Multiple factors influence a student's success in high school graduation. Individual factors such as disability, racial or ethnic identity, and gender may result in inequity in the school environment, interfering with learning and possibly leading to poorer educational outcomes. This secondary analysis of student educational records (N = 3,782)…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational-predictive study was to determine if and to what extent students' Cognitive Ability, first-term GPA, and ethnicity predict student graduation status from a CTE college in Texas. Student retention rates continue to be a cause for great concern for higher learning, even more so for CTE institutions.…

Objective: This study examines how accurately a small set of short-term academic indicators can approximate long-term outcomes of community college students so that decision-makers can take informed actions based on those indicators to evaluate the current progress of large-scale reform efforts on long-term outcomes, which in practice will not be…

Each time children change schools, they leave behind friends, and must adapt to a new environment. This new environment may include not only a new school, but also a new home, a new neighborhood, a new part of town, and, potentially, a new family arrangement. This larger array of possible changes will determine if the move causes overall benefit…

In this paper, we show that the design and decentralized, school-based scoring of New York's high school exit exams--the Regents Examinations--led to the systematic manipulation of test sores just below important proficiency cutoffs. Our estimates suggest that teachers inflate approximately 40 percent of test scores near the proficiency cutoffs.…

This study examines the impact of providing parents with an informational brochure about the role of algebra II in college access on students' grade 11 algebra II completion rates in Texas. One hundred nine schools, covering all 20 Educational Service Center regions in Texas, participated in the study. Parents in the 54 treatment schools were…

Utah's public technical colleges offer vocational certificate programs at a low cost to students, as required by statute. Certificates are accredited by the Council on Occupational Education and provide students with competencies necessary for entry into gainful employment. The ability of students to attain marketable skills at a low cost and in a…

This study examined participation in accelerated college credit programs dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement courses in Rhode Island high schools to understand their effects on educational attainment in the 2013/14 grade 9 cohort. The state, which has funded and promoted these opportunities for students to earn college…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings where the Rhode Island Department of Education, the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, and state legislators sought evidence of the effects of state-funded programs for students to earn college credit during high school. Using data on the 2013/14 statewide grade 9 cohort, this…

The "The Effects of Accelerated College Credit Programs on Educational Attainment in Rhode Island" study examined participation in accelerated college credit programs dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement courses in Rhode Island high schools to understand their effects on educational attainment in the 2013/14…

Education Northwest partnered with Oregon Mathematics, Engineering & Science Achievement (MESA) to measure the effect of program participation by comparing academic outcomes of two groups of students: those who participated in MESA and a matched group of peers who did not. All things that we could measure and are linked to student academic…

Student retention has garnered increased attentions in higher education. Drawing from various theoretical perspectives, researchers have developed multiple theoretical models to explain or predict student retention. Most models, however, were intended for traditional aged, full-time students at 4-year colleges or universities. The rapid growth of…

Finishing high school and attaining a college degree have become increasingly important to finding stable employment and earning a living wage. By age 19, most youth in the US have earned a high school credential and many have entered college. However, the educational attainment of young people who were in foster care as adolescents lags behind…

I investigate the determinants of high school completion and college attendance, the likelihood of taking science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) courses in the first year of college and the probability of earning a degree in a STEM field. The focus is on women and minorities, who tend to be underrepresented in STEM fields. Tracking four…

In this study, we use detailed survey and institutional data from a prospective panel study of students attending a highly selective, private university to examine the effects of fraternity or sorority membership on a range of collegiate outcomes. Previous research has given insufficient attention to selection issues inherent in the study of…