We established a tallgrass prairie restoration experiment on a high school campus in Kansas. This easily accessible natural environment provides students and teachers many options including scientific research, artistic ventures, or simply relaxing in nature. Our restoration project has four main objectives: (1) practicing science; (2) increasing…

Leveraging the state's dual enrollment program, Georgia policymakers introduced a novel postsecondary pathway called "Option B" that allows students to bypass many traditional high school graduation requirements by completing sub-baccalaureate credentials for career and technical education instead. Given the distinctiveness of this…

An emerging challenge of closing the gap of supply and demand in School-Based Agriculture Education (SBAE) is recruiting and retaining male agricultural teachers. This case study was conducted under the lens of the Theory of Planned Behavior to examine this phenomena. Ten male participants, who were active in SBAE as youth and are currently…

States have introduced a range of strategies and legislative policies aimed at increasing college matriculation through readiness strategies and initiatives that offer strong collaboration between secondary and postsecondary education. Early college high school (ECHS) models are one-way that colleges, primarily community colleges, can serve…

Based on a case study of two majority-Black public high schools in a highly segregated American school district, the article employs a critical intersectional framework to examine the experiences of ten college-aspiring young Black men as they navigate the college choice process. Findings indicate that working-class Black male students are less…

The college admissions process can be very overwhelming for students, parents, and schools alike. This study investigates the need and practicality of integrating more Social Emotional Learning concepts into the college counseling program at an independent high school as viewed by recent high school graduates and parents of current students.…

Two persistent shortcomings of the American labor market are the wage gaps and unequal unemployment rates that exist between racial groups. More specifically, Black and Latinx high school graduates earn less and are more likely to be unemployed than their White counterparts, on average. Likewise, students from low-income families are much more…

This paper estimates the effects of earning industry-recognized certifications (IRCs) in high school on downstream outcomes. IRCs are a form of alternative education credential issued by industry groups or corporations to individuals seeking to acquire knowledge or skills in a particular sector. This credential type has grown rapidly among high…

As reported in the first State of the American Student report in 2022 (ED623504), pandemic school closures led to unprecedented academic setbacks for American students. They exacerbated preexisting inequalities and accelerated the youth mental health crisis. The second edition provides basic data on the overall system, but focuses especially on…

High school exit exams are meant to standardize the quality of public high schools and to ensure that students graduate with a set of basic skills and knowledge. Evidence suggests that a common perverse effect of exit exams is an increase in dropout for students who have difficulty passing tests, with a larger effect on minority students. To…

Previous research has shown that social inequalities in the transition to higher education are a persistent phenomenon in Germany. Additionally, studies indicate that graduates from vocational schools are less likely to enter higher education, compared to their peers who graduated from general schools. However, research is scarce about how social…

Community colleges have long responded to local workforce needs through assembling programming and alliances aimed at reducing workforce gaps while concurrently training the next generation of industry professionals. The emergence of the North Carolina Community College System's NC Career Coach Program, stemming from North Carolina General Statute…

Early colleges are high schools that blend the high school and college experiences. They have been shown to increase college enrollment and completion; however less is known about the costs of the early college model relative to traditional high schools. We leverage randomized assignment of North Carolina students to early colleges to estimate the…

Young Black and Latino men transition from high school to 4-year universities at rates considerably lower than their peers. College-going disparities by gender are partly influenced by young men's constrained access to social capital in high school. This research explores how gendered inequalities in social capital arise for college-aspiring…

Academic advising for dual credit and early college high school students is significant to postsecondary matriculation and degree completion of these students after high school graduation. Unstructured advising can lead students to take excess credits and have an unclear path to a postsecondary credential. This study focused on the importance of…