Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Dr. Suzanne O'Neill

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine why, although rigorous standards in English language arts (ELA) have been adopted in a northwestern state and were designed to build toward college readiness, high school students graduating from a college readiness curriculum are not college ready in the area of writing. The purpose of the research was to explore graduates’ perception of college readiness, how a college readiness curriculum prepared them for college writing, and ways to improve that preparation. The theory that supported this study was the concept of college readiness. The key research questions for this study addressed how graduates of a dual enrollment college readiness curriculum describe the ways it prepared them for college-level writing and how graduates of a dual enrollment college readiness curriculum describe the ways it could have better prepared them for college-level writing. A qualitative methodology was chosen, with in-depth interviews conducted to collect data. The study state’s graduating classes were purposefully sampled for both graduating from a high school in the study state as well as attending a higher education institution within the state, and 12 graduates were interviewed via Zoom. After transcripts were created, codes were generated, and themes were established, several areas of improvement for dual enrollment writing curriculum were identified, including, but not limited to, rhetoric and argumentation instruction, synthesis and analysis of research, transfer of writing skills, and the inclusion of soft skills. If the contents of this study, especially the recommendations, make it into hands of dual enrollment writing teachers, their partner institutions, and mentors, it may result in greater success for future generations of college students.

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