COLLEGE READINESS

Rationale Becoming college ready is a process. This process involves students developing attitudes, behaviors, and skills for college success over-time through thoughtful and intentional experiences that allow opportunities for practice and feedback. A goal for Gateway to College programs is to support students in becoming college ready. We use the term college ready to describe readiness for any post-secondary educational experience, including community college, university or vocational training, any setting where students can earn a degree, certificate, or license. A students choice of degree, program of study, or career interest may require more in depth knowledge in a particular area, but we believe the attitudes, behaviors, and skills necessary for successful completion in these settings extend beyond any singular context and are, under these circumstances, applicable to all students. Becoming College Ready Most of the current literature describes college readiness as a binary measure. For example, ACT (ACTs college readiness, 2008) defines college readiness as the level of academic achievement a student needs to be ready to enroll and succeedwithout remediationin credit-bearing first-year postsecondary courses. Students are college ready or they are not. We view becoming college ready as a multidimensional process, a continuum of attitudes, behaviors, and skills students are working toward over time to increase their ability to be successful in a postsecondary setting. Because we advocate a multidimensional construct for college readiness, we consider it critical to examine where students are on the continuum of college readiness rather than focus on a single snapshot that represents one particular point in their learning. Defining college readiness as multi-dimensional and a continuum acknowledges that students come to Gateway to College programs at various places on the continuum and bring attitudes, behaviors, and skills that support college success as well as others that do not. College students, especially first generation college students, may not have a realistic understanding of what is necessary for success in college. Students need to recognize the attitudes, behaviors, and skills necessary to be successful in college; which of these skills they currently possess; and which they need to develop. With this information, programs have a clear charge for the opportunities they must afford students, instructors have direction for experiences they need to create, and students understand how they must engage in these opportunities and experiences so to achieve success in college. Ultimately, we must work collaboratively with students to support them in moving further on the continuum of college readiness.

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Five Dimensions of College Readiness Drawing on the work of David Conley, William Sedlacek, many others in the field of education, and our ten years of experience in serving students, we identify five dimensions of college readiness. There is strong evidence that the attitudes, behaviors, and skills found in these dimensions are malleable. As malleable, each can be developed, supported, and remediated (Webb, Gore, & Calderon, 2010, p. 11). In Gateway to College programs we advocate the following five dimensions of college readiness: I. II. III. IV. V. Key Cognitive Strategies Key Content Knowledge Academic Behaviors Contextual Skills and Awareness Non-Cognitive Factors

Understanding these dimensions is essential to implementing strategies and practices that assist students in their ability to develop in these areas. I. Key Cognitive Strategies The higher levels of critical thinking are important components to the key cognitive strategies. Students must develop these strategies to the point they become habitual ways of thinking. This will help them comprehend how faculty approach their subject matter, support them as they engage in their courses and develop their ability to think critically about the world (Conley, 2011, p. 9). The key cognitive strategies include the following: Analysis Reasoning, argumentation, proof Intellectual openness Inquisitiveness Interpretation Precision and accuracy Problem solving

II. Key Content Knowledge Conley (2010) states Students need strong grounding in content that is foundational to the understanding of academic disciplines. For this grounding to take place, instructors must first be clear of what the key content or big ideas are for their particular disciplines. This sets the foundation that will guide learners in understanding the big ideas of the content areas they are studying (Conley 2011, p. 21). There are two overarching academic skills essential to this end, writing and research. Writing and research are the primary means that college instructors use to engage students in learning information. Students need these initial skills to have the means to build deeper knowledge. Each subject has key content; writing and research often facilitates the learning of that content (Conley 2011, p. 14). III. Academic Behaviors Academic behaviors are independent of any particular content area, yet influence all aspects of academic work (Conley 2011, p. 160). In the work, Redefining College Readiness, Conley (2011) states, This facet of college readiness encompasses a range of behaviors such as self-awareness, self-monitoring and selfPage 2 of 5

control. It also includes the ability to reflect on ones learning, apply a growth mindset, transfer learning to various situations, and employ a variety of learning strategies. Developing these behaviors assist students in self-regulation and support their ability to comprehend material and complete academic tasks successfully. Also in this dimension are: Study skills Time management Prioritization Identification and utilization of resources that support academic success

IV. Contextual Skills and Awareness Contextual factors encompass the information necessary to understand how college operates as a system and culture. This type of information is not commonly accessible to first generation students (Conley 2011, p. 13). Examples of contextual skills and awareness include: Understanding college admissions Knowing college options Comprehending the financial aid system Testing and placement requirements

V. Non-Cognitive Factors Non-cognitive factors contribute to the overall success of students. These factors relate to and support the other non-cognitive factors found in the previous four dimensions. They comprise of attitudes, behaviors, motivations, skills, and perceptions students need for both academic and personal achievement. Examples of these factors include: Educational commitment Social Comfort Dealing with setbacks Aspirations

These attitudes, behaviors, and skills are not traditionally considered in the makeup of college success, (Sedlacek, 2011, p. 5). However, research advocates that non-cognitive factors are important predictors of college and career readiness (Webb, Gore, & Calderon, 2010, p. 9). Including this dimension completes our holistic approach to supporting students and helping them develop and leverage all of their abilities and skills toward attaining college and career readiness.

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References ACT's college readiness system: Meeting the challenge of a changing world. (2008). Retrieved July 11, 2013 from http://www.act.org/research/policymakers/pdf/crs.pdf Conley, D. (2010). College and career ready: Helping all students succeed beyond high school. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Conley, D. (2011). Redefining college readiness, (Vol. 5). Eugene, OR: Educational Policy Improvement Center. Sedlacek, W.E. (2011). Using noncognitive variables in assessing readiness for higher education. Readings on Equal Education. 25, 187-205. Webb, M., Gore, P., & Calderon, V. (2010). Helping low-income students make the successful transition to college through the use of non-cognitive assessments [Webinar]. ECHS Webinar Presentation. Retrieved August, 2012 from http://www.earlycolleges.org/Downloads/Non_Cog_Webinar.pdf References Consulted Adams, C. (2012). Soft skills pushed as part of college readiness. Retrieved March, 2013 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/14/12softskills_ep.h32.htmlRef Alliance for Excellent Education. (2011). Assessing deeper learning: Preparing students for a changing world. Retrieved September, 2012 from http://www.all4ed.org/files/DeeperLearning.pdf Alliance for Excellent Education. (2011). Assessing deeper learning. Retrieved September, 2012 from http://www.all4ed.org/files/AssessingDeeperLearning.pdf American Association of State Colleges and Universities college readiness executive summary. (n.d.). Retrieved March, 2013 from http://www.aascu.org/CollegeReadiness/ExecutiveSummary/ Barnett, E.A., Corrin W., Nakanishi, A., Bork, R., Mitchell, C., & Sepanic, S. (2012), Preparing high school students for college: An exploratory study of college readiness partnership programs in Texas. New York City, NY: National Center for Postsecondary Research. Building blocks for change: What it means to be career ready. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.careerreadynow.org/docs/CRPC_4pager.pdf Page 4 of 5

Center from the Improvement of Student Learning. Preparing high school students for college. (n.d.). Retrieved June, 2012 from http://www.k12.wa.us/cisl/pubdocs/PreparingHighSchoolStudentsforCollege.pdf Conley, D. (2003). Understanding university success. Eugene, OR: Center for Educational Policy Research. Retrieved 6-22-12 from https://www.epiconline.org/publications/index.dot?tag=Understanding%20University%20Success Conley, D. (2011). Exploring innovative schools and policies that prepare students to be college and career ready. Retrieved 10-2012 from http://www.aypf.org/tripreports/2011/documents/David Conley College and Career Readinessx.pdf Conley, D. (2013). Rethinking the notion of "noncognitive". Education Week, Retrieved January, 2013 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/01 Duckworth, A.L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M.D., & Kelly, D.R. (2007). Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 9, 1087-1101. Farrington, C.A., Rodrick, M., Allensworth, E., Nagaoka, J., Keyes, T.S., Johnson, D.W., & Beechum, N.O. (2012). Teaching adolescence to become learners. The role of noncognitive factors in shaping school performance: A critical literature review. Chicago: University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research. Gewertz, C. (2012). Coalition advances definition of career readiness. Education Week, Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2012/10/coalition_advances_definition_.html Le, C., & Frankfort, J. (2011). Accelerating college readiness: Lessons from North Carolina innovator early colleges. Boston: Jobs for the Future. Retrieved August, 2011 from http://www.jff.org/sites/default/files/Accelerating_College_032011.pdf Puriefoy, W.D. (2012). College readiness: Address academic and financial needs. Education Week. Retrieved June 12,2012 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/06/13/35puriefoy.h31.html?r=1333902833 The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education & The Southern Regional Education Board (2010). Beyond the rhetoric: Improving college readiness through coherent state policy. Tough, P. (2011). The character test: Why our kids success and happiness may depend less on perfect performance than on learning how to deal with failure. The New York Times Magazine. Tough, P. (2012). How children succeed: Grit, curiosity, and the hidden power of character. New, York: Houghton Mifflin.

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