America's K-12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. Independently, these factors present significant challenges for U.S. schools. In combination, they create a national imperative for swift action to create a…

America's K-12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. Independently, these factors present significant challenges for U.S. schools. In combination, they create a national imperative for swift action to create a…

Native American students in Washington attend more than 40 postsecondary institutions and participate in college at a rate greater than their proportional presence in the population. They are just as likely to apply for and receive financial aid as other groups, a little less likely to borrow to attend college, and experience a greater gap than…

This report contains trend data on the retention, graduation, and transfer rates of first-time, full-time students at Maryland community colleges from 1997 to 2007. Specifically, the report presents retention and graduation data for students two, three and four years after matriculation into a community college. The data is presented for the…

Individual and social benefits accrue when high school graduation rates increase. One approach to increasing graduation rates is to design learning environments that serve students with disabilities through the 5Cs known to increase school completion: connect, climate, control, curriculum, and caring community. Virtual school programs align with…

This literature review examines current practice in reporting school dropout rates and the impact that school dropout may have on adult education programs and policies. First, I investigate the five dropout estimates commonly reported by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE), examining how these measures vary in their estimation of school…

The Abell Foundation commissioned this study to examine the potential of dual college enrollment and similar learning options for students enrolled in Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) high schools. What is the potential of dual enrollment as a strategy to improve high school completion rates, ease the transition to college for…

The globalization of economies, the digitization of work, pressing health and security issues, and changing demographics have dramatically changed our world. Unlike previous generations, U.S. high school graduates will routinely buy from the world, sell to the world, work for international companies, manage employees from other cultures and…

This listing contains 2005-06 high school graduates and postsecondary education rates for all public high schools in Pennsylvania. Included in this listing are the total graduates and those graduates planning to attend a two- or four-year college or university, a specialized associate degree-granting institution, or a nondegree-granting…

This paper reviewed the research literature on graduation rates in U.S. high schools to evaluate and assess the findings. The methodology employed was to determine the measuring method that researchers used in reaching their findings. The strengths and weaknesses of the method employed were then analyzed. Flaws and inaccuracies were examined and…

The United States led the world in the percentage of its population with college degrees through the middle and end of the 20th century. Its overall success gave the nation competitive confidence. But in recent years, several other countries have been making remarkable progress in educating their residents, producing young-adult populations that…

In May 2008, the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) issued the Education Policy Brief, "Calculating High School Graduation Rates," which discussed the importance of accurate and reliable high school graduation data, various graduation rate calculation methods, the history behind the use of particular methodologies, and…

This report provides information on states' progress in implementing the graduation rate all 50 governors agreed by signing the Graduation Counts Compact in 2005 to adopt. The governors undertook this commitment because they understand the imperative to gather more accurate, comparable data on how many of their students graduate from high school…

In the past decade, school districts around the country have sought to improve struggling urban high schools, where high dropout rates, poor student achievement, and low rates of graduation and college-going remain all too prevalent. In a field crowded with reform initiatives, Project Graduation Really Achieves Dreams (GRAD) stands out as…

To ensure that students who receive high school diplomas meet basic thresholds of academic proficiency and job readiness, 24 states have adopted exit exams that students must pass to graduate. Opponents of these exams complain that they drive already-low graduation rates downward. They argue that raising the bar for graduation forces many…