Currently, research surrounding transition programs for students entering high school focuses on academic achievement outcomes. However, the prevalence of school shootings in predominantly white, suburban communities shows that students in these often academically competitive schools may need support to help them become more connected to the…

This action research explores the impact of social justice aligned performance tasks on the awareness of civic responsibility of adolescents. The primary question of this STEM education action research is what impact does integrating social justice aligned performance tasks in computer science and college-preparatory math courses have on the…

The number of students transferring from Myanmar to universities in Western society has increased rapidly in the past decade. Understanding the perceived readiness of these stakeholders may have substantial implications for student success as they make the transition. The purpose of this explanatory mixed methods study was twofold. First, to…

The College and Career Readiness and College Completion Act of 2013 (CCR-CCA) established a number of requirements designed to increase college and career readiness as well as degree completion in Maryland. With a rapidly changing economy and a focus on increasing the percent of young adults with postsecondary degrees, the intent of the Act is to…

Postsecondary access and degree completion are increasingly important concerns for individuals and policymakers. This dissertation presents evidence on three distinct strategies for increasing students' level of preparedness for higher education, rates of postsecondary enrollment, and rates of postsecondary degree completion. The first is an…

Creating effective pathways for students to transition from high school to college or career is immensely important and, although challenging, some have developed promising approaches. This case study examined how formal and informal leaders in an urban high school and district collaborated to implement a college and career academy model,…

This study examined a linkage program between a secondary school and a community college in Ontario, Canada. The study sought to identify (a) appropriate success criteria to evaluate a high school-community college program and (b) the attributes that promote or ensure a program's sustainability. Though initially successful, the investigated…

The purpose of this study was to examine Kentucky high school students' participation and pass rates in college preparatory transition courses, which are voluntary remedial courses in math and reading offered to grade 12 students in the state. Three groups of students were compared using the population of grade 12 students in Kentucky public…

In response to growing concerns about college readiness, the Kentucky legislature revised the state's assessment and accountability system in an effort to increase the number of students who are ready for college when they graduate. The Kentucky Department of Education and the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education responded by redefining…

College Readiness for Rural Youth is an innovative, postsecondary education bridge program that gives youth the opportunity to explore college attainability, admissions, financial aid, and application processes. The initiative aims to support academic success and transition to college for rural youth.

Research demonstrates that students' success in rigorous middle and high school math courses is positively associated with their admission to college, earnings later in life, and career prospects. The sequential nature of math course-taking, however, can create an opportunity structure that puts certain students at a disadvantage, specifically…

In this article, the author discusses a transition program at the Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD) that helps students learn to search for, find and keep jobs. ISD's personal and career development (PCD) classes, which began in the fall of 2005, are required for the school's ninth through twelfth graders. The goal is to ease transition from school…

The transition from 8th grade to 9th grade is one that is replete with challenges for students, especially for minority students who live in economically disadvantaged communities. One low-income, high minority comprehensive high school in the western United States implemented five separate strategies to create a freshman transition program to aid…

Concerned that their special education students were not being adequately prepared for the post-high school world, a rural Arkansas school district made a concerted effort to provide a systematic transition program in which opportunities for life after graduation could become a meaningful reality. A significant component of the transition program…

The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Why Do I Have to Learn This?; (2) 2008 NDPN Crystal Star Winners; (3) Effective Freshman Transition for School Improvement (David Livingston, John Greene, and Lindy Stahlman); (4)…