A college education can be a critical step toward achieving economic mobility, but there are differences in the benefits that accrue to Black, Hispanic, and White college graduates. At every level of educational attainment, including bachelor's degrees, White workers are more likely than Black or Hispanic workers with the same qualifications to…

Research for Action (RFA) in partnership with the University of Texas at Austin is engaged in a five-year mixed-methods study of the reforms associated with California AB 705. Over the course of the study, our team will assess the implementation, impact, and cost effectiveness of reforms associated with the law. This report first offers a…

Online programs are often viewed as a cost-efficient strategy for increasing revenue for shrinking university budgets but this may not be an accurate assessment. Responsibility Centered Management (RCM) is a budgeting model that is purported to increase efficient delivery of academic programs. As RCM budgeting models have been embraced, many…

The Health Profession Opportunity Grants (HPOG) Program provided education and occupational training to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients and other adults with low incomes. HPOG training is for healthcare occupations that pay well and may experience labor shortages or be in high demand. This report details common themes…

This paper explains sustained effects and what worked for students in the Advancing Learning Outcomes and Transformational (ALOT Change III) program. Data comes from qualitative narratives from the baseline survey of the program collected by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) between December 4, 2019, and January 31, 2020,…

Postsecondary education is widely seen as a necessity in the modern economy, yet among low and middle-income families, college enrollment rates are dismayingly low -- and graduation rates are even lower. College Promise programs, which cover local students' college tuition and fees, are one strategy states and municipalities use to help. But…

The era of accountability and a rise in standardized testing during recent years have emerged from policy reform initiatives designed to increase student performance. While the goal was to increase learning standards, it has not yielded the dramatic improvements expected. This study explored if there was a statistically significant difference in…

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to interpret the lived experience of Black and Latinx students from Lakeside Township High School (LTHS); to gain an understanding of how they make sense of their decision not to engage with AP Science coursework. After reviewing relevant literature, interviews were carried out with six Black and…

In the present study, the race-focused and race-reimaged framework is applied to motivational belief theory to explore factors related to Latinx high school students' enrollment into AP math and AP science. Incorporating a person-centered approach to the methods, latent profile analysis was conducted to identify the unique math and science…

In 2000 several STEM faculty at Bethel College in Kansas designed and began offering a one-week intensive residential summer research experience for high school students--the Bethel College Summer Science Institute. The core idea underlying the design was to motivate students through the excitement of discovery. This event has been offered…

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme is an international college-preparatory program that offers two levels of participation: IB diploma candidate and IB course candidate. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a difference in college-related outcome achievement between these groups so that students and…

This report highlights successes and lessons learned from Austin Independent School District's 2020 virtual learning summer school programs. More than 13,000 AISD students in prekindergarten through grade 12 participated in these programs, which offered academic enrichment or acceleration, course credit recovery, and grade level transition.…

This study used the National Longitudinal Transition Study--2 (NLTS2) data set to determine the effects of expectations and transition planning goals on the postsecondary education enrollment of deaf youth. Propensity scoring modeling results indicated that high expectations held by deaf youth and their parents significantly predicted…

"The Expanded Success Initiative: Challenges and Progress in the Pursuit of College and Career Readiness for Black and Latino Young Men" synthesizes findings from the Research Alliance's four-year evaluation of Expanded Success Initiative (ESI). This report, draws on hundreds of interviews and focus groups with ESI school leaders,…

The purpose of this evaluation was to investigate the factors that contribute to students' recruitment and retention in the Arabic program at my college. The two questions guiding this evaluation were: (1) what factors influence students to join the Arabic program at my college and (2) what factors influence students to continue to enroll in…