This paper examines three inter-related issues: whether past levels of resources, context and opportunity structures carry long-term consequences for subsequent child attainments and behaviours; whether shocks, or transition events, alter the path of these outcomes in a positive or negative fashion; and what role can be played by policy…

After reviewing research on national trends concerning private versus public schooling, the author examines how private school options in the Chicago metropolitan area might affect academic achievement for various demographic groups. Although the vast majority of students in suburban schools graduate from high school, with a high percentage going…

This study examines the career plans and experiences of newly certified teachers and teachers with one to five years of teaching experience in the Illinois public schools. During Fall 2001, the three groups reported here were surveyed via telephone about their employment experiences, their intended career plans, the reasons behind the decisions of…

The annual Ethnic Diversity Report provides information about minority student enrollment and minority faculty at Iowa colleges and universities. The Student and Faculty Ethnic Diversity Report has been prepared annually since 1992 and is provided to the Governor and General Assembly leadership. This summary is based on a survey of Iowa college…

This statistical report assembles a series of indicators that examine the extent to which males and females have access to the same educational opportunities, avail themselves equally of these opportunities, perform at similar levels throughout schooling, succeed at similar rates, and reap the same benefits from their educational experiences. This…

This report describes activities and accomplishments of a 3-year project at the University of Rhode Island which paired specially trained native-speaking undergraduates with at-risk, linguistic minority classmates to study the content of courses that both were taking together. The native-speaking Fellow is trained in a 3-credit course and then…

This study examined the predictive factors of persistence for African American students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) and at predominantly white institutions, and is based on John Bean's (1982) synthetic model, which incorporates background, organizational, environmental, attitudinal, and outcome variables. The hypotheses…

This edition of Research Brief examined the impact of five specific academic support programs at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis on college student performance and persistence: ARCHE, a tracking and monitoring system for at-risk students; Student MAP was developed to assist students who place in the lowest level reading…

This follow-up report addresses three broad aspects of student transfer: (1) transfer between Indiana public college and university campuses; (2) transfer across degree-objective levels; and (3) completion rates and transfer between major fields of study. Of all pre-degree transfers, most (40%) occur between the first and the second year of…

This paper describes Project Creating Opportunities for Navigating and Easing through College Transition (CONNECT), a program implemented by Sam Houston State University, Texas, to assist low-income, first-generation college students and students with disabilities to realize the possibilities of higher education. Results of an evaluation of…

"The Condition of Education" summarizes important developments and trends in U.S. education using the latest available data. The 2001 edition had a special focus essay on the access, persistence, and success of first-generation students (students whose parents did not attend college). To make the essay available to audiences interested…

The educational experiences of Latinas are affected by the interaction of many factors, including poverty, racism, sexual harassment, and lack of English language proficiency. This Spanish-language digest presents a range of strategies that schools can employ to promote the academic achievement of Latinas. Schools should communicate that Hispanic…

This document describes the National Pilot Sites Project for Recruitment and Retention, an effort to recruit, prepare, and retain highly qualified diverse educators and related services personnel for children and youth with disabilities by involving multiple stakeholder groups within selected states (Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, New Jersey, Oregon,…

This report presents results of the fall 1998 Non-Matriculant Survey, conducted every two to three years, to analyze the matriculation process and determine the factors associated with non-matriculation at the Pennsylvania College of Technology. Major findings include: (1) the College matriculation rate has leveled off at 57% since the mid-1990s;…

This document addresses questions raised by recent reports on student transfer and degree completion rates at Indiana's public colleges and universities. It focuses on issues of intercampus transfer among Indiana public colleges and universities and includes some extended sections from the degree completion analysis. It provides policy…