Abstract

In this quantitative methods study, we examined how college freshmen assessed their readiness for university-level reading and writing and the variables that best predicted placement in credit-bearing college English courses. The findings showed that two educational factors had a major influence on students’ learning and readiness for college: the English courses students reported taking in their senior year of high school and the amount of essay writing they reported doing in those classes. Students who were placed in a college-level English class were significantly more likely to report that they took a college prep English course or an Expository Reading and Writing course and that they wrote more essays in high school English. The implications of the study include an evaluation of how secondary curriculum practices such as frequent essay writing and use of expository strategies can impact student success.