Causes of disparities The disparity in access to higher education is primarily due to a difference in college readiness these students experience. College readiness refers to how prepared for higher education students are. Although there are several ways to define it, college readiness involves measuring four aspects of student performance: basic skills, knowledge of certain content areas, grade point averages (GPA), and college knowledge, also referred to as social capital.Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009) College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. The Future of Children, 19(1), pp. 185-204) https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=43308224&scope=site&custid=s8448101 Basic skills include being able to read, write and think analytically about situations; content areas that students should have knowledge of include English and mathematics. Both aspects are crucial to college readiness because of their real-world application, and if a student is not proficient in these two areas, they are less likely to even pursue university. However, for many minority students they do not meet the basic requirements for colleges and universities.
Causes of disparities The disparity in access to higher education is primarily due to a difference in college readiness these students experience. College readiness refers to how prepared for higher education students are. Although there are several ways to define it, college readiness involves measuring four aspects of student performance: basic skills, knowledge of certain content areas, grade point averages (GPA), and college knowledge, also referred to as social capital.Roderick, M., Nagaoka, J., & Coca, V. (2009) College Readiness for All: The Challenge for Urban High Schools. The Future of Children, 19(1), pp. 185-204) https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=ehh&AN=43308224&scope=site&custid=s8448101 Basic skills include being able to read, write and think analytically about situations; content areas that students should have knowledge of include English and mathematics. Both aspects are crucial to college readiness because of their real-world application, and if a student is not proficient in these two areas, they are less likely to even pursue university. However, for many minority students they do not meet the basic requirements for colleges and universities.