Research has shown that low graduation rates are a problem in high schools across the United States. The problem is significant at a small, inner-city charter high school in a southwestern US state that had a 2008 graduation rate of 34%. After assessing the situation, educators at this school developed the Credit Retrieval Program (CRP) to help…

The WICHE Interstate Passport Initiative, launched in October 2011, is a pilot project that addresses interstate student transfer. When students transfer from one postsecondary institution to another--both within and out of state--they may be required to repeat courses, which can add to the time and cost of completing their education. Although…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Last Cut Is the Deepest: Final FY 2011 Spending Agreement Cuts Spending by Nearly $40 Billion, Includes More Cuts for Education…

Tuition dependency, federal accountability measures, and desire for the prestige associated with college rankings all necessitate institutional attention to admission, retention, and graduation rates. The need to maintain institutional enrollment compels admissions officers to consider an applicant's likelihood of persistence in the admissions…

Suspension from school is a commonly used, yet controversial, school disciplinary measure. This paper uses unique survey data to estimate the impact of suspension on the educational outcomes of those suspended. It finds that while suspension is strongly associated with educational outcomes, the relationship is unlikely to be causal, but rather…

"Step Up & Lead Equity: What Higher Education Can Do to Reverse Our Deepening Divides" makes the case that America's persistent gaps in education, income, and wealth are widening, with the fastest growing segments of our population the least likely to have the opportunities they need to succeed. It argues that, to effectively educate…

Despite retention being a significant focus of higher education research, graduation rates remain of concern. Increased numbers of students are advancing to college bringing with them a wider range of abilities, attributes, and characteristics. There is much we know about what predicts success for these students but our knowledge is far from…

This fourth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that for the first time the nation is on track to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020--if the pace of improvement from 2006 to 2010 is sustained over the next 10 years. The greatest gains have occurred for the students of color and…

This study is a randomized controlled trial that assessed the impact of Early College High Schools on students' high school graduation, college enrollment, and college degree attainment, as well as students' high school experiences using extant data and survey data. The study included 10 Early Colleges that enrolled students in Grades 9 to 12 in…

The Montana University System Strategic Plan is the primary planning document of the Board of Regents. The Plan sets forth an agenda for higher education in Montana by delineating the strategic directions, goals, and objectives that guide the Montana University System (MUS). In July 2006, after several years of study, public dialogue, and internal…

The demand for expertise and professionals in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field is growing rapidly. In addition to this demand for STEM experts, the demographics of the nation are also shifting rapidly and the number of people of color is projected to continue to grow significantly over the next forty years. Although the…

The Montana University System Strategic Plan is the primary planning document of the Board of Regents. The Plan sets forth an agenda for higher education in Montana by delineating the strategic directions, goals, and objectives that guide the Montana University System (MUS). It is comprised of three primary goals that contain a series of sub-goal…

In 2004 the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) published an Australian Education Review (AER) on Indigenous Education: "The Case for Change: A review of contemporary research on Indigenous education outcomes," AER 47 (Mellor & Corrigan, 2004). In the 13 years since its publication, the state of Indigenous education…

Dual enrollment (DE), an arrangement by which high school students take college courses, is becoming increasingly popular as a means of improving high school education. However, there is very little rigorous evidence on its impact on student outcomes. A particular concern in evaluating its effects is the selection bias that arises because more…

From 2000 to 2008, enrollments by recent high school graduates grew faster than enrollments by adults age 25 and older (25.3 percent v. 23.6 percent). Between 2009 and 2019, this trend is expected to reverse, with adult enrollments increasing by twice as much as enrollments by traditional age students (22.6 percent vs. 9.7 percent). This paper…