For the last 25 years, American education has been trying to reform itself. This effort has been noble but only partially successful, and too often defined by an "either-or" dichotomy that has led to publicly defined "wars" over reading and math instruction, and even the very existence of the U.S. Department of Education. All…

Female participation in engineering has never topped 20% nationally for the proportion of bachelor's degrees earned by women. Research on this topic, as well as related self-esteem literature, suggest that women may be more likely than men to leave engineering if they have unmet grade expectations. Additionally, the presence of more women in…

Fields of inquiry intent on making social class differences visible and relevant in higher education and society at large are newly developing. Researchers continue to identify significant obstacles to degree attainment and hence to social mobility for working-class and low income students. A college student's social class background can…

In recognition of national African-American History Month, the Institute for Higher Education Policy wishes to highlight the trends and present-day experiences of African-American college students. Recognizing that the society benefits tremendously from an educated citizenry, there must be a renewed commitment to ensuring educational opportunity,…

Undergraduate retention and eventual graduation is of paramount importance to universities globally. Approximately 58% of students who began their college career at a four-year institution with the intention of receiving a bachelor's degree actually received that degree in a 6-year timeframe, according to the National Center for Education…

Improving the retention and graduation of African Americans and other minority groups in higher education is an important but highly politicized issue on college and university campuses. Prior studies emphasize the relationship between minority retention and achievement, cultural diversity, and racial policies and climates at predominantly White…

This report analyzes the economic and social costs of the high school dropout problem in California from the perspective of a state taxpayer. The authors' analysis considers the consequences of this problem in terms of labor market, tax revenue, public health, and incarceration costs. The authors' quantification of these costs reveals the sizeable…

The General Educational Development (GED) credential is issued on the basis of an eight hour subject-based test. The test claims to establish equivalence between dropouts and traditional high school graduates, opening the door to college and positions in the labor market. In 2008 alone, almost 500,000 dropouts passed the test, amounting to 12% of…

The Rostrum is a quarterly publication of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) The Master Plan for Higher Education and the Missions of the California Community Colleges (Jane Patton); (2) Academic Dishonesty and the Faculty's Right to Assign a Grade: A Test of the Academic…

This report summarizes data on English language learners' academic achievement, English language acquisition, and other school data from 2005-2006 to 2008-2009 school years.

This report summarizes various academic data on AISD high school students from 2008-2009.

This article examines the association between school ethnic composition and immigrant students' intentions to finish high school and to move on to higher education. We used data from 1324 immigrant and 10,546 native students gathered in the school year 2004-2005 in a sample of 85 Flemish (Belgian) secondary schools. Logistic multilevel analyses…

During SY 2010-2011, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) continued their efforts to improve the validity and reliability of data reporting. BIE data collections are dependent on school level entry (self-reporting) into the Native American Student Information System (NASIS) or into the Bureau's Annual Report from the schools. In addition,…

Widespread concern about the high and rising price of college makes timely data on tuition increases in historical context particularly important. The increase in average published tuition and fees at public four-year colleges and universities for the 2012-13 academic year is smaller than it has been in recent years--and below the average growth…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to determine the common programs and practices that Beating the Odds (BTO) high schools in California are using to achieve high graduation rates. More specifically, this study identifies specific programs and practices that the high schools are using to address at-risk student behaviors as well as…