Discusses the plaintiffs' arguments, the state's responses, and the specific findings in the context of major themes of "GI Forum v. Texas Education Agency," which found that the Texas graduation test was valid and reliable and met applicable professional standards, including motive and opportunity to learn. (SLD)

Discusses viability of voucher systems including sectarian schools. Voucher plans' constitutionality may be enhanced by incorporating characteristics such as universal availability, allocation using neutral criteria, and "opting out" clauses. The Supreme Court's ruling in "Santa Fe" may squelch district policies condoning…

Tries to clarify the ethics and pragmatics of test-based diploma denial by setting out and evaluating the two camps' positions. Notes the author's aims are taxonomic, hoping to organize a confusing array of arguments; and partisan, hoping to guide further action on these very significant debates, especially as they involve the practice of English…

Summarizes findings and data about income level and equality of educational opportunities, conditions of Alabama school facilities, and factors affecting a student's level of academic orientation in high school. (PKP)

In this brief article, the author of "Teachers Touch Eternity" describes the emotions that teachers feel as they watch their seniors graduate, and the relationships with students that often last far beyond commencement. She reminds educators that "caring doesn't start in August and end in June" and that "education doesn't begin at age five and end…

Accountability is an important focus for nearly all-public higher education institutions. In 1997 the Washington State Legislature mandated an accountability measure designed to encourage public universities to increase student efficiency toward graduation. This accountability measure is assessed by a formula called the Graduation Efficiency…

Responding to demands by parents and a concern that high school was just too easy, the San Jose Unified School District (California) did away with a two-track high school system, demanded that all of its students take a college-prep course of study, and adopted some of the most rigorous graduation requirements in California. In the two-tiered high…

This study evaluates the effect of school district size on public high school graduation rates. The study calculates the graduation rate for each graduating class in each state between 1991 and 2002 and uses a fixed-effects model to examine the relationship between these graduation rates and changes in the size of each state's school districts…

Using a national longitudinal sample of 5,257 young people who were pursuing the bachelor's degree, we studied how credits in intensive high school mathematics courses affected their completion versus noncompletion of the degree. Finishing one unit in any of four intensive math courses more than doubled the likelihood that participants would later…

Tribal leaders in Cherokee established the payment program known as the "per capita". All enrolled members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee--adults and children alike--receive yearly sums. Upon graduation, students from the tribal-run school system are eligible to receive lump-sum payments, with the amount $36,967.78 per person. The money comes…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: population and demographics, family economic security, affordable housing,…

This applied dissertation described the evaluation of a program designed to provide students with the necessary academic and social skills needed to matriculate and graduate from the university. The problem was that there was no evidence of a formalized program evaluation to determine if the Academic Empowerment Center (AEC) was effective in…

This study analyzed trends in access and success of students admitted through the Top 10% admissions policy. The study employs an comparative analysis between public universities from the Borderland region and the two top-tier public universities in Texas. This Texas admissions policy provides students in the top 10% of their graduating high…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to reform,…

To give states the information they need to sustain hard-fought education reform policy changes effectively, Achieve conducted research on state education reforms that have been sustained successfully for over a decade or more. Funded by the GE Foundation, Achieve hopes this work will help other state leaders, wherever they may be on their road to…