Since 1870, the federal government has gathered data about students, teachers, schools, and education funding. As mandated by Congress, the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences annually publishes a statistical report on the status and progress of education in the…

American public schools are in crisis. Schools across America are grasping to change curriculum, build learning communities, and increase teacher accountability to meet the moving target of the demands placed on them by "No Child Left Behind." As the deadline of 2014 grows nearer with every passing year, accountability standards increase…

Only a quarter of the class of 2008 graduated from Alain Locke Senior High School in Los Angeles after four years. This was unsurprising since nearly 60 percent of the class had left Locke by the end of their sophomore year. A majority of Locke teachers--frustrated with the school's mediocrity--petitioned to allow charter management organization…

African-American student achievement outcomes have been and continue to be a critical concern for education researchers. Much of the framing of African-American student outcomes centers on what is known as achievement gaps that exist between African-American and White students. Unfortunately, these gaps have remained roughly the same since the…

Recent educational attainment targets set by Australian governments recognise education and training as pivotal to the economic and social well-being of Australians. The targets seek to close the gaps in attainment that socially and economically divide the population, and, in doing so, raise the levels of skills of the workforce and improve the…

Suggestions made to curb the dropout rate include these: hands-on experiences need to be provided, rigid standards need to be modified, positive self-images should be developed, modular or flexible scheduling and realistic educational media should be employed, and teachers must care for each student as an individual. (SC)

The school-leaving pattern of students aged 14 in 1978 was recorded by the Austin (Texas) Independent School District from 1978 to 1983, providing data on the socioeconomic, academic, and behavioral characteristics of dropouts and their reasons for dropping out. Several preventative measures are suggested. (PGD)

A THREE YEAR STUDY, WHICH WAS MADE OF DROPOUTS IN 49 SMALL SCHOOLS PARTICIPATING IN THE TEXAS SMALL SCHOOLS PROJECT, WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE NUMBER OF DROPOUTS, THEIR AGE, GRADE, SEX, AND REASON FOR DROPPING OUT. THREE FIGURES AND THREE CHARTS SUMMARIZE THE RESULTS. THE STUDY REVEALED THAT (1) MORE MALES DROPPED OUT THAN FEMALES, (2) THE AVERAGE…

This report, the first in a series relating to disconnected young adults commissioned by JobsFirst NYC, examines what is known about New York City's disconnected youth--16 to 24 year-olds who are not working and not in school. The report explores the roots of disconnection and identifies five priority populations of young people who are at high…

It is argued that the social control function of education and training is becoming increasingly explicit in England and France. Education and training can be viewed as a form of custody for young people, with enforced participation post 16 planned in the near future in England. Compulsory education for this age group is not currently planned in…

The National Association of State Directors of Special Education (NASDSE) organized and led a roundtable discussion of state special education directors (and, in a few cases, their staff members) on May 15, 2008. The subject was specifically selected because it had come to NASDSE's attention that many states were struggling with collecting data…

There has been no shortage of calls to improve teaching. Even the federal law, the No Child Left Behind Act, has mandated high quality teaching in the nation's public schools. But the question still remains "What makes an effective teacher, particularly of African-American males in an urban environment?" African-American males in…

In my first chapter, I explore the relationship between school size and student achievement where, conditional on observable educational inputs, school size is a proxy for factors that are difficult to measure directly ( e.g., school climate and organization). Using data from the NELS:88, I estimate a series of value-added education production…

Even as the number of students attending college has more than doubled in the past forty years, it is still the case that nearly half of all college students in the United States will not complete their degree within six years. It is clear that much remains to be done toward improving student success. For more than twenty years, Vincent Tinto's…

Approximately half of students at the community college level leave the institution before degree completion. Community college students are more likely than four-year students to be first-generation students, attend school part-time, be less prepared academically, work full-time, have family responsibilities, and have entered college later in…