After more than three decades of development and two decades of evaluation, career academies have been found to be effective in improving the performance of students in high school, particularly for students at greatest risk. Career academies have become the most durable and best-tested component of a high school reform strategy that includes…

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota developed a new engineering design curriculum to meet the pedagogical needs of undergraduate and graduate engineering students and to excite and retain engineering students of both genders and from all backgrounds. The curriculum is based on a series of guided, hands-on…

Mentoring is a structured one-on-one relationship between an adult and youth that focuses on the needs of the youth, providing him or her with support, guidance, and assistance. This information capsule summarizes research findings on the impact of mentoring on factors such as academic achievement, social behaviors, attitudes, drug and alcohol…

This packet contains assessment instruments used to evaluate the effectiveness of Project MOVE (Maximizing Options in Vocational Education) graduate-level courses. (Courses are offered over a two-semester period to vocational educators, administrators, and counselors.) An introduction discusses evaluation methods and presents a chart listing…

Major purposes of the urban cooperative work education programs study were to assess the effectiveness of secondary and postsecondary cooperative education programs in the nation's hundred largest cities and to analyze the postprogram experiences of both participants and nonparticipants. Thirty case studies were compiled from 19 secondary and 11…

The purpose of Even Start, as outlined in federal legislation, is to help break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and low literacy by providing a unified family literacy program for low-income families. Even Start has three related goals: (1) to help parents improve their literacy or basic education skills; (2) to help parents become full…

Australia's electricity, gas, and water supply industry employs only 0.8% of the nation's workers and employment in the industry has declined by nearly 39% in the last decade. This industry is substantially more dependent on the vocational education and training (VET) sector for skilled graduates than is the total Australian labor market. Despite…

In order that we may know where we stand in secondary education, the membership of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools four years ago took the lead in urging a study. When the members of a committee of this association appeared before the Bureau of the Budget in 1928, they received a very courteous hearing. It was…

Inverness Research studied the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Seminars on Science program for eight years, from its inception in 1998 to 2006. This paper presents teacher survey ratings for "The Ocean System", along with profiles of three teachers who took the course. Course takers report on the annual follow-up surveys that…

This White Paper summarizes findings from an extensive literature review that was conducted to identify the most promising models and approaches for meeting the needs of low-income children, youth, and families during the summer months. Special attention is paid to summer learning programs that serve diverse, urban low-income children and youth.…

Over the past 2 decades, the inflation-adjusted median weekly earnings of full-time employed males and females decreased by 31% and 13%, respectively, and the deterioration in the real weekly earnings of young adults (ages 18-24) shows no signs of abatement. Male high school dropouts and graduates with no postsecondary schooling experienced the…

The effectiveness of school-to-work (STW) in Wisconsin was examined through a review of the data from the following sources: STW implementation reports; follow-up surveys of youth apprenticeship graduates, parents, and employers; and telephone interviews with curriculum directors from 45 Wisconsin school districts. Of the practices and innovative…

In 1985, the International High School (IHS) at LaGuardia Community College (LCC) in New York City was established to address the crisis in retention of high school aged immigrants with low English proficiency. IHS has had great success in improving student attendance, retention, academic achievement, and graduation. Because of its location on the…

This report summarizes 2003-2004 program evaluation results for AISD's GEAR UP program to prepare an identified cohort of students for postsecondary enrollment.

This report summarizes results of the Spring 2007 Austin Independent School District high school students' exit survey, with comparative results from previous years.