This report examines Maryland's role in setting and measuring higher standards; holding schools, districts, and students accountable for results; strengthening teaching and helping schools and districts build capacity to implement reform; and sustaining public support for standards-based reform. A review team analyzed written documents regarding…

Graduating more students and increasing the quality of their learning are national priorities. Every college and university can improve in these areas by focusing on the educational conditions that matter to student success. Decades of research studies show that a key factor is student engagement--the time and effort students devote to their…

To aid members of the news media in looking at the issues of quality in postsecondary education, the authors of the recently published "Student Success in College: Creating Conditions that Matter" distill some useful factors for the media and the general public to use in assessing the quality of education at four-year colleges and universities.…

This annotated bibliography of 66 resources was developed as part of a federally funded project in Minnesota to promote the participation of students with limited English proficiency (LEP) and students with disabilities in the Minnesota Graduation Standards. Specifically, the project is encouraging participation in the Basic Standards Exams of…

This paper describes New Jersey's High School Proficiency Test (HPST) in reading, one of three tests given to all 11th graders as a state graduation requirement. Each reading passage represents one of four test types (narrative, informational, persuasive/argumentative, and workplace). Each passage is followed by multiple-choice items and at least…

The North Carolina State Board of Education, as part of the Quality Assurance Program, established a computer proficiency requirement for students in grade eight for the 1996-97 school year and beyond in order to receive a North Carolina high school diploma. The first opportunity to meet the requirement is during the eighth grade. Passing the…

Language is important in the public life of the United States because of four factors: globalization; the global diffusion of democracy and self-determination; the wave of immigration to the United States from all corners of the world; and the unique role America plays as the sole military and economic superpower. These conditions make it…

This report suggests that the first step toward achieving educational excellence for Hispanic Americans is to increase retention and graduation rates for Hispanic Americans already enrolled in college. It examines the extent and nature of Hispanic college enrollment in comparison to that of adults of other racial/ethnic identities. Breakdowns of…

A study examined enrollment patterns in the Texas public school system for four cohorts of students from 1993-94 to 1996-97. The 1996-97 cohort, for example, which began with students enrolled in the 9th grade for the first time in 1993-94, was followed for 4 years through expected graduation in 1996-97. The 1993-94 cohort included first-time 9th…

This study compared the progress of 2,001 graduate students at Nova Southeastern University (Florida), of whom 1,039 were campus-based and 962 were distance education students. The study population consisted of all Fall Term 1993 School of Business and Entrepreneurship differentiating between campus-based and distance education students.…

This study analyzed data from the Illinois Shared Enrollment and Graduation Information System concerning attendance and graduation patterns of two groups: students who entered Illinois public universities as first-time freshmen between 1987 and 1992 and students who had graduated from Illinois public universities by spring 1998. Major findings…

This document offers a chronology of sources regarding the implementation of an information competency graduation requirement in California community colleges. The Academic Senate for the California Community Colleges defines information competency as the ability to find, evaluate, use, and communicate information in various formats. The…

This report summarizes information from states that responded to a survey on access to adult education opportunities for youth with disabilities. Information was gathered from 43 states during the months of March and April 1999. Results indicate: (1) 26 of the responding states authorized the use of federal and state public education funds for all…

Whereas many prior studies evaluated the association between borrower or institutional characteristics and default behavior, the general finding of most researchers today is that college success plays a bigger role in predicting who will default than either the background of the borrower or the type of institution attended. All else being equal,…

The "National Dropout Prevention Newsletter" is published quarterly by the National Dropout Prevention Center/Network. This issue contains the following articles: (1) College As A Bridge to High School Graduation (Terry Cash); (2) 2005 NDPN Crystal Star Awards of Excellence; (3) Mott Middle College (Chery S. Wagonlander); (4) Gateway to…