This report examines high school education in Colorado, noting the high (and underreported) level of student attrition and the achievement of those who remain. Over 40 percent of Colorado's high school students never graduate. About 15 percent of this attrition can be accounted for by published dropout statistics. Actual attrition rates, however,…

Texas has apparently achieved great success in closing the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students, at least in the lower grades. Texas students in all grades have made substantial gains on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). The effect of TAAS-type accountability on student performance in the higher grades is important,…

During the past 10 years, there has been a movement among state education departments to develop academic content standards, standards-based assessments of student achievement, and standards-related high school graduation requirements for students. This Digest discusses: (1) state content standards in history; (2) standards-based student…

This report examines the efficacy of the Boston Pilot Schools, an innovative model of urban schools created to promote innovation and increased choice options within the Boston school district. The report uses school and district level data to examine student demographics, achievement, and engagement at the 11 Pilot Schools that were in operation…

Through a series of tables, this document presents a profile of the system of higher education in Mississippi. The first section focuses on finances, with tables portraying the history of funding for higher education in Mississippi, appropriations per student, faculty salaries, and information on operating budgets and tuition and fees. The next…

The North Carolina State Board of Education, as part of the Quality Assurance Program, initially established a computer proficiency requirement for diplomas issued to the Class of 2000. In October of 1995, the Board modified the requirement by making it effective beginning with the graduating Class of 2001. Students who were in grade eight for the…

This report provides information on degree and certificate programs offered and student program completions for fiscal year 2001-2002 in North Dakota's public and private postsecondary education institutions. Institutional programs are coded in accordance with the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP Code) system provided by the National…

The only way to ensure that all young people graduate from high school ready for college, work, and life is through the concerted, coordinated efforts of educators, students, policymakers, parents, and business and community leaders. People need to take stock of what they know about high schools--about what students need, what schools should be…

This report presents information in a series of tables about graduation and dropout rates in Colorado in 1996 and suspension and expulsion rates in 1995-96. The 1996 graduation rate is a 4-year rate based on students who began ninth grade in 1992-93 as reported by school districts. The graduation rate for the Class of 1996 is 77.7%, an increase of…

This paper presents the revised Core Curriculum standards (the essential ideas, concepts, and skills) for the K-6 reading language arts required of students in Utah. It notes that the Core should be taught with respect for differences in learning styles, learning rates, and individual capabilities without losing sight of the common goals.…

This guidebook is designed to help Virginia high school students plan for college. It suggests ways for students to prepare for college, classes they should take in high school to make sure they will be accepted into college, and ways to get scholarships and other kinds of financial aid. The booklet outlines the courses required for graduation…

In the year 2000, the Alaska High School Graduation Qualifying Examination (HSGQE) was given for the first time. The HSGQE is currently scheduled to be a graduation requirement for all students graduating as of January 2002, but early results from the use of the HSGQE in the Anchorage school district raise serious questions about the use of the…

This annual report complies with the requirements of Tennessee's Public Education Governance Reform Act of 1984, which directs the State Board of Education and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to prepare a report on: (1) the extent of duplication in elementary-secondary and postsecondary education in Tennessee; (2) the extent to which…

This report contains aggregate and disaggregated state-level results from administrations of North Carolina's computer skills tests (performance and multiple choice) in 2000-2001. The report also provides limited information about the performance of school districts and charter schools. Additional data are included in this report about the…

This report presents data from the Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 1991 and 1997; Survey of Inmates in Local Jails, 1989 and 1996 ; Survey of Adults on Probation, 1995; National Adult Literacy Survey; and Current Population Survey. Correctional populations were less educated than the general public. Numbers of…