Chapter 5: Over Aged, Under Credited and College Ready: How a Transfer High School Utilizes Partnerships and Pre-College Interventions to Prepare Their Students for College and Beyond

Public high schools have been criticized for not doing an adequate job of graduating students and preparing them for the academic rigors of college and career (ACT, 2012). The number of high school graduates nationally and in the context of New York City who met the College Readiness Benchmarks—according to the ACT exam in order to bypass remediation—was significantly low at approximately 25% (ACT, 2012). In the context of New York City, many high school students (almost 50% of entering freshmen) become over aged and under credited and face the possibility of dropping out (Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation, 2006). Transfer high schools emerged as a resource for over aged and under credited students. Transfer high schools provide a second change for students to complete high school and prepare for college. The strong, sustainable, and supportive partnerships at the transfer high school examined in this study offer new points of view and innovative program and services. Pre-college programs are also used to can help to create seamless transitions between the secondary school and higher education.