The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) was created by Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. Act 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative Session requires…

In partnership with state vocational rehabilitation and special education agencies, a local university contributed interprofessional expertise in low vision rehabilitation to an established pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) program (Coduti, Herbert, Chiu, & Doke, 2017). This program was established to provide high school students…

Rural students are often overlooked when it comes to education policy reform. However, the majority of rural students in nearly half the states are from low-income families, generally earn lower scores on standardized high school assessments, lack access to rigorous coursework, and attend college at lower rates than do students from non-rural…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS) was created by Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. Act 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS) was created by Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered post-secondary education in the fall of 1998. Act 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS) was created by Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. Act 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, or TOPS) was created by ACT 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. ACT 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative Session…

This paper presents an innovative project-based learning activity meant to support language beginner students to develop, via their core curriculum, five enterprise capabilities ("authentic problem-solving;" "innovation and creativity;" "risk-taking;" "taking action;" and "true collaboration"),…

This report provides detailed analysis of Nebraska's progress toward increasing its educational attainment. It provides the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter…

Content standards have been identified in America as a solution to the declining rate of student success in the public education system. But content standards are not a "silver bullet," for a number of reasons. This chapter presents an intersegmental approach to vertical curriculum alignment that returns questions of student readiness to…

This report provides a detailed analysis of Nebraska's progress toward increasing its educational attainment. This report presents the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter…

This report looks at the progress of the ACT®-tested 2018 U.S. high school graduating class relative to college and career readiness. The data in this report are based on more than 1.9 million graduates--55% of the students in the 2018 national graduating class--who took the ACT at some time from grade 10 to 12. The ACT was taken by the majority…

Illinois education policymakers have adopted the completion agenda that emphasizes increasing postsecondary credential attainment. Meeting completion agenda goals necessitates addressing the achievement gap. To aid in developing policy to support improved completion, this study analyzes a comprehensive statewide dataset of the 2003 Illinois high…

The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is creating next-generation assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts/literacy and mathematics. With more than 40 states implementing the CCSS, the Smarter Balanced assessment system will allow states to certify that students have the knowledge and skills to…

Annually American College Testing (ACT) provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is designed to help educators understand and answer the following questions: (1) Are students prepared for college and career, and are younger students on target? (2) Are enough students taking core…