This article reports the aggressive outreach efforts exerted by various schools in fighting truancy among its students. These actions were driven in part by the No Child Left Behind Act, which required schools and districts to improve their students' academic performance or face sanctions. According to educators, ensuring that students show up for…

The Monitoring the Future study has provided the nation with a window into the important, but largely hidden, problem behaviors of illicit drug use, alcohol use, and tobacco use. It has provided a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive…

"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 Turns Five: Key Players in Reauthorization Process Celebrate Fifth Anniversary of Landmark Education Law, Begin…

"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) Striving Readers Act Introduced in the House: Act Mirrors Legislation Introduced in the Senate in March; (2) "Understanding…

This paper discusses the key issues and concerns in the Cambodian government's efforts to implement three priority education policies for 2006-2010: ensure equitable access to education; increase quality and efficiency of the education services; and promote institutional development and capacity building for decentralisation. This paper identifies…

Objective: An exploratory analysis of self-report data gathered by the Family Connections program is used to build a predictive model of program completion. Method: The sample includes 136 families in a poor, urban neighborhood who meet risk criteria for child neglect. Families are randomly assigned to receive 3- or 9-month interventions.…

This paper presents the findings of the 2008 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). This year, CCSSE zeroes in on high expectations and high support as it presents the results of its 2008 survey. Both are critical to student success: Students do best when expectations are high "and" they receive support that helps them achieve at…

Research has documented a crisis in Texas high school graduation rates. Only 67 percent of Texas students graduate from high school, and some large urban districts have graduation rates of 50 percent or lower. This study documents the public costs of high school dropouts in Texas and examines how school choice could provide large public benefits…

This is the 11th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District (RUSD). Analysis continues to focus on the long-term historical trends in RUSD, comparing RUSD to nine peer school districts and the State of Wisconsin. RUSD peer districts are Wisconsin's largest (Milwaukee Public Schools are not included) and their…

To help inform policymakers and the public about the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 42 indicators on important topics and trends in U.S. education. These…

The Annual Condition of Education Report provides a wide range of state-level data, including shifts in student populations and demographics, teacher salaries and characteristics, student achievement results, and school financial information. A few examples of the categories presented in this 22nd edition report include: (1) Enrollment; (2) Early…

This 2010 Annual Report for the Missouri Department of Higher Education takes a close look at the performance of Missouri's system of postsecondary education in Fiscal Year 2010. The annual report follows the format of the state's public agenda for higher education, "Imperatives for Change: Building a Higher Education System for the 21st…

These proceedings include 13 "perspectives from the field" and 9 selected papers (with abstracts) from a national conference on recommended policies and practices for investing in youth. The 13 perspectives papers are as follows: "Saving the Next Generation" (Berlin); "Effective Strategies for Investing in Youth"…

This quarterly publication contains 13 articles covering various aspects of education and youth employment in Australia. "Youth Employment Strategies: Public Service of South Australia" (Jenny Rhodes) describes opportunities for South Australian youth to enter public service. "School Influences on Retention in Victorian Government…

Older teens living in families receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) face serious sociodemographic disadvantages. When combined with the characteristic risk-taking behaviors of adolescence, these disadvantages pose a threat to TANF teens' immediate and future physical, psychological, and emotional health and to their long-term…