(Photo by Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)
Idaho is strengthening its statewide K-12-to-college pipeline, and other states may want to sit up and pay attention to what’s going on in the Gem State.
In recent years, more Idaho students have been preparing for college in high school, receiving financial aid, and going to college. There is not necessarily a single action or policy that can take credit for this recent success but rather a constellation
of strong, coordinated college attainment efforts. Among these are prioritizing college and career readiness – even before high school graduation, promoting dual enrollment, using direct admissions to encourage matriculation, addressing affordability,
and using technology to keep everything streamlined for staff and students.
College and career readiness is a top priority at the K-12 level.
Idaho’s student-to-school-counselor ratio is 549:1, more than double the American School Counseling Association's recommended ratio of 250:1.
While it is impossible to replace the presence of a physical school counselor, Idaho has established programs that aim to defray current counselors’ workloads while connecting students with college and career readiness supports.
In 2011, the state received a College Access Challenge Grant (CACG), a federally funded project aimed to support students from low-income backgrounds in their plans for college. Through the CACG, near-peer mentors were placed in high schools across the
state to assist students with their college and financial aid applications. The near-peer mentors were recent college graduates whose main focus was to increase college attainment rates for first-generation students and those from low-income backgrounds.
This practice made an impact, according to a study from the Idaho State Board of Education. An analysis of 10 schools with near-peer mentoring during
the 2016-17 school year suggested that college enrollment rates increased by 4 percentage points in the first year. The college enrollment rate for male students in particular increased by 6 percentage points – an impressive uptick as Idaho’s male
students are less likely than their female peers to go to college.
Utilizing near-peer mentors is just one way that Idaho schools are enhancing college advising and career counseling.
Additionally, the state pioneered “Next Steps Idaho Ambassadors.” Instead of providing near-peer support for high school students, the ambassadors provide peer-to-peer support
for high school counselors and advisers. For two years, eight counselors from six different regions of the state have volunteered to build an online community for regional counselors and advisers. Through Facebook groups and email chains, the ambassadors
share resources to create a community of support. They also relay feedback and needs assessments to the State Board of Education.
Idaho bridges the gap between high school and college.
Beyond supplementing access to counseling, Idaho has also focused on strengthening postsecondary pathways out of the K-12 system.
Idaho allocates funding for dual-credit classes for every student. Since fiscal year 2017, the state has sponsored the Advanced Opportunities Program,
which ensures that public school students have access to $4,125 each to pay for extra high school-level classes, AP, IB, CLEP, and CTE exams, workforce training, and dual credits – all of which help students get a head start on their college plans
and their career.
One major result of the Advanced Opportunities Program is that dual-enrollment numbers have gone way up. There were 13,210 unique dual-credit students during FY 2016. When Fast Forward was
implemented the following year, 20,163 students enrolled. By FY 2020, there were 27,814 unique dual-credit students enrolled.
These policies focus on the “readiness” aspect of college and career readiness by giving students the knowledge and the access to coursework they need to take a next step after high school graduation. Other policies in the Gem State, however, make students
aware of their postsecondary options and make those options more viable.
Idaho is one of the few states to enact a direct college admissions policy.
NCAN members know that one of the hurdles that trip up college-aspiring students is actually completing and submitting college applications. Idaho aims to remedy this using a direct admissions program for in-state institutions.
Idaho’s direct admissions model began in 2015 in an effort to streamline the college admissions process and encourage students to attend college in-state. Every Idaho high school senior is directly admitted to postsecondary institutions in the state without ever having to apply. In years past, every senior in the state would receive a letter notifying them
of their acceptances. In 2020, due to the pandemic, students received an online notification instead.
Students who score above a state-determined SAT/ACT score and GPA benchmark are accepted to Idaho’s eight public universities and colleges. Those who score below the benchmark are automatically admitted to the state’s six institutions offering associate
degrees or certificates. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, automatic acceptance was provided based on a student’s SAT or ACT score and GPA. In 2020, acceptance was based on a student’s fifth-semester GPA instead.
Regardless of their SAT or ACT score or their GPA, students can apply to multiple private or public colleges in the state free of charge using the Apply Idaho portal, which is essentially Idaho’s version
of the Common App. Once students submit their applications, the system automatically sends the college the students’ high school, dual credit, and ACT and SAT data.
This innovative policy has many virtues.
First, it is efficient and saves students the time of completing college applications. It also saves institutions time in reviewing them. More importantly, a direct admissions policy removes psychological barriers to attending college and sends a signal
to every student in the state that a postsecondary pathway is available to them. This is particularly important for underrepresented students who may not think of themselves as “college material” and self-select against filling out a college application.
Research suggests that Idaho’s direct admissions policy was positively correlated with increased enrollment for students of color and students receiving
free or reduced-price lunch.
At the state level, the policy helps to combat “brain drain” and keeps students in the state while also raising Idaho’s overall level of educational attainment. That, in turn, has rippling economic benefits from increased tax revenue to better health
outcomes to even potentially attracting more employers to the state.
Idaho’s direct admissions policy is the broadest and most comprehensive nationally, but it is not the only one of its kind. Illinois, South Dakota, and Texas all have some variations of the program whereby high school students meeting certain requirements
are automatically admitted to in-state institutions without having to apply.
Idaho is working to make college more affordable.
NCAN knows all too well that far too few public colleges and universities are affordable for students. NCAN’s affordability research shows that just a quarter of four-year public institutions nationally
and less than half of community colleges were affordable for a student who received the average Pell Grant in 2018-19.
Idaho is addressing the significant cost of postsecondary education through a state Opportunity Scholarship. The merit- and need-based award of up to $3,500 per year
requires a 2.7 minimum GPA and is renewable for up to four years to students attending one of 12 in-state institutions.
Idaho streamlines all things college and career readiness through one online portal.
Next Steps Idaho essentially is an online one-stop educational shop. This website, created by the SBOE, with initial start-up funding from CACG, houses college and career readiness resources for Idahoans of every
age – all the way from eighth grade to returning students.
The website features grade-by-grade comprehensive guides to help students map out their goals and plan ahead. With clear language and simple instructions, the guides direct students to available
tools and resources. These guides and resources also keep districts and schools from having to reinvent the wheel.
Counselors and advisers can easily access the state’s FAFSA Completion Portal to keep up with their students' progress. Not only does the portal share student-level FAFSA data,
but it also shows which direct admissions letter a student received, who has submitted applications through Apply Idaho, and who has applied for state financial aid.
States can lead the way on shifting college and career readiness.
There is no silver bullet for increasing college attainment rates. However, there are examples from the field on how to level the college-going playing field. With the right set of steps, states can achieve change at scale. Practices such as Idaho’s Advanced
Opportunities Program, the direct admissions policy, and Apply Idaho portal contain many reproducible elements that other states could consider adopting.
Thank you to Matt Freeman and his team at the Idaho State Board of Education for taking the time to have a conversation with us regarding several aspects of Idaho’s approach to college and career readiness.
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