Community colleges across the country have created innovative, data-informed programs that are models for educating underprepared students, engaging traditionally underserved students, and helping students from all backgrounds succeed. However, because most of these programs have limited scope, the field now has pockets of success rather than…

In classrooms around the country, AP (Advanced Placement) teachers are preparing students for tomorrow by teaching them how to think and learn today. AP students learn to construct solid arguments, test theories, and see many sides of an issue--the kind of thinking that solves tough problems both in and outside the classroom, in college and…

In 2009, Excelencia in Education launched the Ensuring America's Future initiative to inform, organize, and engage leaders in a tactical plan to increase Latino college completion. This initiative included the release of a benchmarking guide for projections of degree attainment disaggregated by race/ethnicity that offered multiple metrics to track…

This study examines nine voluntary working relationships or partnerships between tribal education departments (TEDs) and local education agencies supporting American Indian students. Individual profiles describe how each partnership works, focusing primarily on collaborative activities intended to improve education outcomes for American Indian…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing, and summarizing the data for Indicator 1--Graduation--from the FFY 2010 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and amended State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted by states to the Office of Special Education…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, per Section 162.1136 RSMo, conducts an annual study of the educational status of eligible blind/visually impaired students and reports the findings to the Missouri Legislature on December 1st each year. The information contained in this report pertains to the twelve data elements…

The "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006" ("Perkins IV") requires states to report to the Department of Education each year on their progress in achieving their adjusted performance levels--negotiated with and approved by the Department--on the core indicators of performance (core indicators) described in…

When it comes to educational challenges, the nation's 12.1 million Hispanic schoolchildren face plenty: language, poverty, lower-than-average graduation rates for high school and college, and, more recently, a wave of laws targeting illegal immigrants that has made school seem like less of a safe haven for Hispanic students in some states. Yet, as…

There is a divide in Maryland's schools. Although the state's high school graduation rate is above the national average, its urban school districts have suffered from years of decline. In 2007, the Baltimore city school district's graduation rate was only 35 percent, compared to 81.5 percent in Baltimore's suburbs and 76 percent statewide. The…

This bimonthly newsletter provides information about the progress of the Honor States Grant Program, a governor-led effort to improve college- and work-ready graduation rates. This issue explores strategies that governors and state policymakers are using to define and assess college and work readiness, Progress of three states in assessment is…

As tuition is being introduced--or raised--at publicly supported university systems around the world, more people are embracing the idea that rankings can help consumers get the best value. Jamie P. Merisotis, president of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, a Washington-based research group, says that in the last few years, national…

Conventional wisdom claims a newly discovered dropout crisis in high schools. Jay Greene, of the Manhattan Institute, and Christopher Swanson, formerly with the Urban Institute, are primarily responsible for this claim, publishing reports showing these extraordinary high dropout rates nationwide, for the states, and for many specific school…

This dissertation examines the relationship between mode of instructional delivery and course completion for students attending two community colleges. Course completion is defined as finishing the course with a grade of C or better, thus getting college credit and remaining in good academic standing. The research hypothesis is that distance…

As expectations for students to meet high academic standards have risen over the past two decades, so have the expectations for students to complete, and excel in, more rigorous mathematics courses. Once a course reserved only for the college-bound, algebra is now a graduation requirement for all California students as well as an early…

Advancement Via Individualized Determination (AVID) provides middle-achieving, underachieving and socio-economically disadvantaged students in grades 4-12 with success strategies, and rigorous coursework that prepares them for high school graduation and college acceptance. Based on a series of interviews with Latina students who had participated…