It is commonly believed that education is a good thing for individuals. Yet, its correlation with subjective well-being is most often only weakly positive, or even negative, despite the many associated better individual-level outcomes. We here square the circle using novel Japanese data on happiness aspirations. If reported happiness comes from a…

This "First Look" presents findings from the provisional data of the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) fall 2014 data collection, which included three survey components: (1) Institutional Characteristics for the 2014-15 academic year; (2) Completions, covering the period July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014; and (3)…

Purpose: English learner (EL) education policy has long directed schools to address EL students' linguistic "and" academic development without furthering inequity or segregation. The recent Every Student Succeeds Act reauthorization expresses a renewed focus on evidence of equity, effectiveness, and opportunity to learn. We propose that…

This 2016 fact book for the Florida College System is divided into the following categories: (1) Student Information, which includes fall, annual, FTE, and program enrollment statistics, as well as credit program completion statistics; (2) Employee Information, which includes statistics regarding employee headcount by occupational activity and…

Administrators at a large, public university launched a mandatory success course for freshmen placed on academic probation at the end of their first semester. We compared the rates of course participant and nonparticipant return to good academic standing; persistence to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years; and graduation (within 4 to 5 years). 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…

Data-driven approaches to school decision making have come into widespread use in the past decade, nationally and in New York City. New Visions has been at the forefront of those developments: in New Visions schools, teacher teams and school teams regularly examine student performance data to understand patterns and drive classroom- and…

The Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) submits this report in response to the 2014 Joint Chairmen's Report, which requested an update to the 2013 MHEC report that examined impacts of financial need on student success. The charge included in the 2014 Joint Chairmen's Report was the following: "As part of the Access, Affordability, and…

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviews in this topic area focus on dropout prevention interventions designed for use in secondary school (middle school, junior high school, and high school) or community-based settings to help students stay in school, progress in school, and/or complete school. Systematic reviews of evidence in this topic area…

A high school education, which includes access to advanced math courses, has a positive effect on students. Math classes taken in high school show a relationship to higher salaries and college graduation rates. However, the high-stakes accountability system in California, redesigned in 2003 to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act…

Low graduation rates of high school students are a problem for the Native American community. One possible solution for low graduation rates is a credit recovery program that may assist Native American students to recover credit not earned in their early high school years. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a credit…

This study examined the relationship between an institution's evangelical or Protestant religious affiliation and Black graduation rates. The over 100 members of the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) are Protestant institutions with strong evangelical cultures. Much of the research regarding race and religion in America has…

Low high school graduation rates and sharply declining employment rates among disadvantaged youth have led to increasing numbers of youth who are disconnected from both school and work. What programs and policies might prevent these disconnections and improve educational and employment outcomes, particularly among young men? We review the evidence…

This article describes efforts to improve retention and graduation rates at the University of Texas at San Antonio, a large Hispanic serving institution (HSI). One college within the university is focusing on increasing retention and graduation rates primarily by building relationships and capitalizing on university resources. In addition to…

This study examined the relationship between student perceptions of school efforts to facilitate student involvement, school commitment, self-determination skills, and on track indicators for graduation in 10th grade and actual graduation outcomes two years later. The participants were 154 primarily minority students in a large, urban school…