In 2019, the Legislature passed House Bill 1599, which established graduation pathways as a requirement for graduation. These pathways must be aligned with a student's postsecondary goals as described in their High School and Beyond Plan. This report includes the unique pathway options, a data summary, and disaggregated pathway completion data for…

Competency-based education (CBE) is a learner-centric framework that emphasizes what students "know and can show" more than how much time they spend in the classroom. CBE advocates claim that by allowing students to take as little or as much time as they need to demonstrate their mastery of course competencies, students develop higher…

An increasing percentage of students entering postsecondary institutions are working at least part-time and balancing multiple identities, responsibilities, and demands on their time and resources. As student demographics change, postsecondary institutions must rise to meet these students where they are. Two effective ways to do that include…

Completing a program of study and earning a credential is a mark of student perseverance and success. Student completion rates can tell us how well colleges and universities support students in completing an educational program. A research study by the US Department of Education reported students who completed non-degree certificate programs had…

The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative survey method is to gather State GEAR UP leaders' perceptions about the actual program activities and their sense of importance of those same program activities. The objectives of the GEAR UP Program are: (a) to increase the academic performance; (b) preparation for postsecondary education of…

This study uses secondary data to explore the relationship between the percentage of Latinos enrolled in a postsecondary institution and two educational outcomes: graduating within six years and total amount in student loan debt. Research on the concentration of Latino students in higher education have mostly focused on Hispanic Serving…

This paper uses critical archival analysis, paired with textual analysis of grant descriptions, to understand how nine foundations -- all with endowments derived from the student loan industry -- have motivated their college completion work and the relationship between these commitments and grantmaking over time (2000-2019). Mobilizing concepts of…

Limited research currently exists on the lived experiences of Latina/o students with dis/abilities within secondary and postsecondary education. While the number of Latina/o students with dis/abilities enrolling in college has continued to rise, their graduation rates are still lower than those of their counterparts without dis/abilities.…

Student Success Centers (SSC) belong to a national network dedicated to increasing the number of students earning postsecondary credentials. SSCs use a variety of methods and strategies to help states within the network achieve these goals. This chapter focuses on practical ways for student success centers to help colleges navigate the…

Washington's high school graduation rate has increased over the past decade. In 2022, 82 percent of high school students in the state graduated in four years, a six-percentage point increase over the 2013 graduation rate. This report looks at postsecondary enrollment trends for Washington high school graduates in the classes of 2020 and 2021…

Based on student loan repayment rate data and college graduation rates we know that millions of young people start their lives without degrees and are financially over-leveraged. Students and families make bets on future earnings by enrolling in colleges that they cannot afford and have low probabilities of being successful. Although the value of…

For over two decades, there have been sustained efforts across the nation to increase high school graduation rates toward the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate for the Class of 2020 and improving educational outcomes for all students. The work of many educators, policymakers, organizations, and young people across the country…

This study identifies factors contributing to the success of foster care alumni (FCA) who graduate from post-secondary education (PSE), despite institutions devoting little effort to making PSE accessible to FCA. Nine FCA PSE graduates were interviewed about their success. Responses were analyzed using an exploratory method to identify themes…

Although the positive relationship between social determinants and college attainment is well established, less is known about how social class specifically relates to the linear and timely completion of postsecondary degrees. In this paper, we empirically examine on-time completion of bachelor's degrees using social class proxies for a national…

The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of African Americans who have leveraged their resilience to overcome barriers to complete post-secondary education. The study used a descriptive phenomenological qualitative research design, while the population studied was African Americans,…