This report is one in a series examining performance measures adopted by the Commission as part of an accountability framework for higher education in California. All measures correspond to one of four goals: (1) Student Preparation for College; (2) Affordability and Access; (3) Student Success in Progressing through College; and (4) Public…

Indiana was selected to participate in a new initiative--"Moving Forward: High Standards and High Graduation Rates"--jointly sponsored by Achieve, Inc. and Jobs for the Future and funded by Carnegie Corporation of New York. This effort is designed to spotlight the importance of pursuing a dual agenda of high standards and high…

This study was carried out with students and staff from a college of further education in south London. The college has a mix of male and female students from a range of ethnic groups, the largest of which is white British. A study undertaken by the college in 2003 indicated that there may be significant differences in achievement and completion…

The number of articulation agreements between Canadian colleges and universities has been increasing steadily since the early 2000s. Though various implications of these agreements have been discussed, missing are the students' grounded transfer experiences. This paper discusses the academic and social experiences of college transfer students at a…

At a time when many states are becoming increasingly diverse, the need for more complete and useful measures of educational equality among ethnic and gender groups is critical. This study--funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education--examines disparities in educational attainment among race/ethnic and gender groups in the U.S. and within each…

The Digest of Education Statistics provides a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of education from prekindergarten through graduate school. Topics in the Digest include: the number of schools and colleges; teachers; enrollments; graduates; educational attainment; finances; federal funds for education; employment and…

This guide describes the measures California state officials use to evaluate schools and school districts, explaining what they are and what they indicate. Results of standard tests and the Academic Performance Index (API) indicate substantial gaps between the achievement of various groups of students in California. African American, Latino, and…

In the higher education sector most students enrol in a course with the intention of obtaining a qualification. In the vocational education and training (VET) sector many students tend to complete only some units of competencies or modules of a course. This study analysed the progress until 2000 of students who commenced a TAFE course in 1997, and…

Interest in creating the conditions that enhance student learning and support students in achieving their educational goals is at an all-time high. Four-fifths of high school graduates need some form of postsecondary education to acquire the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to address increasingly complex social, economic, and…

Evaluation of high stakes testing regimes must consider not simply mean test scores, but their distribution among students. Taking high school graduation tests and black and white student populations to illustrate the argument, I identify two criteria of success: a larger proportion of black high school graduates and a narrower gap between the two…

Increasingly, researchers, policymakers, school leaders, and concerned citizens are recognizing that high schools in the United States are in need of major reform. Current research shows that high schools are not preparing students for college, work, or life, and that they are leading to increased alienation among students. In a much-noted speech…

The nation's 50 flagship universities serve disproportionately fewer low-income and minority students than in the past, according to this fifth report in the Education Trust's series on college results. Students in the entering and graduating classes at these schools look less and less like the state populations those universities were created to…

This study uses panel data to examine the direct link between state funding and graduation rates at four-year public institutions. When other factors are held constant, a $1,000 increase in state appropriations per FTE student at four-year public institutions is associated with about a one percentage point increase in graduation rates. This…

In this paper we review the research evidence on the effects of affirmative action in employment, university admissions, and government procurement. We consider effects on both "equity" (or distribution) as well as "efficiency." Overall, we find that affirmative action does redistribute jobs, university admissions, and…

This is the second annual report from the National Charter School Research Project (NCSRP) at the University of Washington's Center on Reinventing Public Education. Like last year's debut edition of Hopes, Fears, & Reality, the 2006 volume explores some of the most current and controversial issues facing the charter school movement. This…