High School: Erasing Borders

Journal of College Admission, Fall 2006 by Wright, Dianne, Bogotch, Ira

Background

Over the last several years there have been numerous calls for reforming high school to college transitions (Maeroff, Callan, and Usdan, 2001, Kirst and Venezia 2001a, 2001b; Kirst and Venezia, 2004, Houseman 2005, Kirst and Venezia 2006; Finn 2006, Haycock 2006, Jacobson 2006, and Katz 2006). In 2000-2001, the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) and the National Commission on the High School Senior Year respectively called for a re-thinking of how students moved from secondary to postsecondary education. A widely-discussed initiative was dual or concurrent enrollment, or as referred to by the AYPF during its 2004 roundtable discussion, "secondary postsecondary learning option, (SPLO)." Dual enrollment allows high school students to enroll in college courses. Participation in dual enrollment programs gives high school students first-hand exposure to college, while allowing them to gain both high school and college credit.

According to National Center for Education Statistics (2005), secondary/postsecondary learning options data, this trend is growing. During the 2002-2003 school year, there were approximately 1.2 million high school students enrolled in dual credit courses. Of these, 74 percent or 855,000 enrollees were in courses taught on a high school campus, 23 percent (i.e., 262,000 enrollees) were in courses taught on the campus of a postsecondary institution, and four percent (44,900 enrollments) were in dual credit courses taught through distance education. While dual enrollment nor early college experiences, as a type of reform, are not new concepts, the experiences gained by and the cultural realities of students (and faculty) can be significant factors that affect the success of the comprehensive high school.

According to Boyer (1983), neither size nor breadth of comprehension captures the purpose of the high schools. "High schools, to be effective, must have a sense of purpose with teachers, students, administrators, and parents sharing a vision of what they are trying to accomplish... 'they are' more significant than adding up the Carnegie units that the student has completed" (66). Academically, the [comprehensive] high schools measure progress by to what extent its students think critically and communicate effectively, learn about themselves and others, serve individual students' aptitudes and interests, and promote social and civic obligations (Boyer 1983).

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to record participants' experiences in an early college innovation, and by systematically capturing an account of policies, structures, politics, and participant experiences, to inform the design and implementation of similar reforms. In addition, the study's aim was to ensure that students enrolled in this early college "experiment" at Florida Atlantic University's (FAU's) University High School would have a research-base on which to make modifications in subsequent years of implementation. It should be noted that this University High early college experience is not the same as dual enrollment. The difference is that in dual enrollment, the high school student belongs to a high school and takes college classes either on the high school campus or on a college/university campus. In this case study setting, there is no high school (i.e., there is no building, there is not a ball field, there is not cafeteria, etc.)

Method

Two university researchers collected data as participant observers, leading to a description of an innovative University High School early college experience designed for students in grades 10 through 12. Using a case study, as a mini-ethnography, the researchers looked at the implementation of one of the many unique experiments that can be tested as part of the current education reform movement that includes dual enrollment, home schooling, university high schools, virtual high schools, and early college. The conceptual framework for this single school case study was influenced by the literature on high school reform, K-20 seamless structures, and similar experiments. The researchers used field notes and semi-structured interviews to collect nine months-worth of participant observations, describing relevant activities and perspectives of participating students, their parents, the university high school leadership team and its staff. The researchers followed up their findings using Maeroff, Callan and Usdan's (2001) and Burke's (1997 constructs of governance, equity, efficiency, standards, quality, community building, choice (access), and accountability, respectively.) In analyzing the data, new more dynamic and integrative categories emerged, i.e., "Choice"; "Possibilities"; "Disparate Discourses"; "Learning and Efficiency, Standards, Quality, and Accountability"; and "Borderlessness." Maeroff, Callan and Usdan's (2001) original eight constructs appear within one or more of these emergent themes.

Model

Choice

In May, 2003, the case study University High School received University Board of Trustee approval to expand from grade nine to through grade 12. This University High School, however, was to be a virtual high school, i.e., not to be constructed with bricks and mortar, or with high school teachers, high school administrators or a high school curriculum. The only material realities that make this university high school were its legal designation and authority to award high school credits and a diploma, and its student body.