to postsecondary
education
A large proportion drops out during or after the
first year or takes remedial courses
There is a mismatch among aspiration,
preparation, and performance: Why?
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Bridge Project Findings
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Study of student knowledge of UC, CSU, and
community college systems requirements
450 students at high schools in or near
Sacramento, California
25% white, 75% other races/ethnicities
Predominantly middle and low SES
Survey data
Focus groups also conducted
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Bridge Project Findings:
College Aspirations
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Survey asked students to indicate all types of college to
which they aspired at 9th and 11th grades
20% of 9th graders aspired to community college: by
11th grade this had doubled to 40%
The proportion aspiring to a CSU campus increased by
about 8%
51% of 9th graders aspired to UC Davis; this decreased
by 11th grade to 45%, but those aspiring to other UC
campuses increased by 10%
All racial groups aspired about equally to community
colleges, but African-Americans had significantly lower
rates of aspiration to all UC campuses and to CSU
campuses other than the local CSU
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Who Provides Information?
Most students use parents and teachers
 The percent talking to counselors
increased from 45% in 9th grade to 77%
in 11th grade
 Students get information from teachers
and counselors but also from older
siblings, parents, friends
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Aspirations by GPA
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The stronger the GPA, the less interest in
community college, and vice-versa
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The “crossover point” for all groups is between a Band a B
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Students are realists
This is the GPA at which students begin to clearly
differentiate themselves
What does a “B” GPA tell us about their college
readiness?
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Significant differences begin to come into play at the B+.
This indicates a form of grade inflation or at least a lack
of consistent school-wide grading standards
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Knowledge of Curricular
Requirements
Course
RequirementsUC Davis
3-year math
requirement
9th graders
11th graders
31%
51%
2-year science
requirement
32%
30%
2-year foreign
language
requirement
47%
54%
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Knowledge of Curricular
Requirements
Course
Requirement
AfricanAmerican 11th
graders
White 11th
graders
UC Davis 3year math
requirement
42%
55%
CSU 3-year
math
requirement
44%
60%
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Knowledge of Placement Test
Policies
Placement
Exam
9th graders
11th graders
Knew UCD had
both an English
and math test only
10%
24%
Knew CSU had
both an English
and math test only
17%
40%
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Summary
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College preparation is knowledge-intensive
In general, the knowledge is more prevalent among the
more privileged
Schools have few systematic means to ensure all
students have this knowledge
This study did not investigate challenges associated
with admissions tests (i.e., SAT, SAT-II), including
student registration problems, knowledge of deadlines,
prep options, fee waivers
Schools and communities face a serious challenge
continuously educating students regarding college
admissions requirements
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Characteristics of FirstGeneration Students
Lack of familiarity with processes
 Unreal expectations, anecdotal
knowledge
 Subject to influence and to rapid decision
changes
 College attendance not necessarily a lifelong goal or family focus
 More oriented toward community colleges
 Need info on requirements, financial aid
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The Complexity of College
Preparation
The more complex a process, the more it
favors those who understand the system
and disadvantages those who don’t
 College prep is complex, and students
can make bad decisions
 Procedures for selective universities are
particularly complex
 Despite some recent reforms, high
schools continue to be largely fragmented
experiences for students (and teachers) 13
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What Are Key Steps To Take?
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Develop a simplified system where students
can’t make bad decisions
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Common core of academic expectations aligned with
college admission
Incorporate personal educational profiles where
students see the trajectory they’re on and any
gap between their academic plan and their
goals
Develop common standards for grading across
similar classes
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Produce exemplars of student work to illustrate
expectations and requirements
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Create High Expectations and A
Common Core
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Expectations for certain key elements of the
curriculum need to be common and
challenging
Even if all students don’t reach the desired
level, all are on a trajectory to do so
Discussion of common standards, review of
exemplary work, agreement on common
grading practices are first steps
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Focus on Proficiency Over
Credits
Getting students to identify what they
need to know, what they know, and the
gap between the two is a key transition
high schools must make if they are ever
to prepare students better for college
success
 To achieve this goal requires moving
beyond credits and, particularly, a focus
on the high school diploma
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Create Proficiency-based
Transitions
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What are the systems for moving students into
and out of the high school?
Do all enter and exit in the same general time
frame?
Incoming h.s. freshman should be subject to
college-like placement testing and granting
credit to allow faster movement or more
focused remediation
Proficiency-based assessment linked to entrylevel college skills and generic work readiness
competencies facilitate exit transition
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Plan System Alignment
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In each state, K-12 and higher education
systems would be required to meet on a regular
basis to analyze how the systems align or fail to
align from high school to postsecondary
education. These meetings would include
mandatory examination of a range of policies
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Require K-12 and postsecondary systems to
develop programs jointly that enable students to
make successful transitions from secondary to
postsecondary education.
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Align Policies and Procedures
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Match high school exit criteria and postsecondary admission
criteria
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Examine the nature and content of postsecondary education
placement policies, the instruments used to make placement
decisions, and the alignment of these policies and instruments
with state standards, assessments, curriculum frameworks, and
high school educational offerings
Align and articulate teacher education program content and exit
standards with state content standards and K-12 assessments
Articulate student data systems to allow more complex and valid
information on student performance to pass from K-12 to higher
ed.
Coordinate Tech-Prep programs to ensure students in these
programs do not lose the option of college
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Align Incentive Systems
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Cultivate and expand statewide early admission, dual
enrollment, and dual credit programs
Adopt common policies for offering college credit and
making placement decisions based on Advanced
Placement, SAT-II, International Baccalaureate
examinations
Coordinate and integrate outreach programs to increase
the pool of students from underrepresented groups who
are capable of first, being admitted to college, and,
second, succeeding in college
Set requirements for financial aid and scholarships in
the ways that influence student preparation in high
school toward desired skills, not just high GPA
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Take Action
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Create a “high school-postsecondary articulation
commission” comprising members of the state
education department, the state postsecondary
governance agency or agencies, and the governor’s
office. This commission would be charged to do the
following:
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Address issues of articulation and expectations across system
boundaries
Determine how successfully students make the transition from
high school to postsecondary education
Recommend policies to increase the success rate of students
transitioning successfully from high school to postsecondary
education
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Close the Gap Between K-12
and Higher Education
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The postsecondary education system develops statements
of knowledge and skills for postsecondary success in a
format that parallels state academic content standards
These standards are cross-referenced to state standards
and assessments to determine the match in expectations
Joint h.s./college committees address the gaps and clarify
overlaps in expectations to create a fully aligned system
designed around progressively more challenging standards
K-12 system modifies its standards and assessments
accordingly
Postsecondary system modifies its admissions requirements
and placement methods accordingly
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State-Initiated Policy Actions
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The state creates a budget category for programs that span
the K-12 and postsecondary systems and develops an
interagency process for generating this budget request
The state sets performance targets and timelines to reduce
remediation rates. The commission studies the causes of
freshmen failure and develops policy changes to reduce
remediation rates
The state sets goals to increase the proportion of students
from underrepresented groups who are prepared to apply to
college.
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The high schools are charged to increase the proportion of students
from these groups enrolled in college preparatory programs
High schools and postsecondary systems are charged to guarantee
that the quality of college preparatory courses is adequate to ensure
college success for these students
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Demonstration Projects
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Federal, state, and local funds would be made
available for demonstration projects.
The purpose of the demonstration projects
would be to create successful models of
articulation and high student success rates
Successful projects would serve as the
templates for state policies and programs
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Standards for Success
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Knowledge and Skills for University
Success
Developed by 17 leading research
universities, endorsed by 26 AAU universities
 Identify what students need to know and be
able to do to succeed in entry-level university
courses
 Are being incorporated into national
admissions tests
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Standards for Success
Align KSUS with state standards to
provide a continuous development path
for students
 Develop curriculum that broadens and
deepens writing and analytic skills
 Use KSUS to set high exit standards for
honors diploma
 Use University Work Samples to create
common understandings of desirable
student work
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