Closing the Achievement Gap : an Investigation into the Efficacy of the Blugold Beginnings College Access Program

Abstract

Mentoring programs have grown steadily in number over the past few years, and currently more than 5,000 such programs serve approximately three million youth nationwide (National Mentoring Partnership, 2006). College access programs are one form of mentoring, and have been developed over the past 20 years to create an atmosphere in the classroom where students can become more familiar with what a college education entails (Klopott & Martinez, 2004; Krashen, 2005). The Blugold Beginnings: College and Career Readiness Program works with local schools to provide a comprehensive college connection for 5th graders through high school seniors. The fifth grade program includes an afterschool program and recess program. Afterschool sessions include students being assigned a college mentor and completing the Blugold Beginnings program workbook. The recess program has a college-themed flipbook with multiple students working with one mentor. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether students in the program significantly increase their knowledge about post-secondary education over the course of being in the Blugold Beginnings College and Career Readiness Program, and to determine whether there are any differences in outcomes between students who attend recess versus afterschool sessions.