Even before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the U.S. education system in spring 2020, another persistent, pernicious pathogen had long plagued American society: inequitable educational outcomes on the basis of income, race, and ethnicity. This is especially true for postsecondary access and attainment. Research shows the benefits of postsecondary…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children in Texas and across the United States. The theme of this issue is "Rejecting a Return to Tracking." Articles include: (1) Getting it…

The purpose of this guide is to help readers clarify their roles in the college access and success system and to identify how they might use data to create change for students. This guide shows how data can strengthen current programs and support broader changes that ease the path to college for students. This guide illuminates how a long-term…

Federal Student Aid's core mission is to ensure that all eligible Americans benefit from federal financial assistance--grants, loans and work-study programs--for education beyond high school. The programs administered comprise the nation's largest source of student aid. Every year, the U.S. Department of Education provides more than $83 billion in…

Research on parental involvement in educational 'choice', as well as in educational processes more generally, has highlighted clear disparities between the close and active involvement of mothers and the more distant role of fathers. While this article does not question the broad patterns identified by such studies, it does suggest that, in some…

This report uses the phrase, "College Readiness" to refer in a general sense to the level of preparation a student needs to be ready to enroll and succeed--without remediation--in a credit-bearing course at a two-year or four-year institution, trade school, or technical school. Increasingly, however, college readiness also means "workplace"…

"The Achiever" is published semi-monthly during the school year for parents and community leaders. Each issue contains news and information about school improvement in the United States. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Study Finds Majority of Sophomores Plan to Go to College"; (2) "Parent Support:…

Today there is a growing belief that everyone who wants access to college can have it. College enrollments have continued to grow for over half a century and now it can be argued that most American families dream of a college education for their children. A 2003 report by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) demonstrates there is a growing…

A cooperative effort in Chester, Pennsylvania, involves religious leaders, school district personnel, and college and university administrators with the goal of increasing minority college enrollment. The task force has developed a newsletter, presentations to high school students, information on admissions and financial aid for parents and…

Part of a larger report on the Four Directions Project, an American Indian technology innovation project, this section includes six "pathfinders" to locating information on college preparation and career planning. The pathfinders were designed by students in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of…

This brochure provides educators, statisticians, the press, the public, and other interested parties with selected facts and figures about Alaska public schools spanning several years. A series of 29 tables presents information about: (1) numbers of schools and districts; (2) average daily membership; (3) numbers of graduates and general…

As part of a series of field hearings across the nation on the reauthorization of the Higher Education of 1965, the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education met in Pleasant Hill, California, to hear testimony specifically on access to education for children of lower and middle class families in California. Discussed were the rising cost of higher…

This paper discusses the use of Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores and other elements affecting institutional accountability in the University of Maryland system. It asserts that SAT scores in and of themselves are not accurate predictors of retention and success. The publication of SAT scores of first-time, full-time freshmen clearly is as…

As part of a series of field hearings across the nation on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education met in Great Falls, Montana, to hear testimony specifically on access to education for children of middle class farm families in Montana. In the course of the hearing witnesses touched on…

To ensure reliable, accurate, and timely data capable of monitoring the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 46 indicators of important developments and trends in U.S.…