Abstract

Thispaper reports the resultsof a near-replication in the Appalachianstate of West Virginia of research done in the deep southernstate of Florida. The Floridaresearch focusedon school-basedprograms designed to increase the percentage of high schoolgraduates who enroll in a college or university. Based on a multiple regressionanalysisofschooldistrict-levelFlorida data,weconcludedthattheschool-basedprogramsdidnotwork becausethey were "swamped"by social and economiccontextualfactorsover whichpolicymakershave littleor no control. These findings are consistent with the more general observation that contextual factors, such as median family income and urban/rural location, are the primary determinants of high school outcomes. In replicating this research. in West Virginia, we are working in a very different social and economic environment whereinschool-basedprograms designedspecificallyto promote college and university enrollmentsare poorly developedor non-existent. Nevertheless, prominentpublic and private interests in the state have emphatically voiced the view that high schools must do a betterjob of facilitating the transition to postsecondary education. Failure to do so, they claim, will leave thestate with a human capitaldeficit. Our analysisof West Virginia data, however, suggests that such efforts will be thwartedby the influenceof social and economiccontextualfactors, much as was true in Florida

How to Cite:

Bickel, R. N., Banks, S. R. & Spatig, L., (1990) “Bridging the Gap Between High School and College in an Appalachian State: A Near-Replication of Florida Research”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 7(2), 75–87.

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