The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Study Review Protocol accompanies the "WWC Procedures and Standards Handbook, Version 5.0," and guides reviews of studies by the WWC. The WWC uses this protocol to review all studies, including those cited as evidence for U.S. Department of Education grant competitions, studies that were funded by the…

Many high school seniors envision walking up the marble steps and entering through the historic arched front door of a stately, column-lined, academic building on the first day of college. Or perhaps the building is a new, state of the art, technology laden, donor-funded building. But, these ideal visions generally do not include waking up early…

This study examined the phenomenon of college readiness in Hispanic first-generation college students. The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between first-generation Hispanic student participation in an Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) elective course and college readiness. The researchers used logistic…

Homelessness among U.S. K-12 students has been on the rise for decades, and it shows no signs of slowing down, especially as the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to significant unemployment. Joseph Bishop describes findings from a study of student homelessness in California. Interviews with those experiencing homelessness and those who serve…

Seeking to enhance efforts to diversify the teaching profession, this article centers the educational experiences of high school Students of Color. Using a Critical Race Theory framework, this study examines the relationship between Students' of Color school experiences and their perceptions of the teaching profession. Findings reveal that these…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among collective efficacy factors, as measured by the Illinois 5Essentials Survey, and college readiness scores, as reported by American College Testing (ACT), for high schools in the state of Illinois. The 5Essentials have been considered crucial to school success and therefore used to…

One explanation for negative or null findings in prior research on postsecondary remediation is that college may be too late to address issues of academic underpreparedness. This study evaluates the impact on student outcomes when college math remediation is offered in the senior year of high school. The Seamless Alignment and Integrated Learning…

These are the appendices for the report "Study of College Transition Messaging in GEAR UP: Impacts on Enrolling and Staying in College." Five appendices are included in the document: (1) Additional Details about College Transition Messaging; (2) Additional Information about How the Study Was Designed and Implemented; (3) Supplemental…

"Continuous Improvement in High Schools" gives educators and policymakers an accessible, actionable framework to address one of the nation's most important educational priorities: improving high school graduation and postsecondary preparedness rates. Martha Abele Mac Iver and Robert Balfanz, national experts in dropout prevention, apply…

From the first cases of COVID-19 emerging in early February 2020 to the wave of school closings across the country in mid-March, the effects of the pandemic have been felt across the United States. In light of unprecedented changes, ACT's researchers sought to understand how high school students, specifically rising seniors, were being impacted.…

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted several states to adopt or scale new placement methods, since many test-based placement metrics were unavailable. In April 2020, the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) approved a pilot to add high school GPA as a placement method at Tennessee community colleges alongside other measures included in TBR's learning…

With the implementation of the "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics," school administrators expect teachers to teach students on grade-level while preparing them to be college and career-ready. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand how secondary mathematics teachers prepare mathematics students from…

Dual enrollment programming is a way in which high schools and colleges can form partnerships to further their shared interest in student success both in high school and college, perseverance to college enrollment and completion, and a way for students to experience the rigors and expectations of college while in the supportive environment of high…

IDEA students graduating at a rate far lower than their peers in the United States (Digest of Education Statistics, 2019). Students with disabilities are currently facing are entering post-secondary life with little or no understanding of their disability or how that disability may impact them in the future. The purpose of this study was to…

In this study, we examined college and career readiness (CCR) support for students with and without disabilities using data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012. We selected variables relevant to CCR and focused on the interaction of disability, race and ethnicity, and household income across a range of disability categories,…