In May 2008, the Center for Evaluation & Education Policy (CEEP) issued the Education Policy Brief, "Calculating High School Graduation Rates," which discussed the importance of accurate and reliable high school graduation data, various graduation rate calculation methods, the history behind the use of particular methodologies, and…

This report provides information on states' progress in implementing the graduation rate all 50 governors agreed by signing the Graduation Counts Compact in 2005 to adopt. The governors undertook this commitment because they understand the imperative to gather more accurate, comparable data on how many of their students graduate from high school…

In the past decade, school districts around the country have sought to improve struggling urban high schools, where high dropout rates, poor student achievement, and low rates of graduation and college-going remain all too prevalent. In a field crowded with reform initiatives, Project Graduation Really Achieves Dreams (GRAD) stands out as…

To ensure that students who receive high school diplomas meet basic thresholds of academic proficiency and job readiness, 24 states have adopted exit exams that students must pass to graduate. Opponents of these exams complain that they drive already-low graduation rates downward. They argue that raising the bar for graduation forces many…

Presents a simple graduation speech that encapsulates the speaker's steps toward his or her own commencement, using humorous anecdotes. Advises would-be speakers to replace characters and incidents with those from their own school experience. (MLH)

A survey by the NCAA finds athletes graduating at higher rates than ever before, but those in high-profile sports are still having problems. (EV)

A comparison of tuition discounting practices at independent institutions to their six-year graduation rates found that dramatic tuition discounting may negatively affect graduation rates, perhaps explained by decreases in net tuition revenue leading to less money spent on academic services. (EV)

Presents witty and wise quotes from the commencement speeches of 13 black speakers, including Toni Morrison, Floyd H. Flake, Rod Paige, Bill Cosby, Bryant Gumbel, and Wynton Marsalis. (SM)

This study examines the relationship between a university's football heritage and its freshman retention and graduation rates. Our findings of a positive and significant relationship between a university's football success and both of these educational measures supports the hypothesis that athletics serve the institution's academic mission and…

This study examined Hocking College female students who were enrolled engineering majors from 2001-2007, and comparatively examined female students who were enrolled in different programs within other majors. Specifically examined were student persistence two quarters postengineering studies, student persistence to graduation, student persistence…

A 50-state analysis of postsecondary correctional education policy conducted by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) in 2005 found that 68 percent of all postsecondary correctional education is provided by community colleges. The IHEP findings were the basis for this review of partnerships between community colleges and prisons. This…

The report addresses the reporting requirements of Public Law 26-26 and the provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as described in the Guam Department of Education Board adopted District Action Plan (DAP). Public Law 26-26, Section 3106 (a) states that "No later than thirty (30) days following the end of each fiscal year, the…

In an effort to better understand the various economic benefits that a particular urban area could expect were it to reduce its number of high school dropouts, the Alliance for Excellent Education, has developed, with the generous support of State Farm[R], a sophisticated economic model in partnership with Economic Modeling Specialists Inc. The…

Boards typically consider various financial indicators to gauge the health of their institutions, such as meeting enrollment goals. But there's one indicator--seldom bragged about--that trustees should pay closer attention to: graduation rates. Growing public attention to the need for more college graduates will increase pressure on campuses to…

The admission procedure to higher education institutions in Turkey is based on the student's high school grades and Central University Entrance Examination (CUEE) score, with a much greater weight on the latter. However, whether the CUEE is an appropriate measure in the admission process to universities is still a much-debated question. This study…