Individualized learning plans (ILPs) are becoming an important tool used by states to support youth in becoming college ready and career ready. The contents and names of ILPs vary from state to state. Based upon several years of research investigating the nature and use of ILPs in states across the United States, the National Collaborative on…

This report discusses the outcomes for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) educational programs in AISD, including program descriptions, student academic progress, and participant survey results for the 2012-2013 school year.

The lobby of the college building echoes with the noise of teenagers milling around a table filled with books. Hands flutter over the bright covers, picking them up, flipping them over, thumbing through pages. Welcome to an Elon Academy Saturday at break time, the mid-point pause in this monthly gathering of the more than 70 student participants…

This research study examined the impact of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program on students' self-efficacy and academic achievement outcome measures at the middle and high school level. AVID is a college readiness system designed to prepare at-risk students in the fourth through 12th grade for college. The main focus of this…

Increased accountability through federal and state education policies has resulted in a growing demand for educators to access, understand, and utilize the various types of data to adapt their practice. These data include student work, district benchmarks, observation of instruction, and high-stakes state assessments, among others. Despite the…

With the changing U.S. demographics, higher numbers of diverse, low-income, first-generation students are underprepared for the academic rigors of four-year institutions oftentimes requiring assistance, and remedial and/or developmental coursework in English and mathematics. Without intervention approaches these students are at high risk for…

"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) Moving from Technology Optional to Technology Essential: Alliance President Testifies Before Michigan Senate…

Individualized learning plans (ILPs) are being implemented in high schools throughout the United States as strategic planning tools that help students align course plans with career aspirations and often include the development of postsecondary plans. Initial indications are that ILPs may be an important method for helping students achieve both…

ACT has been a leader in measuring college and career readiness trends since 1959. Each August, ACT releases The Condition of College & Career Readiness (www.act.org/newsroom/data/2015), an annual report on the progress of the ACT-tested graduating class relative to college readiness. Nationally, a record 59% of the 2015 graduating class took…

This report provides the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving "three key priorities" for Nebraska's postsecondary education system: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who enroll and…

In order to ensure that middle school youth are on a path toward higher education and careers, an early introduction to the importance of continuing education past high school is necessary. The middle school years are a vital time to teach the importance of college and career readiness and the linkages to success in life. This issue brief…

This report finds that only five in ten graduates were college-ready in the districts studied and presents data finding that only one in ten graduates were both college and career-ready. Latino, African-American, and low-income students fared far worse than their more advantaged peers. The report calls for a more integrated and equitable approach…

Dual enrollment programs, once created for the most advanced students, are now seen as a way to provide an accessible and affordable bridge to postsecondary education for a broader range of students. Research on the outcomes of such programs has been limited in scope and exists for only a few states. This quantitative study used Astin's I-E-O…

"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) Waive Around: Obama Outlines Plan Allowing States to Waive Specific Provisions of No Child Left Behind Act; (2)…

A 2008 report from the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Culture Affairs of the Maine Legislature indicates a quarter of those who enrolled at a public university in Maine required a remedial course to catch them up to the level where they should have been when they completed high school. Regardless of how hard Maine has tried and how much…