Dropouts pay a steep price for leaving high school without their diplomas. In terms of wages, unemployment rates, and career mobility, the grim statistics have been lamented for decades. Society also suffers--more crime and welfare, fewer tax dollars, and lower voter turnout. Not every dropout faces a bleak future. But on balance, the…

The arts disciplines (visual arts, music, theatre, and dance) merit and require formal study. Policy makers should support studies in the arts as core disciplines, as specified in the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)," the federal legislation that sets policy and appropriations for public education. The arts merit and…

For more than 20 years, Advocates for Children of New Jersey has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, food insecurity,…

This compliance report provides information regarding American Indian students' public school performance and how performance is measured. This information is shared with legislators, educators, tribes, and communities and is disseminated at the semiannual government-to-government meetings. The New Mexico Public Education Department (NM PED) is…

Although student persistence in graduate programs is widely regarded as an important topic in the literature of higher education, many such works focus on the completion of studies. This paper examines the dynamics of attrition resulting in either delayed or non-completion of doctoral studies. Administrative data of 294 Ph.D. students at Makerere…

This paper explores the relationship between tuition differentials and low-income students in Engineering fields at two public, research-intensive universities. Although current reports indicate the need for increased participation within the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields, rising tuition prices at the university…

The annual Student Outcomes Survey collects information on the outcomes of two groups of students--those that have completed a qualification (graduates) and those that have completed only part of a course and then left the vocational education and training (VET) system (module completers). At the time of selecting the survey sample, insufficient…

This "First Look" presents findings from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) spring 2011 data collection. This collection included five components: Student Financial Aid for the 2009-10 academic year; Enrollment for fall 2010; Graduation Rates within 150 percent of normal program completion time for full-time,…

The School Improvement Grant (SIG) program funds reforms in low performing schools. Congress provided $3.5 billion for SIG in fiscal year 2009, and a total of about $1.6 billion was appropriated in fiscal years 2010-2012. SIG requirements changed significantly in 2010. Many schools receiving SIG funds must now use the funding for specific…

Increasing college attainment is an urgent national need--a fact that is being acknowledged by policymakers, economists and labor experts at every level. They agree that, in order for the United States to sustain the economic recovery and assure long-term growth and social stability, the nation's educational attainment rate must improve steadily…

In an uncertain environment, it is imperative that leaders of colleges and universities ensure that money spent on higher education--whether that money comes from students, parents, donors, or taxpayers--is being invested wisely. How well do colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia live up to the public trust? How do they compare…

This study updates previous Education Trust briefs that looked at public, four-year colleges that successfully improved minority graduation rates and narrowed graduation-rate gaps. This new report examines which four-year, nonprofit colleges--public "and" private--have made the most improvements for Hispanic students. Because for-profit…

Community colleges are complex organizations and assessing their performance, though important, is difficult. Compared to four-year colleges and universities, community colleges serve a more diverse population and provide a wider variety of educational programs that include continuing education and technical training for adults, and diplomas,…

The "I Have a Dream" (IHAD) program is a philanthropic, community-based intervention committed to supporting pupils in impoverished and under-resourced school systems. The IHAD program presents disadvantaged youth with an equal opportunity to pursue higher education by providing scholastic and social-emotional supports to promote college…

College completion is an issue of great concern in the United States, where only 50% of students who start college as freshmen complete a bachelor's degree at that institution within six years. Researchers have studied a variety of factors to understand their relationship to student persistence. Not surprisingly, student characteristics,…