Prior research indicates that future workers will not possess enough training to contribute to a robust U.S. labor market, especially in "middle-skill" roles that require some postsecondary education but not a 4-year degree. At the same time, the last 30 years have borne witness to an increased likelihood that middle-skill individuals…

The new majority of college students have adult responsibilities, such as parenting, earning a living, and paying for college. Unfortunately, adult students are often treated as an afterthought by colleges and policymakers. Over the last 20 years, more than 37 million students have left without receiving a degree that would greatly improve their…

The COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the United States economy and left a record number of individuals unemployed. In slightly under five months, more than 54 million people applied for unemployment for the first time, while the economy contracted by 33 percent, the largest dip in history. While the impact will likely be short-term for some career…

Nationwide in 2013, more than half of all high school graduates (58%) earned two or more credits in a career and technical education (CTE) subject area. Among college students, more than two thirds of all undergraduate credentials (68%) were awarded in an occupational area. Yet although CTE is well subscribed, little is known about the efficacy of…

Since their introduction in the 1990s, charter schools have grown from a small-scale experiment to a ubiquitous feature of the public education landscape. The current study uses the legislative removal of a cap on the maximum number of charters, and the weakening of regulations on these new schools, in North Carolina as a natural experiment to…

The Behavior Analysis Certification Board (BACB) awards four practicing credentials: (a) Registered Behavior Technician (RBT); (b) Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA); (c) Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and; (d) Board Certified Behavior Analyst-Doctoral (BCBA-D). The BCBA is a practice credential obtainable by many with a…

Associate degrees and credentials in Information Technology (IT) have the potential to open up high-wage and high-opportunity labor market opportunities for learners. Yet structural barriers in access to and completion of these degrees and credentials continue to make it difficult for Black learners and workers to access and thrive in these…

Federal, state, and local initiatives have encouraged education and training providers to build stackable credentials, a series of postsecondary credentials that can be earned over time and that build on each other to prepare individuals for different needs for knowledge and skills throughout a career. By offering flexible pathways that allow…

This report reflects student-level data submitted by 21 of British Columbia's (BC) public post-secondary institutions, including colleges, institutes and seven universities. The data include: student headcount totals by institution as well as student headcount by Aboriginal identity, age group, gender, and program area for the academic year…

In Virginia, all high school students can earn either a Standard diploma or an Advanced Studies diploma, the latter being a college preparatory diploma. Starting in 2017, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) began requiring students graduating with the Standard diploma to earn a career and technical education (CTE) credential to encourage…

In 2022, the Boston Opportunity Agenda, the Birth to Eight Collaborative and the City of Boston's Office of Early Childhood partnered in the development of this survey of hundreds of early education professionals in the city of Boston, and then expanded its reach to total more than 600 respondents across the state. In it, educators and…

This dissertation consists of three empirical studies that explore the educational experiences and trajectories of English learners (ELs) and students with disabilities. The first study uses longitudinal data from four large California school districts to examine the characteristics of long-term ELs (LTELs) and former ELs--those reclassified as…

This document includes the "FY 2023 Annual Performance Report" (APR) and "FY 2025 Annual Performance Plan" (APP). The APR provides narrative and data on the Department of Education's (Department's) progress toward the strategic goals and objectives outlined in its "Fiscal Years [FYs] 2022-2026 Strategic Plan"…

During the 2016 session, the General Assembly and Governor established the New Economy Workforce Grant Program (WCG). This grant program, the first of its kind in the nation, provides a pay-for-performance model for funding noncredit workforce training that leads to a credential in a high-demand field. The program also includes requirements for…

Interdisciplinary programmes have proliferated across post-secondary education in recent decades. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the manner in which interdisciplinary programmes promote themselves to external constituents. To study this process, we conduct a content analysis of the online self-descriptions of 203…