Schools with stronger college-going cultures have higher student ACT scores, regardless of student backgrounds¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r? · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? The more schools develop a college-going culture—teachers preparing all students for college, students feeling pushed to prepare, and class work felt to prepare them for college—the higher their students' ACT scores. → Elaine Allensworth 2008

Evidence¶

Elaine Allensworth 2008¶

Elaine Allensworth, Macarena Correa, Steve Ponisciak. (2008). From High School to the Future: ACT Preparation–Too Much, Too Late. Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/high-school-future-act-preparation-too-much-too-late

q2 · i? · associational · r?

Observational analysis across CPS high schools relating survey-based measures of college-going culture to ACT scores; the association holds "regardless of the backgrounds of the students they serve," per the report.

"the more that schools develop a college-going culture where teachers work to prepare all students to succeed in college, where students feel that all students are being pushed to prepare for the future, and where students report that their class work is preparing them for college, the higher their students’ ACT scores."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Chicago charter high school teachers report leadership perceptions similar to non-charter peers but higher trust and collective responsibility among colleagues, and their schools differ most in future preparation: more promotion/graduation requirements, innovative instruction, and college-going emphasis — related
• Test strategies and item practice are not effective mechanisms for raising ACT scores; improvements are smaller the more class time goes to test preparation — related
• For continuing KIPP students, KIPP high schools have positive impacts on college preparation activities and the likelihood of applying to college — related
• Strong school academic culture (academic press and college-going culture) raises ACT scores by about 0.6 points after controlling for prior PLAN scores — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Higher course grades predict larger ACT gains regardless of starting PLAN score; students with Ds or Fs lose ground — related
• Combined strong academic culture and high grades more than double EXPLORE-to-ACT gains at every starting score, including moving students from an EXPLORE of 17 to an average ACT of 20.7 — related