For any school closing policy to minimize adverse effects on student achievement, students from closed buildings should be placed in higher performing ones. To provide a more in-depth analysis of the potential academic impacts of the School District of Philadelphia's proposed school closure plan, Research for Action (RFA) compared 32 schools…

The report outlines ways colleges and universities can improve access and attainment for underserved students, particularly Pell Grant recipients, who come from low-income backgrounds. "Serving Their Share" lists 10 prominent public institutions who are failing to enroll as many low-income, high-achieving students as they could, based on…

As public school accountability for student achievement has continued to increase, prior to and as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, schools have sought ways of bringing new instructional services to their students to raise their levels of achievement. Some Pennsylvania public high schools have attempted to improve student…

The "Personnel Development Program to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities" is authorized under Section 662 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and is known as the Personnel Development Program (PDP). The PDP is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Office of Special…

Federal law requires Pennsylvania, and all other states, to transition to a new calculation method for determining high school graduation rates. Beginning in 2012, using graduation data from the Classes of 2010 and 2011, the "4-Year Cohort Graduation Rate" calculation will replace the "4-Year Leaver Graduation Rate"…

This paper offers a list of questions and corresponding answers about the 4-year cohort graduation rate. Answers to the following questions are presented: (1) Why don't GED (General Educational Development) students count as graduates?; (2) How does a district code students who have moved out of state? How should a district code a student who…