CollegePrep: Free College Prep for All
We are seeking volunteer contributors to assist with the CollegePrep initiative.
This project is to help ensure that every high school student, regardless of their background, has a fair shot at getting into the college of their choosing. One of our fundamental beliefs is that top tier standardized test prep resources should be available to everyone and should not be limited by ZIP code, socioeconomic status, etc.
We realize money plays a big role in college admissions. Millions of dollars are going into standardized test preparation and specialized college admission consulting, putting students from low socioeconomic status and traditionally underserved students at a disadvantage. Students that attend underfunded and underperforming public schools suffer the most from the lack of adequate test prep resources and college admission guidance.
This is well documented — here are some examples (just the tip of the iceberg):
How I Learned to Take the SAT Like a Rich Kid https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/opinion/how-i-learned-to-take-the-sat-like-a-rich-kid.html
How much would you pay to get your kid into Ivy League?https://www.today.com/money/how-much-would-you-pay-get-your-kid-ivy-league-1D80283149
The High School Guidance Counselor Shortage http://nation.time.com/2013/12/03/the-high-school-guidance-counselor-shortage/
The Undervaluing of School Counselors https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/09/the-neglected-link-in-the-high-school-to-college-pipeline/500213/
How you can help:
CollegePrep develops videos on best practices for taking the ACT/SAT and shares them online, free of charge. Video content includes explaining how to solve ACT/SAT practice problems from official testmaker guides (student-led), and teaching relevant fundamental concepts (teacher-led).
Our goal is to crowdsource this material in partnership with the private sector, nonprofits, students, teachers and secondary education guidance counselors across the U.S. This approach of crowdsourcing material is somewhat unique in the education sector (well-known approach for open-source software). We think this is needed to create 100s of hours of content that can be useful to all high school students across the U.S. Our goal is to create high quality baseline content that can be used by all, including organizations. We are actively partnering with likeminded organizations to further develop and distribute our content.
According to National Center for Education Statistics, in fall 2017 there are 15.1 million public school students in grades 9 through 12. Also, about 3.6 million students are expected to graduate from high school in 2017–18; these student will immediately benefit from our services. This content should be useful to everyone that is preparing for these standardized exams, but especially for those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Overall, this content is non-competitive with other non-profits and could be used as a supplement with other test prep materials or by itself. This content can also be useful for school districts, public schools, and non-profit organizations alike.
We are requesting volunteers to help us with video content (all contributions are virtual). Your contribution could consist of videos of you walking through practice problems/ foundational concepts, providing personal tips and insights along the way. Your contribution could be as short as a 10 minute video! Check out an example from one of our contributors:
Furthermore, check out our Youtube channel for the latest content:
CollegePrep_Sign in now to see your channels and recommendations!_www.youtube.com
If you are a student interested in contributing, please use this link (https://goo.gl/qpRwvQ) to sign up.
If you are a teacher interested in contributing, please use this link (https://goo.gl/dZMJeV) to sign up.
We have over 200 sign ups, and 15+ hours of content to date (11.9.17). In partnership with the Fair Opportunity Project, these videos are sent to 57,000+ high schools across the country along with other college prep material each fall!
Why:
A 10–20% increase in ACT/SAT scores can make a big impact for students from low socio-economic status in terms of much needed scholarship dollars, college admissions, etc. We want to develop prep content that is of high quality and easily accessible to all, at no cost. Multiple silos, comprised of public schools and various non-profit organizations all across the country, are spending millions of dollars to assist students from low socioeconomic backgrounds; we are trying to bring all of these under one roof and open source all the content.
Please reach out to me if you have any questions at raul[dot]aguilera[at]edufp[dot]org . Feel free to forward this on to whomever you think may be interested and/or share it widely on social media.