EAP's most lasting benefit, however, is in showing students like Johanna what it takes to succeed in higher education. And that is exceedingly important at schools such as Kerman, where 19 percent of the students - 65 percent of them Hispanic - are in families below the poverty line, and where 58 percent qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. Last year, just 30 percent of Kerman's graduating seniors moved on to four-year colleges or universities.

Fortunately, efforts are under way to improve those numbers. "Our theory is to give them help early and hope everything falls into place," says Victor Olivares, director of Fast Forward to Academic Success, an ambitious college-preparedness program developed by Fresno State to complement EAP.

Johanna Macias was a seventh-grader when she first realized she wanted to go to college. By the time she reached high school, she had decided to pursue a degree in communications so she can become a radio journalist.

The odds are against her. Johanna's parents, both Mexican immigrants, never finished school. An older brother dropped out (though he later earned a GED). Delfino Macias, who repairs tractors, trucks and other agricultural equipment, made sure his two younger children - Johanna and her sister - didn't take the samepath.

"My dad really motivated me to be good in school," says Johanna. "And both my parents want me to follow through. They don't just want me to say I'm going to college. They really want me to DO it."

Johanna's score on the STAR exam showed that she has the aptitude to succeed in college. But further testing, an assessment exam administered by Fresno State's Fast Forward program, revealed a deficiency in math. She had problems with geometry - problems that brought her to Carol Bitter, a teacher for whom failure is not an option. Bitter's tutelage - combined with a software program that walks students through math problems from inception through comprehension - keeps Johanna on the road much taken.

"Mrs. Bitter notices whenever I have a problem with a question, and she keeps putting it up there on the board. And she'll ask me, 'Do you get it?' And I'll say, 'Yeah, I kind of get it.' She'll say, 'Keep working on it.' And the question goes back on the board again," says Johanna.

There is a method to her teacher's obsession.

"If they understand it here, then it can save them money (on remedial courses) once they get to college. It (the EAP/Fast Forward package) gives them a year to figure it out," said Bitter. "And it works both ways by letting them know if they are really prepared for or want to go to (a four-year) college. It's maybe a wake-up call that ... they should look at developing vocational skills instead."

Olivares believes Fast Forward is key to whatever success EAP realizes in the Central Valley. Fresno State established the program to expand EAP's effectiveness in the poor, rural areas from which it draws most of its students. Without the software and support provided by programs like Fast Forward, he predicted, "EAP in and of itself will not yield the same level" of student success that Fresno State has seen so far.