This study contributes to applied and theoretical research for schools and districts by helping inform programs and policies directed at school improvement, raising student achievement, and high school completion. The paper features recent results of ongoing research on student orientation to school that was assessed via a multidimensional Student…

Youth are infrequently included in planning the health promotion projects designed to benefit them as many of the factors infringing upon youth's health and well-being also limit their engagement in community-based public health promotion projects. This article explores youth engagement in 13 coalitions implementing structural changes meant…

Roughly half of all undergraduate students in the United States fail to persist to degree completion (American College Testing [ACT], 2010; Tinto, 1993; U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). Adult students often have higher levels of attrition than traditional-age students (Justice & Dornan, 2001;…

National community college enrollments continue to decrease. Given the importance of these trends to American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) member institutions--understanding that local changes are ultimately what matters--AACC is providing this report to discuss some of the latest data. It also examines the completion rates that were…

When borrowers default on a federal student loan, it can have catastrophic consequences. Their credit scores drop dramatically, severely curtailing their ability to afford a home or a car, and even limiting their ability to sign up for utilities. The cost of their loan rises as late fees pile up. Moreover, the federal government can garnish…

America's great public universities were founded with the highest expectations of academic excellence and service to their states. Overall, these institutions, often called the "flagship universities," do a poor job of ensuring that undergraduate students engage in an intellectually vibrant campus culture and leave with a solid…

Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policy-makers have suggested that raising their state's compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step. However,…

In FY2014, the State of Florida and the School District of Palm Beach County (SDPBC) outperformed Florida and other large urban school districts and was the only large urban district to have an increased graduation rate. In FY2012, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) accountability system began using the Federal Graduation Rate, which is a…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if a relationship existed between Algebra I passing rates and graduation rates, and if gender, ethnicity, and/or economic status influenced the relationship, particularly for African-American urban high school students in Texas. Participant data included 16,372 first-time ninth grade high…

This study examined the relationship between school funding and graduation rates of Hispanic students. Data from a purposeful sample of 147 Texas school districts identified as having a student Hispanic population greater than 75% were examined. Additionally, superintendents were interviewed to provide an in-depth understanding of the potential…

While Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) enroll at least 25% Latinx students, the perennial question facing HSIs is, "What does it mean for postsecondary institutions to be Latinx-serving"--essentially an organizational identity question. Guided by the extant literature on organizational identity, culture, and institutionalism and…

For many decades, the social imbalances had a significant impact on the academic success of African Americans. High school completion rates for African American students were disproportionately lower when compared to their Caucasian counterparts. This purpose of this qualitative study was to display factors that contributed to African American…

This study examined data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2 (NLTS2) to determine if factors indicative of caring were predictive of high school graduation for students with ED. Selection of NLTS2 variables was guided by resiliency theory, which implies that an individual can successfully adapt to factors that threaten his or her…

This quantitative study explored the obstacles African American male students face that can hinder their academic progress at community colleges within the rural regions of Louisiana. This study viewed the collective experiences of African American males in community colleges in order to improve their academic outcomes, completion, and retention…

The educational system in the United States continues to pose many challenges for law and policy makers. Many of these challenges can be traced back to two landmark cases, "Plessy vs. Ferguson" and "Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka." And, while the U.S. Department of Education developed programs to address many of these…