Resources

How can high schools help more of their students make it to college and be better prepared to do college-level work?

Helping Students Navigate the Path to College: What High Schools Can Do (PDF), a new practice guide from the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse, offers five straightforward recommendations on how to prepare students for college:

• Offer a college preparatory curriculum and make sure that, by ninth grade, students understand academic requirements for college entry and success
• Use assessment throughout high school to help students understand their relative readiness for college, and help them address any identified deficiencies
• Surround students with people—adults and peers—who build and support their college-going aspirations
• Help students complete required steps for college entry
• Increase families’ financial awareness and help students apply for financial aid