Tracking and using data to inform decisions pays off for college success programs on multiple levels. Having data allows program staff to monitor the progress of individual students and tailor support to their particular needs. It enables staff to understand the effectiveness of program activities and make improvements as necessary. Most…

The XY-Zone program is a leadership and peer support program that guides adolescent males as they journey into manhood. This mixed methods study examined the influence of the XY-Zone program on developmental assets and academic markers of males in grades nine through 12 who were identified as youth at risk of dropping out of school. Results…

The purpose of this study was to explore the direct and indirect effects of SWPBIS on high school dropout rates. We used structural equation modeling methods to analyze the web of relationships among important high school level outcomes and SWPBIS in a large sample of high schools from 37 states. Results suggest that SWPBIS has statistically…

As of 2014, four percent of all 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States had left high school without graduating for a total of 690,000 youth. The current rate of youth leaving schools represents a decline from a high of approximately fourteen percent 40 years ago. The possible reasons for improvement include improved academic measurement and…

This brief is based on an econometric study conducted in 2016 by Thomas Malone and Dr. Jonathan Zaff. The nation's high school graduation rate has been rising over the past decade and is now at a historic high. As of 2014, however, four percent of all 16- to 19-year-olds in the United States--a total of 690,000 young people--had left high school…

Holding a summer job is a rite of passage in American adolescence, a first rung towards adulthood and self-sufficiency. However, over the past decade, youth employment during the summer has decreased significantly. Summer youth employment has the potential to benefit high school students' educational outcomes and employment trajectories,…

Research has shown that low-income students especially struggle with evaluating financial aid offers and completing all necessary requirements to enroll after paying a deposit to a particular college in the spring (Authors, 2009). Motivated by these empirical results, the authors conducted three studies that showed students who were explicitly…

In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation extended grants to three educational organizations working to develop or enhance competency-based approaches in large, urbanized school systems. The grant initiative, called Project Mastery, funded the development of technology-enhanced tools, including curriculum materials and online learning…

In 2011, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation created the Project Mastery grant program to support competency-based education initiatives in large school systems that serve a high proportion of disadvantaged youth. Competency-based education meets students where they are academically, provides students with opportunities for choice, and awards…

Schoolnet is an instructional tool designed to help AISD staff at all levels to improve student achievement. In 2011-2012, the evaluation focused on system implementation.

Out-of-school time (OST) programs focused on older youth--specifically, youth in middle and high school--can help participants successfully navigate their adolescence and learn new skills well into their teens. OST programs can also help prepare older youth for a variety of new roles that they will assume as they enter college and the workforce.…

This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues & Answers report, "Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the…

Harvard Family Research Project's Out-of-School Time (OST) Program Research and Evaluation Database and Bibliography provide accessible and timely information about research and evaluations involving OST programs and initiatives. This Research Update explores key themes emerging from 13 recent reports added to the OST Research and Evaluation…

In January 2009, in the last week of the Bush Administration, the U.S. Department of Education (ED), upon orders from the departing political appointee staff, published the final report in a long running National Evaluation of Upward Bound (UB). The study was conducted by the contractor, Mathematica Policy Research. After more than a year in…

This quantitative research study used logistical regression and ordinary least squares to examine factors that contribute to the narrowing of the achievement gap at an urban high school in the Midwest. The study analyzed the relationship between five independent variables related to participation in co curricular activities, demographic…