In November 2024, the New York State Board of Regents issued the "Vision to Transform New York State Graduation Requirements," a plan for high school education reform. To understand the context for this reform, this issue brief discusses New York's levels of student performance and state education spending, as well as a brief history of…

This report contains three parts: the "Graduation Pathway Options Report" with Foreword by the State Board, "Washington Graduation Pathway Options: Stakeholder Feedback Project Year 3, Volume I," and "Washington Graduation Pathway Options: Stakeholder Feedback Project Year 3, Volume II." The graduation pathway is one…

California graduation requirements have been largely unchanged since 2003. Within the state of California, a public-school district has to meet state requirements to offer a high school diploma, but a district can implement additional requirements for students beyond the state minimum. Postsecondary educational eligibility is determined during a…

This paper examines the impact of a reform aimed at expediting graduation times in Italian universities by reducing the number of exams students must pass to obtain a fixed number of credits. Using event-study estimates that leverage the reform's staggered implementation, we find that this policy change led to an increase in on-time graduation…

The high school (HS) graduation rate of students with disabilities who have individual education programs (IEP) is historically low compared with their non-disabled peers. The problem was that a statewide initiative to improve the standard HS diploma graduation rate of students with disabilities, the April Dunn Act (the Act), was perceived as…

Research indicates that older adult learners are faced with a multitude of obstacles and challenges during their experiences as students in higher education. A primary obstacle faced by non-traditional students is adjusting to the use of technology, compared to younger individuals, which is a trend that was exacerbated during the pandemic.…

In "Measuring to Improve," Paul G. LeMahieu, Paul Cobb, and contributors introduce educational practitioners, administrators, and policymakers to the foundational elements of practical measurement to support continuous improvement efforts in K-12 schools. They begin by defining practical measurement as data collection and analysis that…

Whole-school reforms have received widespread attention, but a critical limitation of the current literature is the lack of evidence around whether these extensive and costly interventions improve students' long-term outcomes after they leave reform schools. Leveraging Tennessee's statewide turnaround reforms, we use difference-in-differences…

For 15 years, Complete College America (CCA) has been building movements for scaled systemic change and transforming institutions. While CCA has expanded their efforts over the past 15 years, they have studied the best ideas and co-designed the most promising practices to move the needle on college completion. They have learned a lot about how to…

In this article, the author reflects upon the changes assessment professionals have faced because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Against the background of stressed faculty and staff and falling student enrollment, lower retention, and graduation rates, assessment professional must consider how to talk about the "quality" of student learning…

For over two decades, there have been sustained efforts across the nation to increase high school graduation rates toward the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate for the Class of 2020 and improving educational outcomes for all students. The work of many educators, policymakers, organizations, and young people across the country…

Whole-school reforms have received widespread attention, but a critical limitation of the current literature is the lack of evidence around whether these extensive and costly interventions improve students' long-term outcomes after they leave reform schools. Leveraging Tennessee's statewide turnaround reforms, we use difference-in-differences…

Educational inequities between White Americans and Black and Latinx Americans have grown in recent decades. However, the present research documents that many members of the public may be misinformed about this reality. Three initial studies, with 813 undergraduates and online participants, demonstrate that many individuals overestimate the…

This paper used graduation statistics of the Namibian secondary higher education over two decades to determine linkages to human capital of the youth and its multiplication into economic development. The paper assessed the effect of regional differences to show historic educational discrimination and why the education reform was required to…

As institutions face uncertainty in enrollment projections due to changing demographics, the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, and stagnant high school graduation rates, focusing on improving student retention is important. Enrollment management models provide opportunities to assess the effectiveness of enrollment strategies and make…