Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

Background: Early Colleges (ECs) are a type of rapidly growing dual enrollment program proven to be successful in helping underrepresented students get a jumpstart on their postsecondary education. To date, the most rigorous evidence on the impact of ECs has come from two lottery-based natural experiments conducted by the SERVE Center (Edmunds et…

Research shows that when students have access to advanced coursework opportunities, they work harder and are more engaged in school, have fewer absences and suspensions and higher graduation rates. Unfortunately, many Black and Latino students and students from low-income backgrounds lack equitable access to advanced coursework opportunities, such…

This document contains a model policy for the creation of a portfolio of options for accelerated college credit courses. This model legislation outlines a variety of accelerated college credit courses to be available within each public high school. This policy does not include the funding mechanism for accelerated college credit, but it is…

Research shows that earning college credit while in high school increases students' chances of going to college directly after high school and of earning a college credential. Research also makes clear, however, that access to early postsecondary opportunities is uneven, with lower rates of participation among students of color, those from…

In the 2021 legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted Chapter 170 of the Public Acts of 2021 (PC170, now codified as T.C.A. § 49-6-1012), which requires all Tennessee local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools to adopt an academic acceleration policy for grades 7-12 and establish criteria for student enrollment in…

The problem addressed in this study was that low-income, high-achieving students have lower success rates in higher education institutions socially and academically compared to students of higher-income status regardless of academic ability. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to investigate how low-income students who excelled in high…

This study explores the extent to which student, family, peer, and school factors predict (a) whether students take "Advanced Placement®" ("AP®") courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, and dual enrollment courses and (b) in models limited to course takers, how many courses they completed. Our findings, based on a…

This report provides outcomes for Austin Independent School District (AISD) graduates from the Class of 2018 who were ever classified as English learners (ELs) in terms of advanced coursework, college readiness assessments, and postsecondary enrollment.

The purpose of "The State of Computer Science in Illinois High Schools Series" is to analyze the landscape, structures, and pathways of computer science (CS) education in Illinois and to create a baseline by which to measure the expansion of CS education in the coming years. Beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, all districts in the…

In the 2021 legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly enacted Chapter 170 of the Public Acts of 2021 (PC170, now codified as T.C.A. § 49-6-1012), which requires all Tennessee local education agencies (LEAs) and public charter schools to adopt an academic acceleration policy for grades 7-12 and establish criteria for student enrollment in…

Madison Park Technical Vocational High School in Boston is attempting a turnaround and has been for decades. In 2016, after having been designated a Level 4 school by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), a stamp that branded it "underperforming," school officials created a plan they began…

The purpose of this study was to learn more about the experiences and perceptions of African American, Latinx, and South Asian American girls of color in academically driven programs in an urban high school. The literature is clear that girls of color are underrepresented in International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and Dual…

Hispanics comprise the fastest-growing ethnicity in the United States. One in five college students is Hispanic. While Hispanics are gaining access to higher education, their college completion rate is dismal, compared to Whites and other ethnicities. Hispanics face unique academic and social challenges in college. This phenomenological study was…

The School District of Osceola County, Florida, invests heavily in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program, and as such, an evaluation of effects was conducted with a sample of 10 middle schools (12,325 students) and 7 high schools (18,886 students). Propensity matching was used to determine practical effects. Providing…