Abstract
High school students from rural agriculturally intensive communities that have been described as socioeconomically distressed frequently have an interest in pursuing higher education within agricultural fields of study to enhance their future careers. However, these students are often unsuccessful in gaining admissions to universities offering B.S. degrees in agricultural and life sciences due to significantly lower scores on college entrance examinations such as the ACT. The A.S.P.I.R.E.
(ACT Supplemental Preparation in Rural Education) Program is an initiative that partners the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NC State University with the North Carolina Cooperative Extension System to bridge these apparent deficits in rural high school students’ performance on the ACT College Entrance Examination in order to increase admissions rates of these students. Through participation in the A.S.P.I.R.E. course, students have been shown to increase their ACT score on average by approximately 3.5 points on the ACT’s 36 point scale.
 17. Herman_NACTA Journal.pdf | [ ] | 211 kB |
