WEBVTT

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My name is William Tierney.

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I am University Professor
and director of the Center

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for Higher Education Policy
Analysis at the University

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of Southern California.

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The IES Practice Guide
for increasing access

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to college is important
for two reasons.

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One is simple fairness,
equal opportunity.

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When I went to college, I
never decided that I was going

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to college; it was just a given.

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Everyone in my high
school went to college.

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We all didn't talk about
were we going college;

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we talked about where
are we going to college.

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I want that opportunity
for every first-generation,

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low-income person in America.

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The second point has to do with
the opportunity for the country.

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We know that for
the United States

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to remain economically
competitive,

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we need more individuals with
certificates, associate degrees,

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and bachelor's degrees.

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Over the course of a lifetime,

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an individual will earn a
substantial amount more money

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if he or she has a
bachelor's degree

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than simply a high
school degree.

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We are recommending that
every high school provide

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college-level curricula so
that when students graduate

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from high school, they have had
the opportunity to take classes

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that prepare them for college.

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So the first point is that every
school provides students as soon

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as they walk into high school
with a template for courses

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that they need to take that
will prepare them for college.

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Another recommendation
has to do with assessment,

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and there are two parts to this.

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One part is that
we need students

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to be assessed continually
throughout their high

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school career.

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We need to know if they are on
track to do college-level work

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when they graduate
from high school.

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If I simply give you
a test and I find

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out that you are not
performing adequately,

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but I don't do anything
and I don't tell you

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or I don't tell your
family, then the test is

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for naught; it's
a waste of time.

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So what we are recommending is
a linkage between assessment

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and action-whenever there
is a deficiency, improve it.

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One of the challenges in
low-income schools today is

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that college counseling
is few and far between.

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There may be one
counselor for 800 students.

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The opportunity for students
to talk about college

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with an adult is
few and far between.

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Again, think of this:
They have parents

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who may never have
set foot in a college,

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much less have gotten
a college degree.

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They may know no one
in their community

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who has gone to college.

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So the potential of
creating a mentoring program

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that enables students
to focus specifically

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on college has multiple
payoffs and benefits.

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The next point has to deal with
enabling students to figure

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out how to complete
the path to college.

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This is particularly important
in eleventh and twelfth grade.

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Many students who
are going to go

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to a four-year institution
need to take an exam

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like the SAT and the ACT.

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We know that an awful lot
of students are eligible

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for financial aid, but
they don't access it.

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Why is that?

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The answer is because they
don't know how to access it.

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Students that I work
with don't think

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in terms of grants and loans.

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Those are adult terms.

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What they think of
is free money,

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and that's the way we need
to talk to students: "Look,

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you need to fill in this
form and you need to fill it

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in by March 1st because if you
do, you will get free money."

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So those are the kinds of
issues that we need to deal

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with when we think of involving
students with adults and peers

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and also walking students
through systematically

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from ninth grade through
graduation, but really starting

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in eleventh grade in terms of
applying and where do I want

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to go to college, what kind
of college do I want to go to.

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Perhaps the most important
point is to recognize

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that a school is not an island.

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Schools have to be working in
concert with middle schools,

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community colleges, and
four-year institutions as well

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as community-based agencies.

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We also know that one of
the most significant aspects

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of dropping out happens
between eighth and ninth grade.

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That's because students arrive
in the ninth grade and realize

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that they are not
academically prepared

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and that it's much harder
than junior high school.

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If we create closer
relationships

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between junior high
and high school,

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we will have a more
synthetic transition

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that will enable students
to be better prepared.

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Really what we are asking
for is relationships

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across organizations and to
help high schools recognize

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that they are not on their own.