This exploratory study examines the academic outcomes of homeschooled students who enter a medium size doctoral institution located in the Midwest. Descriptive analysis reveals homeschool students possess higher ACT scores, grade point averages (GPAs) and graduation rates when compared to traditionally-educated students. In addition, multiple…

Almost one half of U.S. students receiving B.S. and M.S. science degrees attend community colleges during their academic careers, yet for the large majority of community college students in the sciences, a four-year degree in a STEM discipline remains an unrealized goal. The authors describe methods intended to improve student learning, retention,…

Too many students drop out of school, which results in economic losses and increased crime. The problem is particularly acute for black and Hispanic students. A recent study of more than 130 9th-graders in five California high schools revealed some interesting information: Most of them (three-quarters) said they liked school, and more than 80% saw…

This study examines the influence of faculty mentorship in the shaping of African American doctoral student success. A case analysis framework is used to investigate the belief systems that doctoral students held about their doctoral experience. Data collection involved a one-phase semi-structured interview protocol used to gather information…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Learning Across Distance: Virtual-Instruction Programs Are Growing Rapidly, but the Impact on "Brick-and-Mortar" Classrooms Is Still up in the Air…

"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) Obama Outlines Education Agenda: President Calls for "World-Class Standards" and an End to the High School…

British Colombia's Student Transitions Project (STP) is challenging long-held myths about the movement of students through the education system in that province and may become a catalyst for re-examining commonly held ideas about students' transition to post-secondary education across the country. The STP is a collaborative effort among B.C.'s…

Over the past 10 years, the author has spent time in hundreds of high schools reviewing data; observing classes; learning about interventions and whole-school reforms; and speaking with principals, teachers, counselors, and students. She has also been a district leader in New York City responsible for high school reform that has achieved promising…

This year, Diverse has added a new addition to its annual Top 100 degree producers series--recognizing, with this edition, the institutions that award the most associate degrees to students of color. More than half of minority undergraduate students start their degree quest at a community college with 55 percent of all Hispanic and Native American…

Despite increased enrollment, outcomes such as grade point average (GPA), persistence, and graduation rates for college students with learning disabilities (LD) continue to lag behind those of their nondisabled peers. Reasons for the differences vary but may include academic and social integration, factors identified as important to the success of…

As a team of job-embedded instructional coaches in an ethnically and economically diverse learning environment, the authors are dedicated to thinking through and troubleshooting the improvement of teaching and learning in the three learning communities that make up Clover Park High School. They agree with commentator Laurie Olsen who writes, "Data…

In this article, the authors share what they have learned in two distinct but complementary research projects that focus on institutional efforts to enhance student persistence and graduation--one funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education and the second by the College Board. Together, these projects have helped them develop a fuller picture of…

This report summarizes how school and district leaders and academic coaches in two Texas school districts used assessment and other types of data to assess the quality of teaching and learning, to coach and supervise teachers, and to guide management decisions. The report also describes how district and school leaders supported teachers' use of…

Too many students in high-poverty, urban communities drop out of high school, and too few graduate prepared for college and careers. Three national organizations--Talent Development Secondary, City Year, and Communities In Schools--have formed "Diplomas Now" in an effort to transform urban secondary schools so fewer students drop out and…

"Research Messages 2014" is a collection of summaries of research published by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) in 2014 in the context of changing economic, industrial, social and education conditions, organised under the following broad categories: (1) Productivity: to sustain and build Australia's human…