Academy for Educational Development
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AED is a nonprofit organization working globally to improve education, health, civil society and economic development.
AED Center Helps Students ‘GEAR UP’ For College  Nearly one-third of all public high school students won’t graduate with their class this spring. And two-thirds of those who do graduate will leave high school unqualified for further education at a four-year college. Through the U.S. Department of Education’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs—or GEAR UP— AED is working to improve these dramatic statistics. GEAR UP is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The program helps students prepare for college and provides college scholarships to low-income students in order to raise prospects for success in higher education. The AED Higher Education Management Services Center is a rising leader in the GEAR UP community, with the creation of an innovative online database that collects individual student information, such as demographics and academic progress, and tracks GEAR UP students from middle school through high school graduation. “This kind of detailed data collection and performance-reporting capacity has become increasingly important as the federal government puts more weight on accountability for program results,” said Paul Bucci, vice president and director of the Center. While it is too early to predict outcomes, a recent GEAR UP survey of seniors in 17 West Virginia high schools showed that 78 percent of GEAR UP participants applied or intended to apply to a four-year college. Only 63 percent of the students who were not participating in the program had done so. The survey also indicated that although the students who were not in GEAR UP had greater access to advanced academic classes, the GEAR UP students took greater advantage of the fewer resources available to them. These early outcomes are hopeful indicators that GEAR UP can favorably influence postsecondary education for all students. The AED Higher Education Management Services Center is working with the Kentucky, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and South Dakota state GEAR UP programs, among others. For more information about GEAR UP, please visit http://hems.aed.org/gearup or contact Paul Bucci.
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