The Relationship Between Advanced Academic Services And College Readiness Among Public High School Students In Rural Remote Appalachian Kentucky

<p>The importance of college to the individual and society has prompted recent policies and accountability systems to emphasize college readiness as the primary benchmark for high school success. Advanced/honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP)/dual credit courses, and gifted programs are the most common advanced academic service options available in public schools to ensure college readiness. This study investigated 2014-2015 school year data associated with 2,792 students in five high schools in five different school districts in rural remote Appalachian Kentucky. The goal was to see which advanced academic service was most associated with college ready students. College readiness was measured in two ways: ACT composite scores and enrollment in college full-time immediately after high school. Findings from descriptive and comparative analyses indicated that participation in both AP and dual credit courses were associated with higher ACT composite scores and enrollment in college after graduation. Students who participated in gifted services had considerably higher ACT composite scores and attendance in college after graduation. Students who took advanced/honors courses demonstrated fairly low ACT composite scores and showed no greater attendance in college after graduation than the general population. These results raise questions about the effectiveness of advanced academic services to ensure college readiness, at least in rural remote schools. To better make use of limited funding and other support, findings from this study suggest that state and district policies and systems to account for student college readiness may need to (1) reconsider which advanced academic services best promote college readiness, and (2) ensure student records and accountability systems allow for better analysis of which services are most effective for students. </p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Leadership and Policy Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Eastern Kentucky University

Year

2017

Author dc:creator

• Thomas, Franklin Brian

• Advanced Placement
• College Readiness
• Gifted
• Honors
• Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
• Secondary Education

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2017 Franklin Brian Thomas

Repository record dc:identifier

https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/469

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:encompass.eku.edu:etd-1467