2014 AERA Presidential Address: The College Ambition Program: A Realistic Transition Strategy for Traditionally Disadvantaged Students

The College Ambition Program (CAP) is designed to encourage low-income and minority students to enroll in college. The following analysis presents updated results from my AERA presidential talk in 2014. Results indicate that CAP, which is a schoolwide intervention, increased college attendance for low-income and minority students in seven treatment high schools compared to 31 control schools by 8%. The 8% increase is largely concentrated in students who would have not attended college but instead enrolled in 2-year institutions. The modest effects of CAP should be viewed as positive and encouraging, especially providing direction for replication and scale-up.