The data presented in this combined report--"Rankings & Estimates"--provide facts about the extent to which local, state, and national governments commit resources to public education. As one might expect in a nation as diverse as the United States--with respect to economics, geography, and politics--the level of commitment to…

Research has focused on four groups of factors and the achievement gap: (1) student characteristics (high school GPA, attendance patterns, courses taken in high school, participation in extra-curricular activities, etc.); (2) family characteristics (family structure, in home, parents' level of education, mobility, etc.); (3) school-based…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue examines the differing developmental needs and enrollment and persistence patterns of Achieving the Dream students by gender, with a focus on male students of color. The data show females in Achieving the Dream colleges, regardless of race, were less likely than males to…

Education Resource Strategies (ERS) works with school and district leaders to help them more strategically use resources--people, time, and money--to improve student performance. They have found that many school districts begin creating small high schools without a clear sense of how much they will spend or how to ensure that small schools…

Little research has examined the links between role status changes during the transition to adulthood and sexual behaviors that place African Americans at risk for sexually transmitted infections. Moreover, the mediating processes that explain these links, or protective factors that may buffer young adults from risky sexual behavior, are unknown.…

Background: Nearly 10% of students enrolled in US public schools are absent daily. Although previous research has shown associations of school absenteeism with participation in risk behaviors, it is unclear if these associations vary by whether the absence was excused. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations of health risk…

Objective: To examine acceptability, attrition, adherence, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS; text messaging) for monitoring healthful behaviors in children. Design: All randomized children received a brief psychoeducational intervention. They then either monitored target behaviors via SMS with feedback or via…

While initial access to education is increasing in many countries, drop out rates continue to be high. This seriously affects MDG and EFA goals around educational access. This briefing paper looks at the issue of dropping out from school. It is based on the CREATE Pathways to Access Research Monograph, "Dropping out from school: a cross…

Charter schools are publicly funded but operate outside the regulatory framework and collective bargaining agreements characteristic of traditional public schools. In return for this freedom, charter schools are subject to heightened accountability. This paper estimates the impact of charter school attendance on student achievement using data from…

The District conducts a "cross-sectional" analysis of student dropouts annually; it examines dropout rates among students enrolled in various grades at one point in time. A "longitudinal" analysis, also conducted annually, tracks a group of students in the same grade or cohort over a period of several years. Each method…

Good school attendance has been directly linked to academic achievement, greater participation in school programs, and graduation from high school. Reports investigating poor elementary school attendance habits describe the emergence of later problems in middle and high school years. Schools and Families: Allies for Attendance, a 2-year project,…

A profile of the types of students that attend college English courses offered at two- and four-year colleges and universities. (RB)

The first part of this study examined class attendance of 959 students in 17 sections of undergraduate psychology classes. It was found that class attendance decreased from the beginning to the end of the semester. An investigation of 117 of the students found that attendance displayed moderate correlations with course grades. Students missed…

For the 1982-83 school year, the Austin (Texas) Public Schools adopted a high school attendance policy allowing a maximum of 10 absences per semester for course credit to be earned. Under this policy, Austin's high school attendance rose to an all-time high of 93.5 percent in 1983-84. In 1984-85, education reform mandated by the Texas Legislature…

Absenteeism is expensive in terms of academic achievement, economic loss to school districts, and teacher efficiency. Most importantly, however, truancy is expensive because it is a lost opportunity to rehabilitate a large number of distressed youngsters. A number of studies have demonstrated that schools are not equipped in either organization or…