Arizona Minority Education Policy Analysis Center (AMEPAC) is a policy center of the Arizona Commission for Postsecondary Education. AMEPAC's mission is to stimulate, through studies, statewide discussion, and debate, constructive improvement of Arizona minority students' early awareness, access, and achievement throughout all sectors of…

This report contrasts the characteristics of border and nonborder districts in Texas from both a demographic and student achievement standpoint. The information in this report should also inform and strengthen border initiatives, such as those emphasized at the 2006 U.S.-Mexico Border Governors Conference. The study sought to answer three…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) NCLB Redux: House Committee Releases Draft Language on NCLB Reauthorization, Includes Significant New Programs for…

Since 2002, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) has been studying state high school exit examinations--tests that students must pass to receive a high school diploma. Each year, a national report has been published with findings about the 26 states that have or will soon implement exit exams. In addition, occasional reports have been published…

This is the 9th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District RUSD). Over the past decade, the conditions affecting the district as well as the school outcomes have changed in some ways and remained stable in others. This analysis compares RUSD to nine peer school districts and the state of Wisconsin. RUSD peer…

The Community Achievement Project in the Schools (CAPS) is a public-private partnership between the United Way of New York City and the New York City Board of Education. As part of a dropout prevention initiative, CAPS is designed to integrate the services of community-based organizations and schools. The Teachers College of Columbia University…

A follow-up survey was conducted in St. Cloud, Minnesota, of 127 (from a total of 357 students) former special education students who left school between 1988 and 1992. Respondents, most of whom completed the survey by phone, were predominantly male (69 percent), and most (63 percent) had been classified as learning disabled, with 29 percent…

This brief, based on a presentation by New York City Board of Education member Dr. Luis Reyes, describes the work and findings of the Latino Commission on Educational Reform, a special commission of the Board. In an effort to gather information for 1990-91 on Latino students in New York City schools, the Commission found that: Latino students…

This study, part of the National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students, compares the postschool experiences of a group of almost 2,000 youth (those who were already out of secondary school in 1987) when they had been out of school less than 2 years with their accomplishments 3 years later. Chapters in the report have the…

Although a recent Mexican survey found that schooling was the public institution that inspired the most confidence, Mexican government figures for the past decade reveal high dropout rates, particularly at the primary level. This book casts light on this paradox by detailing various social relationships of schooling in two elementary schools in a…

Each year, many teachers face the problem of where to place children who do not fit into the rest of the class. Retention is an option that is frequently considered for these children. Children considered for retention often have poor academic skills, are small in stature or the youngest in the grade, have moved or been absent frequently, do…

This paper addresses issues in assessment of college students, outcome studies, and attrition research in the context of trends toward requiring greater accountability from institutions of higher education. First the paper considers how assessment, student outcomes studies, and attrition research terminology might be more clearly defined. It…

Graduation rates are often used indicators of the performance of institutions of higher education. How institutions are represented can be profoundly affected by different approaches used to develop the data for the rates. The impact of variations in how these rates are constructed is illustrated by the example of the City University of New York…

The New York State Liberty Partnerships Program (LPP) provides students at risk of dropping out of school with services specifically designed to keep them in school through high school graduation, to encourage them to pursue higher education, and/or to secure meaningful employment. Section 1 describes the LPP school year program, giving brief…

This paper reviews 1993 trends and issues in urban education in five sections. Following an introduction, the first section describes the economic conditions of today's diverse urban public school students and the way that poverty differentially affects various ethnic and racial student groups. A second section analyzes key educational policies…