KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

Lumina Foundation strives to make sure that more students have the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in higher education.

If current attainment trends continue, the proportion of U.S. workers with high school diplomas and college degrees will decrease, and the personal income of Americans will likely decline over the next 15 years. A knowledge-based workforce is driven by information and technology. A premium will be placed on workers who have advanced skills and abilities.

A rigorous college preparatory experience can help raise both high-school graduation rates and students' success in college. Data from the National Center of Education Statistics shows that, among students entering a four-year institution, 87 percent of those who had participated in a rigorous curriculum in high school were still on track to a bachelor's degree three years later, compared with only 62 percent of those who had followed a basic high school curriculum. More » PDF
Proficiency skills of college graduates are declining. According to the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, the percentage of college graduates deemed "proficient" in prose literacy has declined from 40 percent to 31 percent in the past decade. A survey by the American Institutes for Research shows that more than 75 percent of students at two-year colleges and more than 50 percent of students at four-year colleges lack the skills to perform complex literacy tasks, such as comparing credit card offers with different interest rates or summarizing the arguments of newspaper editorials.
Developmental education can help students overcome academic underpreparedness and successfully complete degree or certificate programs. Research in developmental education indicates that remedial education programs that use sound organizational and teaching strategies lead to higher passing and completion rates in courses, better student grades and higher overall retention rates.
Low-income students and students of color are more likely to require at least one remedial course. An ASHE/Lumina Fellows policy brief PDF warns that eliminating remedial courses at four-year institutions and turning students away does little to erase persistent inequalities in higher education. Because the majority of students turned away from four-year colleges are low-income students and students of color, some data suggest that many of these same students are not attending community colleges—an alternative to a four-year institution that is often offered by policymakers.

Investments in efforts that help students gain access to and succeed in college produce public and private benefits. Research shows that individuals who have gone to college tend to earn more, save more and produce more. They enjoy better health, are more likely to vote, volunteer their time for worthy causes, are less reliant on welfare and pay taxes to support the economy.

Academic preparation is key to ensuring low-income and minority students succeed in postsecondary education. The Education Trust's Funding Gap report PDF reveals that many states provide the least amount of funding to schools that serve students who have the greatest need. The report documents inequity in state education funding patterns by comparing resources available to school districts serving high percentages of low-income and minority students to those that serve the lowest percentages of these students.
Enrollment, persistence and success vary by gender. Females are more likely to enroll in college but are less likely than males to enroll full time during their first term. Females also are referred to developmental education with higher frequency than males. Females who enrolled full time accumulated more credits and earned higher grades. More » PDF

Engagement activities on campus influence student success. A number of research studies indicate that colleges and universities can increase student success by providing student engagement opportunities. Among those opportunities: engaging students in out-of-class interactions with faculty; promoting students' opportunities to work with other students; engaging students in active learning; building supportive and inclusive communities; and setting high expectations.

First-generation students are less likely to take part in enriching educational experiences such as study abroad experiences, internships and research efforts with a faculty member. The 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement shows that students who participate in certain on-campus activities or functions can improve their performance in a number of areas, including thinking critically, solving real-world problems, and working effectively with others.

College success and degree attainment rates vary by race, ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic characteristics of students. African-American students earn bachelor's degrees at half—and Latinos at one-third—the rate of white students. Low-income students earn bachelors' degrees at one-eighth the rate of their more advantaged counterparts (9 percent versus 75 percent by age 24). More » PDF

Students from low-income backgrounds are less likely to graduate from college than student from wealthy backgrounds. Slightly more than one in four college students from families with annual incomes of $25,000 or less earns a bachelor's degree within six years, according to the U.S. Department of Education. For students whose families earn $70,000 or more, that figure is 56 percent. More » PDF