Recent investigations challenge the construct validity of sustained silent reading tests. Performance of two groups of post-secondary students (e.g. struggling and nonstruggling) on a sustained silent reading test and two types of cloze test (i.e. maze and open-ended) was compared in order to identify the test format that contributes greater variance in reading comprehension. One hundred participants were recruited from students enrolled in a preparatory course for a high-stakes statewide reading examination. Our results suggest that all three measures have good concurrent validity. There was no evidence that open-ended cloze performance was more related to verbal ability than any other reading measure. Maze performance did the best job at discriminating between our struggling and non-struggling readers. Implications for reading comprehension assessment in post secondary-aged adults are discussed.Reading comprehension is a complex cognitive skill that is required for adults to succeed and keep up with societal demands. ' [It] is the primary mechanism that maintains the great differential in health, longevity, and the successful pursuit of happiness between the majority and mainstream in the United States' (Labov, 2003, p. 129). One common societal choice for adults is to pursue post-secondary education. Around the world postsecondary institutions have seen an explosion in adult enrolment. For example, 15.6 million adults are expected to enrol in institutions of post-secondary education in the United States by the fall of 2008 (Schmidt, 2008) and an increase of 77% has been reported by UNESCO in tertiary student enrolment in the participating countries of the World Education Indicators Programme (

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Citation: Ari, O., Fisher-Ari, T. R., Killacky, J., Angel, R. (2017). "This is my family outside of my family": Care-based relating in a model early college high school. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25(61). http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.2726Abstract: Early college (EC) is a novel educational model in the US that combines high school and college in an effort to increase underrepresented students' access to higher education by providing engaging, hands-on instruction in a supportive learning environment. For this phenomenological inquiry, we sought to understand the role of care-based relating in a model early college by examining how relationships are manifested and experienced at this school. Through 30-45 minute interviews, eleven participants (three sophomores, three seniors, and five teachers) described EC teachers' high level of 1 The research reported in this paper is a result of a partnership sponsored by the University of North Carolina and the North Carolina New School Learning Laboratory Initiative. Vol. 25 No. 61 2 commitment to students' academic success through: (a) responsive instruction in classroom and group contexts; (b) additional learning support for individual students; and (c) varied experiences from traditional school contexts. EC teachers found these efforts fostered student commitment to learning. Additionally, teachers and students noted the extraordinary commitment of EC teachers to the physical, social, and emotional wellbeing of learners demonstrated through: (a) family-like relationships; (b) promoting social and emotional wellbeing through timely advice and intervention; (c) joining students through tragic and intense personal and out-of-school realities; and (d) forming longitudinal connections with students and their families. However, this commitment resulted in teachers taking on significant burden when there was a lack of structural supports available for all learners. Findings hold implications for educational policy and school structuring that can promote educational equity and success through meaningful relationships, responsive practices, wrap-around services for students with out-of-school challenges, and teacher-support structures to ensure the longitudinal development and wellness of teachers, preventing burnout and attrition. Keywords: early college; care-based relating; teacher-student relationships "Esta es mi familia fuera de mi familia": Relación basada en un modelo de cuidado en la escuela secundaria y la universidad Resumen: "Early College" (EC) es un modelo educativo innovador en los Estados Unidos que combina la enseñanza media y la universidad en un esfuerzo para aumentar el acceso de los estudiantes sub-representados a la enseñanza superior, proporcionando instrucciones prácticas e involucradas en un ambiente de aprendizaje de apoyo. Para esta investigación fenomenológica, buscamos comprender el papel de la relación basada en un modelo de cuidado de la universidad al examinar cómo las relaciones se manifiestan y se experimentan en esta escuela....

African American adolescents from families with low levels of human capital (i.e., caregiver level of education) are at risk for poor early adult outcomes. The current study examined the relationships among 48 African American high school students' literacy performance (e.g., reading and vocabulary), their implicit views of intelligence, their caregivers' implicit views of intelligence, and their caregivers' level of education. Results indicated positive correlations between literacy performance and students' implicit views of intelligence only for those students whose caregivers were not college educated. Implications for investments in human capital in the current political era are discussed.