This is the first in a series of MPR Research Briefs published on the outcomes and experiences of California community college students. California Community Colleges (CCC) enroll roughly two-thirds of all California college students and nearly one-fourth of all community college students in the nation. Their low fees and open-admission policies…

This report describes various methods for computing graduation and completion rates, and how they compare.

In this longitudinal study of 21,243 students, the academic disqualification and persistence to graduation by financial aid category and academic ability were studied. Students who had greater financial need disqualified at higher rates and persisted to graduation at lower rates. However, when financial aid categories were stratified by academic…

The author provides one perspective on how to integrate sessions of the expanded core curriculum for students who are visually impaired into a high school schedule to support an effective balance between (a) required hours for core academic courses and appropriate pacing of the courses for those students and (b) core courses and the expanded core…

An exemplary program based at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay greatly increases the odds that at-risk youngsters will not only graduate from high school, but will go on to higher education. The program is also a model of university/community collaboration. ["Inspiring Students to Create the Future" was written with Timothy U.…

Compared with White persons, Black/African American persons in the United States continue to experience high rates of educational deficits and employment stagnation as well as lower college graduation rates. This study examined the influences on Black/African American and White college students' high school completion, college attendance, and…

Educators, economists and policymakers agree that raising the level of achievement for more learners is important. Studies of global workforce competitiveness regularly point toward the goal of nearly everyone achieving skills and knowledge commensurate with at least two years of higher education. According to this author, educators have…

Students who attend college part time are at a disadvantage relative to their full-time peers, according to a report released in June by the National Center for Education Statistics, an arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The report analyzes data from a 2004 national postsecondary student-aid study to create a profile of part-time…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Architects for Change: National Association of Secondary School Principals Releases New Report on Reinventing High…

For more than a century, American educators and education policymakers have chosen sides in a great debate about the nature and function of American high schools. The origins of this long-running argument can be traced to 1893, when the influential Committee of Ten, a bluechip panel of educators, issued a report proposing that all public…

This policy digest reviews the current status of state level graduation policies and the inclusion of students with disabilities in more rigorous student accountability measures. The results of two surveys conducted by the Council of Chief State School Officers on the inclusion of students with disabilities in state level graduation requirements…

This paper is designed to assist school district personnel in implementing revised Florida regulations concerning student performance standards and graduation requirements for Special Diplomas for certain exceptional students. The revised regulations call for provision of a diploma option based upon demonstrated employment and community…

In "A Nation at Risk," the National Commission on Excellence in Education published a recommended high school curriculum based on higher standards for student achievement. This document examines the graduation requirements of private schools, using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 1990-91 Schools and Staffing Survey…

The result of a move in the State of New Jersey to establish a common core of knowledge and skills in specified high school courses, this paper presents the core course proficiencies for English courses students take to meet high school graduation requirements in English (Language Arts). The paper first briefly discusses the background, purpose,…

In February 1990, the nation's governors adopted a set of goals designed to shape education reform efforts for the 1990s. The six goals address such pressing national education issues as early childhood education; school completion; student achievement and citizenship; math and science; literacy and lifelong learning; and safe, disciplined, and…