First steps on the ladder to college success: understanding the secondary school level factors that determine the college enrollment and retention outcomes of high school graduates in Massachusetts.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000999

Despite the United States' long-standing public commitment to postsecondary education and the growing importance of college degrees for individual and national prosperity, today many Americans fail to achieve these valuable academic credentials. To be able to tackle this problem policymakers require a comprehensive understanding of college readiness: precisely, what abilities, attitudes, knowledge and skills do students need to successfully earn a college degree? This study contributes to developing this understanding by analyzing the effects different secondary school level variables have on the postsecondary enrollment and retention outcomes of high school graduates. In turn, these findings highlight the issues, and inform the strategies, that policymakers must grapple with and pursue to ensure students leave high school ready to successfully enroll and persist in college.