Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields have been traditionally entered by men, often establishing women as underrepresented in many of these fields. This research study focuses on participants at a STEM camp for middle- and high-school girls designed to introduce them to technology. The camp was held 4 times over 3 years, with…

Many jurisdictions use data about college and career readiness to help stakeholders understand whether students are on track to succeed in college and careers after high school graduation. For example, Hawaii includes the percentage of high school graduates from a particular school who later attend college in school-level feedback reports for…

Postsecondary education is widely seen as a necessity in the modern economy. Yet students at community colleges often face steep odds when it comes to completing a degree. Community colleges serve many low-income and first-generation students as well as students of color, all of whom must contend with many obstacles to success. At the same time,…

Postsecondary education is widely seen as a necessity in the modern economy. Yet students at community colleges often face steep odds when it comes to completing a degree. Community colleges serve many low-income and first-generation students as well as students of color, all of whom must contend with many obstacles to success. At the same time,…

There is increasing demand on the education sector to produce high-quality, actionable information to inform decisions aimed at improving student achievement. Unfortunately, every state currently lacks the out-of-state data necessary to follow individuals systemically and efficiently across state lines. The absence of appropriate out-of-state data…

Across the 50 states, career and technical education (CTE) programs at the K-12 and postsecondary levels have seen enormous policy action - 2013 alone saw at least 78 substantive policy changes via legislation, state board rules and executive orders specific to CTE and workforce development. What are the drivers behind this sudden policymaker…

The 5th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2012) is held in picturesque Chania on the beautiful Crete island in Greece, under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society (IEDMS). The EDM 2012 conference is a leading international forum for high quality research that mines large data sets of educational…

This paper explains how the activity theory is used as a framework to analyze the barriers to a virtual Management Information Stream (MIS) Curriculum in Jordanian schools, from both the sociocultural and pedagogical perspectives. Taking the activity system as a unit of analysis, this study documents the processes by which activities shape and are…

Principals in school buildings are under immense pressure to improve outcomes for all students. Recent literature suggests this accountability may be at least partly warranted, as there is overwhelming evidence that building principals can positively impact student achievement through their behavior as effective instructional leaders. Much of the…

Existing literature supports the inclusion of students in education reform, documenting benefits for both students and educators. When student voice is not included in reform efforts, these efforts are more likely to flounder. The emerging educational reform of data-driven decision making (DDDM) offers promise for increasing student achievement.…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a commentary assessing the meaning of college- and career-readiness. In doing so, it addresses some of the questions Achieve gets asked most frequently, including: What subjects are most important in defining "Readiness"? What does…

The Early Warning System is a tool developed by the National High School Center to collect data on indicators including attendance, grade point average, course failures, and credits earned. These indicators have been found to be highly predictive of a student's likelihood of dropping out of high school in large, urban areas. The Early Warning…

This substudy in the evaluation design of the Math and Science Partnership (MSP) Program Evaluation examines student proficiency in mathematics and science for the MSPs' schools in terms of changes across three years (2003/04, 2004/05, and 2005/06) and relationships with MSP-related variables using Management Information System data with the…

Few women major in Management Information Systems (MIS). The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons for women's underrepresentation in MIS. In addition to examining gender differences, an important and novel goal of this study is to examine intra-gender differences in undergraduate students, i.e., differences among female MIS majors and…

Despite decades of school improvement initiatives, many young people still do not cross the finish line of secondary education with the credential that signifies success--a high school diploma. Thousands of young people give up on school and on themselves, or schools give up on them. Without effective support from schools, communities, and…