Although junior colleges were originally established to provide the first two years of collegiate instruction, the mission of today's community college includes providing not only transfer education, but also certificate or associate degree vocational programs, adult continuing education, and community services. Therefore, the community college…

The first of three self-contained studies in this report characterizes those who chose to take the California High School Proficiency Examination and those who passed. Characteristics of examinees' families, schools, and communities were also identified. In the second report, a school financial simulation model calculated district revenues which…

The New York State Regents Competency Testing Program is described. Competency tests have been developed in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics, for two purposes: (1) to identify those students who need remedial help; and (2) to assure that students receiving high school diplomas have acquired adequate competence in these areas.…

Examination of the impact of within-school educational practices on minority students between 1968 and 1982 reveals disparities between Black and White and/or Hispanic and White students in ability-grouping placements, disciplinary actions, and graduation ratios. Substantial differences in minority and White teacher/administrative employment…

Faced with increasing enrollment and state legislation requiring more laboratory work, this school system hired an architectural firm to devise a cost-effective "District-wide Science Facility Master Plan." The process of developing that plan and some of its conclusions are described here. Illustrations are provided. (DCS)

Testing programs enacted by the state legislature are changing and improving Florida's educational system in five areas: (1) setting standards for students; (2) making schools more accountable; (3) creating growth through competiton; (4) evaluating educational programs; and (5) assuring the competency of educators. (BS)

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…

To their disadvantage, few Americans--and few in higher education--know much about the successes of historically Black colleges and universities. How is it that historically Black colleges graduate so many low-income and academically poorly prepared students? How do they manage to do so well with students "as they are", even when…

This publication provides information relating to secondary occupational career and technical education program enrollments within Pennsylvania's public secondary schools. For school year 2004-05, Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) used the Career and Technical Education Information System (CATS) to collect individual student enrollment…

Perhaps the two most vexing measurement issues in higher education research are how to obtain true transfer rates from community colleges to four-year universities and the correct formula for the measure of college student retention, regardless of institutional type. All colleges and universities are required to submit retention figures to federal…

This compendium identifies and describes schools, programs, and policies that link secondary and postsecondary education to help students earn college credit or take college-level courses while in high school. It raises issues for practitioners and policymakers to consider as these program grow and target a wider range of students. This compendium…

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…

This paper summarizes a panel discussion that addressed exit-exam policies and dropout issues. It presents the panel members' conclusions about existing research and their recommendations on what kinds of further work are needed. Research on how exit exams affect dropout rates is limited and inconclusive, so policies continue to be made in the…

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…

In 2001, Missouri's K-16 project launched the K-12 Task Force on Achievement Gap Elimination, which believes that improving teacher quality is the single most important factor in eliminating the achievement gap among Missouri students. This report describes the significance of teacher quality on student achievement, emphasizing the uneven…