Under increasing pressure to raise graduation rates and ensure that students leave high school college- and career-ready, many school and district leaders may believe that, when students graduate with college acceptances in hand, their work is done. But as Benjamin L. Castleman and Lindsay C. Page show, summer can be a time of significant attrition among collegeintending seniors - especially those from low-income families. Anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of students presumed to be headed to college fail to matriculate at any postsecondary institution in the fall following high school. Summer Melt explores the complex factors that contribute to this trend - the absence of school support, confusion over paperwork, lack of parental guidance, and the teenage tendency to procrastinate. The authors draw on findings from fields such as neuroscience, behavioral economics, and social psychology to contextualize these factors. Drawing on a series of research studies, they show how schools and districts can developeffective, low-cost, scalable responses - including counselor outreach, peer mentoring, and using text messages and social media - to help students stay on track over the summer. Summer Melt offers very practical guidance for schools and districts committed to helping their students make the transition to college.
Benjamin L. Castleman is an assistant professor of education and public policy at the University of Virginia, USA. Lindsay C. Page is an assistant professor of education and a research scientist at the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh, USA.
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Melting Dreams 1 PART I: UNDERSTANDING SUMMER MELT CHAPTER 1 A Trickle or a Torrent? 17 The Scope of Summer Melt CHAPTER 2 Three Students, Three Summers 33 Navigating the Transition to College CHAPTER 3 "Summer Melt Begins in February" 43 Punctures in the College Pipeline PART II: MITIGATING SUMMER MELT CHAPTER 4 Capitalizing on Counselors 71 Summer Outreach Within and Outside Schools CHAPTER 5 Ten Texts to College 95 Using Technology to "Nudge" Students CHAPTER 6 With a Little Help from My Friends 119 Peer Mentors Offer Summer Support PART III: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND POLICY CHAPTER 7 Assessing and Addressing Summer Melt 145 What High Schools and Community Groups Can Do CHAPTER 8 Revisiting the Road Map to College 161 Opportunities for Cross-Sector Collaboration CONCLUSION Lessons from Summer Melt 179 APPENDIX A Sample College Transition Cheat Sheet 183 APPENDIX B Sample High School Exit Survey 185 APPENDIX C Text Message Templates for Students and Parents 187 APPENDIX D Overview of Required College Matriculation Tasks 191 NOTES 195 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 203 ABOUT THE AUTHORS 209 INDEX 211
"In an era where a college education has become a critical necessity for economic success and well-being in life, Summer Melt will be appreciated by all those who seek to help our most disadvantaged students have a life that they want and a life better than the one they grew up with."--Janice A. Dole, Teachers College Record
