The Louisiana Department of Education has published the Louisiana High School Planning Guidebook each year since 2014. This condensed resource consolidates the policies and programs that are most relevant to high school educators as they plan for the upcoming academic year and prepare all students for college and career success. Every year, across…

More Louisiana students than ever before are graduating with the academic courses, career credentials, and financial support they need to be successful after high school. In fact, the Class of 2018 was the highest achieving in state history. Louisiana's comprehensive plan to prepare students for college and career success includes a system of…

This paper considers an unavoidable feature of the school environment, class rank. What are the long run effects of a student's ordinal rank in elementary school? Using administrative data from all public school students in Texas, we show that students with a higher third grade academic rank, conditional on achievement and classroom fixed effects,…

Through Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1599 (E2SHB 1599) the Legislature tasked the State Board of Education (SBE) with providing an analysis of the equity and adequacy of the new graduation pathway options through stakeholder outreach and engagement. SBE has solicited and received feedback on the graduation pathway options. In the…

National trends show that college academic readiness and subsequent graduation rates continue to decline despite added attention being paid to advanced curriculum while in high school. This study utilized existing data to determine the relationship between completing or taking Advanced Placement® course(s) during high school and subsequent college…

The Washington Legislature directed the State Board of Education (SBE) to provide an analysis of the equity and adequacy of new graduation pathway options through stakeholder outreach and engagement. This report contains the "Second Interim Graduation Pathway Options Report--July 2020" and the "Washington Graduation Pathway Options:…

Modern career academies aim to prepare students for college and the labor market. This paper examines the profile of students entering such academies in one school district and estimates causal effects of participation in one of the district's well-regarded academies on a range of high school and college outcomes. Using rich administrative data…

The challenge and promise of postsecondary education is greater in a large, fast-growing, diverse state like Texas where the fastest-growing segments of the population are economically disadvantaged and come from communities historically underserved by higher education institutions. Recognizing this reality, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating…

Oregon has invested resources to expand access to accelerated learning programs (i.e., educational experiences that allow students to earn college credit in high school), and education leaders are committed to ensuring they are sustainable, equitable, and effective. Conducted in partnership with practitioners from secondary and postsecondary…

This report shows college enrollment and graduation trends among African American SAT® takers who finished high school in 2004 and 2010 by various student characteristics, including aspirations, self-perceived ability, and academic achievements. In every case, students in the top categories were the most likely to enroll in four-year colleges…

Our study analyzes the impact of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, a college-preparatory educational program designed for higher-achieving students, on high school academic achievement in Chicago Public Schools. We exploit exogenous variation in the offering of the program across schools over time with a difference-in-differences…

In a 2010 address to the College Board, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan laid out a vision for high school that advances the Obama administration's goal of the U.S. once again leading the world in educational attainment. There is no grade in which the magnitude and complexity of this shift becomes clearer than in senior year. Historically,…

This report provides a first look at selected findings from 1) the 2013 Update and 2) the High School Transcript Study of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 is a nationally representative study of a cohort of students who were ninth-graders in fall 2009. The study focuses on understanding students' trajectories from the…

Geography may not be particularly known as a hot topic among today's students--even some advocates suggest it suffers from an image problem--but by at least one measure, the subject is starting to come into its own. Across more than 30 topics covered in the Advanced Placement (AP) program, participation in geography is rising faster than any…

Educators are increasingly focused on ensuring that students experience a rigorous curriculum in high school and graduate college and career ready. One way of introducing rigorous course work is to have students take college-level work, often in the form of either an AP® course and exam or a dual enrollment course. This study compared the outcomes…