The Philadelphia Education Longitudinal Study
| This study will take a more systematic look at the impact of the College Access
Program on students' educational careers by following a cohort of students in
Philadelphia's public high schools from the end of eighth grade through their projected
date of high school graduation. The centerpiece of this evaluation will be a comparison of
student attitudes and steps toward college attendance at comprehensive high schools served
by on-site College Access programs with those schools which do not have intensive College
Access involvement. This project is designed to test several theories: first, that access to information plays a pivotal role in getting more inner-city students to attend college; second, that the implementation strategy of school-site counseling services results in greater familiarity with the college admissions process and matriculation at college among students at schools without the program; and third, that the strategy of intensive assistance to a small group of students with college potential is even more effective in increasing students' knowledge of and commitment to college education. We expect a continuum of understanding about the college admissions process roughly corresponding to the availability of College Access services. We are building on a longitudinal study already underway, following students as they progress through high school. The Philadelphia Education Longitudinal Study began in the summer of 1996, when approximately 1500 students who were in the eight grade in Philadelphia public schools during 1995-96 and their parents were interviewed by phone. We continue to survey the students and their parents from the existing sample, as well as a new group of students from comprehensive high schools. |
© 1999 University of Pennsylvania