Postsecondary completion is a crucial step toward economic stability for low-income young people. However, many young people of color and lower socioeconomic status do not enroll in postsecondary education, and those who do are often stalled in noncredit remedial coursework where they lose precious time, money, and motivation.
Working with practitioners, policymakers, and opinion leaders, JFF has identified evidence based design principles and strategies to strengthen what we call the “12th-grade-to-freshman transition zone.” The overarching goal of this effort is to make the senior year of high school more aligned with college and career for all students— regardless of their level of readiness. This toolkit provides advice and tools to support high school and college partners’ efforts to implement effective postsecondary readiness supports to ensure college readiness for all high school students.
Too many high school graduates enter college unprepared for its rigorous study. In order to improve their chance of success, we must consider a new approach to the 12th grade—one that leaves students ready for college and beyond.