This report focuses on one of the State University of New York's (SUNY's) applied learning initiatives that includes work-based activities, e.g., co-ops, internships, work study, and clinical placement (SUNY Works). With funds from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, SUNY asked the Rockefeller Institute of Government to examine applied…

Informal science education institutions have been identified as critical participants in helping students succeed in science by working in collaboration with school systems across the country. The results of one such collaboration, the Urban Advantage (UA) program found that participation in UA improved student achievement, on average, by 0.6…

Concerned about the persistently high dropout rates from big-city secondary schools, education leaders are trying a new approach to increasing the graduation rate--multiple pathways to graduation. Multiple pathways initiatives are relatively new and far from proven. Even the most advanced examples face significant issues, i.e., the need to…

The challenge of producing the systemic changes that are needed to boost educational attainment and economic competitiveness across the country falls heavily on entities that coordinate public postsecondary institutions. Coordination of postsecondary education, whether of a single system of institutions or across an entire state, requires…

In Fall 2007, Hudson Guild--a settlement house that provides services to hundreds of adults, teens and children in two housing developments in New York City--embarked on a study to assess the needs of youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who were residing in the community and were disconnected (i.e., those youth who were not in school or not…

In the report entitled "Educating School Leaders," Arthur Levine (2005) criticizes leadership preparation programs as "inadequate to appalling," citing, among other issues, the proliferation of off campus programming, the weakening of standards, and an unwillingness to engage in any measure of "systematic…

This report examines the "Wave One" school districts in New York State as they expanded into the second year of Universal Prekindergarten (UPK). Through surveys with district UPK coordinators and analysis of final reports submitted to the state education department, information was gathered about the implementation, programming, and…

In the late fall of 1988, a study was undertaken of retention efforts focusing on minority students enrolled in occupational education programs in New York two-year colleges. Specifically, the study sought to determine the extent to which the state's colleges had programs or services to facilitate the persistence and retention of minority students…

The New York Regents Competency Testing Program has been designed to assure that all students develop adequate skills in reading comprehension, writing, and mathematics before graduation from high school. In this booklet, information is provided on two elements of the Regents Competency Testing Program: diploma standards and screening tests.…

In-school suspension (ISS) removes a student from regular academic classes but keeps the student in an isolated, separate, and restricted environment where, in most cases, academic work continues. Such programs have increased rapidly in American secondary schools, and have been mandated in New York State by the New York State Education Department…

The New York State Regents Competency Testing Program is described. Competency tests have been developed in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics, for two purposes: (1) to identify those students who need remedial help; and (2) to assure that students receiving high school diplomas have acquired adequate competence in these areas.…