Higher education institutions are in a great position to create authentic programming to support local underfunded or underperforming public school districts. This article gives an overview of an education outreach collaborative between a 4-year public university, local schools, and a community institution and highlights lessons learned from the…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

This study aimed to investigate and improve the college readiness of students in an innercity public school. Recent statistics on college completion in a prominent city in the U.S. reveal that only 52% of students from inner-city schools graduate with college degrees within six years. This is quite worrisome, considering that 71% of jobs in that…

While the national high school graduation rates for culturally and linguistically diverse students have increased in the last five years, less than half of these students transition from high school to postsecondary settings. In this article we share the lessons learned from nearly a decade of college access and career readiness efforts by a…

A growing volume of research shows college promise programs increase the likelihood that students enroll in and complete college. Place-based promise programs provide a guaranteed college scholarship for students who attend a specified school district. We examine the societal benefits and costs of a place-based scholarship program in rural…

The National Math + Science Initiative (NMSI) is a nonprofit organization committed to improving educational outcomes that traces its roots back to the early 1990s. NMSI's College Readiness Program (CRP) is a long-standing program with the goal of promoting STEM education in high schools to improve students' preparation for college. The three-year…

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federal program designed to promote college access and success for students from low-income backgrounds. Although some literature has examined K-12 outcomes, little research has explored the extent to which GEAR UP achieves its intended postsecondary objectives. The…

This study focused on a redesigned reading program that integrated project-based activities through the contextualization of reading and information literacy strategies using library databases. Students completing the new reading curriculum were compared to students who had completed a traditional reading curriculum to assess for differences in…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

Earning a college degree is widely recognized as the most reliable pathway to economic stability (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2013). But it is known from a wide range of research that access to college is neither easy nor equitable, and that traditionally underrepresented students (including low-income students and Black and Latino students)…

School community members help to foster students' college-going mindsets by creating and facilitating a college-going culture within the school. Based on our findings of a school district composed of a majority ethnically and racially diverse student body, we found the district to be successful in promoting social capital by way of a school…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

Linked Learning is an educational approach that combines college-focused academics, rigorous technical education, work-based learning, and personalized student supports in small, career-themed high school academies contained in multiple schools (i.e., small schools within larger comprehensive schools) in the same district. A leading architect of…

Afterschool and competency-based learning are increasingly emerging as student-centered, supportive learning models to prepare students for college and career. This white paper explores the intersection and relationship between these two fields, recommends ideal policy environments for implementing successful programs, provides real-world…

Conducted in an urban alternative education program for adolescents ages 17-21, this study provides an overview of a professional development program that sought to support teachers in developing unit plans that incorporated backwards design principles and culturally relevant and sustaining instruction. The authors offer a qualitative thematic…