US DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FIPSE

This project was designed to address the problem of poor articulation between high school college prep courses and entry-level college courses, which inhibits college success for many students. This problem represents one dimension of a larger constellation of issues that affects college success rates for the ever-increasing number of American high school students who choose to attend college directly from high school.

The primary goal was to improve student success in making the transition from high school to college by systematically and consciously sequencing the curriculum between exit-level high school college-preparation courses and entry-level postsecondary general-education courses. The project was designed to produce results that are broadly generalizable. Courses were cost-neutral, linked to national standards, and developed to be adaptable for a broad range of educational settings.

The project employed a two-stage process—to analyze and adapt existing courses taken during the senior year of high school and the freshman year of community college and university to focus upon critical knowledge and skills, and to create new seminar-like courses that emphasize the habits of mind necessary for postsecondary success. The Knowledge and Skills for University Success (KSUS) standards, developed by the Association of American Universities, were the common reference point for templates that were created and courses that were delivered. The standards were developed and endorsed over a three-year period by a consortium of 28 AAU universities and have subsequently been adopted by the College Board as a foundational element in the new SAT, PSAT, and AP exams. The project ran from October 2004 to September 2007.

Please contact Terri Ward with any questions you may have.

Final report to be posted soon.