This three-study dissertation investigated how socioeconomic factors and policies are associated with educational outcomes for undocumented youth and, in one of the papers, to what extent education and employment outcomes intersect. Guided by the specific questions of each study, the three papers take different theoretical and methodological…

A summer bridge program was developed in an engineering program to advance the preparation of incoming freshmen students, particularly with respect to their math course placement. The program was intended to raise the initial math course placement of students who otherwise would begin their engineering studies in courses below Calculus I. One…

In 2015, The Education Trust released "The Pell Partnership: Ensuring a Shared Responsibility for Low-Income Student Success." This analysis of over 1,000 public and private institutions revealed that while Pell grant recipients graduate at rates averaging 14 percentage points lower than non-Pell eligible students, many institutions do…

In this article, I utilize a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effects of Tulsa Achieves--a prevalent and understudied type of tuition-free college program. In contrast to concerns regarding tuition-free community college suppressing bachelor's degree attainment, I find that Tulsa Achieves increased the likelihood of transferring to…

Between 2015 and 2019, Holyoke Public Schools in Massachusetts cut its dropout rate nearly in half and increased its graduation rate by 10 percentage points, with notable gains among historically marginalized student groups. The district cites Opportunity Academy (OA), an alternative education program within the district's high school, as a key…

Indiana, Oklahoma, and Washington each have programs designed to address college enrollment gaps by offering a promise of state-based college financial aid to low-income middle school students in exchange for making a pledge to do well in high school, be a good citizen, not be convicted of a felony, and apply for financial aid to college. Using a…

Studies have documented widespread academic disengagement in middle and high school students. This disengagement has been tied to a myriad of negative outcomes, including failure to graduate from high school and transition into college and meaningful vocations. Supporting adolescents in cultivating a sense of beyond-the-self purpose is one factor…

This report summarizes grade-level promotion and graduation outcomes for 2,163 Austin Independent School District (AISD) students who participated in the DELTA Program in 2019-2020. Seventy-four percent of DELTA students in 9th through 11th grades were promoted to the next grade level and of the DELTA students in 12th grade, 83% graduated from…

Math is an integral subject in nearly all STEM disciplines, and early exposure to advanced math coursework may encourage high school students to enter and persist in STEM fields in college. This report examines whether taking college algebra through dual enrollment affects high school graduation, college enrollment, and early STEM outcomes. I use…

Research has largely been silent on English Learner (EL) persistence and completion in U.S. community colleges, yet studies conducted across higher education report that only one in eight ELs completes a bachelor's degree (Kanno & Cromley, 2013). Many interventions have been proposed to improve college student persistence and completion. This…

This is the executive summary for the report, "College Material: Programs Supporting Postsecondary Education Readiness and Completion in Milwaukee." Milwaukee has been plagued by concerns that its education system is neither serving all youth nor sufficiently growing local talent to sustain the area's economy. This new analysis by the…

This paper presents new estimates of the effects of the City University of New York's (CUNY's) Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) model, evaluated using a randomized controlled trial first in New York and later through a replication in Ohio. It presents longer-term effects of CUNY ASAP in New York, showing that the program's effect on…

This paper uses Middle Tennessee State University's MT Scholars Academy, an extended early arrival program targeting first-year students who are classified as at-risk by a variety of measures, as a case study for demonstrating the effectiveness of AASCU's Re-Imagining the First-Year (RFY) initiative. In particular, this case study demonstrates the…

In an attempt to maintain on-time graduation rates and reduce dropout rates, school districts, such as the one in this study, implement credit recovery programs. In an effort to improve student graduation rates and address graduation disparities, the Virginia school district in this study implements a summer credit recovery program that utilizes…

Engagement in high-impact practices such as undergraduate research can dramatically improve academic and developmental outcomes; traditionally underserved students (including underrepresented minorities and first-generation students) often experience outsized benefits from these academic experiences. The California State University Louis Stokes…