For the purpose of this project, Academic Pathways are defined as boundary-spanning curricular or institutional structures that enhance students' transition and access to colleges from secondary education. We have identified nine widespread academic pathways that are commonly found across the U.S. In addition to these nine, other pathways have been identified in relation to school reform or unique or emerging pathways that have deliberate curriculum linkage to college. Note that this list of pathways is by no means definitive or exhaustive. Descriptions of the identified pathways are as follows:
| Widely Established Pathways: |
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Advanced Placement (AP): Begun in 1955, AP is administered by the College Board. Students can potentially earn college credit by taking an exam, as many colleges award credit if a student receives a sufficiently high score. |
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Bridge Program: Defined as a transition and outreach program, Bridge Programs are designed to provide assistance to high school juniors and seniors who have demonstrated the potential to attend college, or to prepare recent high school graduates or incoming college freshmen for the rigors of college course work. |
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College Level Examination Program (CLEP): Also administered by the College Board, CLEP is a testing program that provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement by taking examinations covering material taught in the first two years of the undergraduate curriculum. |
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Distance Learning/Virtual School: Distance learning refers to an educational situation in which time and/or location separate the instructor and students via synchronous or asynchronous instruction using the methods of written correspondence, text, graphics, audio-and video, CD-ROM, online learning, or interactive television. Virtual school refers to virtual high school or college offering through internet-based pre-college course or college credit courses. |
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Dual Credit/Dual Enrollment: means that student receive both high school and college credit for a college-level classes successfully complete while dual (concurrent) enrollment means students are enrolled in high school and college but they may or may not receive high school credit for the college level courses. |
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Early or Middle College High Schools (EMCHS): An alternative to traditional high schools, EMCHS have both secondary and postsecondary learning options. All students graduate with either an Associate of Arts degree or enough college credits to enter a four-year baccalaureate program as college juniors. |
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General Educational Development (GED) in College Settings: The GED is a high school diploma equivalency examination. The GED in College Settings is a pathway within a college which not only assists students to pass GED examination, but also seeks to affiliate students with a college curriculum and the option for attending college. These programs are typically found within community colleges. |
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International Baccalaureate (IB): Begun in 1968 as a liberal arts course of study for students in international schools around the world, the comprehensive two-year IB curriculum fulfills the requirements of various national education systems. Successful completion of a national examination allows the student to earn the IB diploma and thus receiving college credit when admitted to a college or university. |
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Tech Prep: Established within the 1990 reauthorization of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act, the foundations of the Tech Prep pathway are articulation and coordination between high school and college coursework, particularly in technical instruction. |
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| Other pathways that are commonly found across states: |
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Career Academies: Career Academies are high schools programs that prepare high school students for both college and careers by providing a small learning community coupled with a college preparatory curriculum in partnership with employers, the community, and local colleges. |
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Charter Schools: Charter Schools are nonsectarian public schools of choice that operate free from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. Only charter schools that have a deliberate curriculum linkage with college transition are included in the inventory, to stay within the APASS academic pathway definition. |
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Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP): GEAR UP is a discretionary grant program of the U.S. Department of Education designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. |
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High Schools That Work (HSTW): HSTW is the Southern Regional Education Board's school-improvement initiative for high and middle school leaders and teachers to raise student achievement. |
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Small Schools: Small Schools are high schools that provide a personalized learning environment with typical enrollments of 300 or fewer students. Only small schools that have a deliberate curriculum linkage with college transition are included in the inventory, to stay within the APASS academic pathway definition. |
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Upward Bound: Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families or from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree, as well as low-income, first-generation military veterans preparing to enter postsecondary education. |
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Underserved students are defined as students who do not receive equitable resources as other students in the academic pipeline. Typically, these groups of students include low-income, underrepresented racial/ethnic minorities, and first generation students as well as many others. For the purposes of this project, underserved students are grouped into the following categories:
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At-risk students: Those who are not succeeding in school such as not meeting the requirements necessary for promotion to the next grade level or graduation from high school; potential dropouts. |
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Career-oriented students: Those who aspire to pursue career after completion of high school. |
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Dropout students: Those who left school or fail to graduate or complete secondary education. |
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English as a Second Language (ESL) students: Those who do not speak English as their native language. |
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First generation students: Those whose parents have had no college or university experience. |
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Foster youths: Those who are placed away from their parents or guardians and for whom the state agency has placement and care responsibilities. |
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Home schooled students: Those who are instructed by a parent, guardian or other person having custody and provided with a basic academic educational program rather than a formal education. |
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Immigrants: Those who have moved or settled from another country or region either temporarily or permanently. |
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Incarcerated youths: Those who are incarcerated in a prison or juvenile detention center. |
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Low-achieving students: Those whose education attainment is below other students of their age or grade level. |
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Low-income students: Those whose family income is below 125 percent of the poverty level for their family size. |
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Non-traditional students by gender:
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Female students
Male students |
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Pregnant or parenting teens: Those who are either pregnant or raising a child while attending school. |
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Racial and ethnic minorities: Those who are classified under a traditionally underrepresented racial or ethnic group such as:
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African American students
Asian Pacific Islander students
Latino(a) students
Native American students
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Refugees: Those outside of his or her country of nationality and unable or unwilling to return because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion. |
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Rural students: Those enrolled in rural schools whose total resident population is less than 2500 people. |
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Special populations: A catch-all category to ensure that no underserved student was missed by the typology, particularly, when a state official did not designate a specific student group. |
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Students with disabilities: Those who have physical or non-physical disabilities. |
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Urban students: Those enrolled in urban schools whose total resident population is 50,000 or more people. |
Definitions of Academic Pathways 
