Rethinking High School: Preparing Students for Success in College, Career, and Life

By: Tracy A. Huebner, Grace Calisi Corbett

Edited by: Joy Zimmerman

Should every student pursue higher education? Not necessarily. Should every student be prepared for and have the choice to attend college or pursue other types of post-high-school education? Absolutely!

This Rethinking High School report profiles five reform programs funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that demonstrate success preparing ethnically and socioeconomically diverse students to be college-ready.

Researchers noted five themes embodied in these programs:

• Helping students from low-income and underserved communities see college as an attainable goal
• Strengthening academic programs with full access to rigorous, college preparatory curriculum
• Ensuring a coherent, fully articulated curriculum from middle grades through high school
• Providing extra academic and social supports during students' critical freshman year
• Drawing out-of-school youth back into the classroom

The programs at each site are committed to making sure students are academically prepared for higher education and the workforce.

This is the fourth report in a series focusing on secondary reform and redesign. Previous Rethinking High School reports include:

• Rethinking High School: An Introduction to New York City's Experience
• Rethinking High School: Five Profiles of Innovative Models for Student Success
• Rethinking High School: Inaugural Graduations at New York City’s New High Schools