The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education…

An increasing number of state leaders have begun to grapple with one of the significant challenges of K-12 reform: how to substantially increase the percentage of young people graduating from high school while also continuing to bring academic standards into alignment with the skills and knowledge required for success in higher education and…

The work described in this report is part of the national Making Opportunity Affordable (MOA) initiative, and focuses on the presentation of aggregate measures of sector-level trends in revenues and expenditures. This work will be repeated on an annual basis to promote regular use of aggregate measures of spending as part of postsecondary…

Reducing socioeconomic differences in college transfer requires a better understanding of how and why parental education, occupational class, and family income are associated with changing colleges. Building on prior studies of traditional community college transfer we explore relationships between those factors and two types of transfer among…

Although the federal government dedicated nearly $40 billion to funding student loans in 2006, only 60 percent of potential students from low-income families attend college, compared with 90 percent from high-income families. This paper argues that enrollment rates are lower than they could be because potential students undervalue loan subsidies,…

When North Carolina native Evan Raleigh was in search of the perfect college, he had three things in mind: (1) the strength of the school's academic reputation; (2) the size of the school; and (3) the school's location and proximity to home. He found all three in the form of Wake Forest University. But Raleigh, who received a full academic…

This report to the leaders of the minority and majority parties of the Illinois state legislature provides data on the number of students with disabilities who are estimated to exit the Illinois public school system after the 1996-97 school year. The data were prepared by averaging the information provided by districts regarding students who were…

The National Center on Educational Outcomes (NCEO) has formulated a conceptual model of educational outcomes, including eight major domains, that is appropriate for all students, including those with disabilities. This document presents the results of matching 17 states' expected outcomes and the NCEO outcomes at the level of school completion.…

Migrant students graduation rates, although improving, are still significantly lower than those of their non-migrant peers. This manual is a comprehensive reference guide for Chapter 1 Migrant Program personnel counselors and teachers serving migrant students at the secondary level. Migrant students are those who move across school district…

College seniors constitute a pre-transitional population that may be struggling with issues of adapting to anticipated change while preparing to leave the college environment. In order to assess the relationship of students' gender and their views of women's roles to the stresses arising from the transition anticipated at college graduation, male…

Results are presented from a national study of requirements for educational certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. The first sections of the study report present the objectives of the survey; look at the background and context of the study; review major findings; discuss recent studies and policy statements on the associate degree; and…

For students in most high schools, graduation is predicated on the successful completion of a specified number of courses or credits. In most cases when these students fail they are not retained in grade but become credit deficient. This report is concerned with a longitudinal study of loss of credit among high school students in the St. Paul…

Questions arise about the constitutionality of including some form of prayer, usually an invocation or benediction, in public school graduation ceremonies, and whether such prayer can appropriately be delivered by a minister or other religious leader. The U. S. Supreme Court has not addressed this precise issue, but an analysis of other courts'…

This document presents an outline of a streamlined student record-keeping and advisement procedure used at the Mississippi State University to assure students' logical progression through the total professional teacher education process. There are four phases in this procedure: (1) enrollment in the College of Education; (2) admission to teacher…

Based on a program which was developed in Maine, this guide provides specific suggestions for establishing a new "tradition" of substance-free celebration at graduation and prom parties for high school students. An introduction discusses the dangers of drinking at high school parties, the benefits of alcohol and drug-free parties, and…