Charter schools are highly debated in policy and political discussions about delivering public education. As "laboratories of innovation" that often use lotteries to assign spots, they hold the potential to generate rigorous evidence about effective educational practices. This paper synthesizes and summarizes findings from charter…

The past three decades have seen charter schools emerge as a prominent and controversial alternative to traditional public schools. This policy brief examines "Thirty Years of Charter Schools: What Does Lottery-Based Research Tell Us?" which summarizes 40 studies that have used lottery research designs to analyze how charter schools…

The experiences of students from rural communities in higher education have long been under researched; however, the increasing number of rural students enrolling in higher education has turned the tide. Further, policymakers across multiple sectors have demonstrated a renewed interest in rural communities. Despite this shift, conceptualizations…

Despite being criticized as unrepresentative and misleading, retention and graduation rates are an important part of college-search web sites and accountability systems, and they frequently have been used as indicators of institutional quality and effectiveness in educational research. Retention and graduation rates are often compared over time…

This report, published by the Center for Minority Serving Institutions in collaboration with CAPSEE, looks at the role of two-year Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) in improving postsecondary access and degree completion for disadvantaged students in the United States. In doing so, it aims to prepare the groundwork for research that considers…

This 2015 report is third in a series of annual reports on virtual education in the U.S. It is organized in three major sections: Section I examines the policy and political landscape associated with virtual schooling and describes the current state of affairs related to finance and governance, instructional program quality, and teacher quality.…

The State University System of Florida Board of Governor's Annual Accountability Report provides retrospective year-over-year and longer time periods of tracking for how the System is progressing toward its goals. This Annual Accountability Report provides information regarding the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) from 2015-2016. The Executive…

In the five years since the first National Education Policy Center (NEPC) "Annual Report on Virtual Education" was released in 2013, virtual education has continued to be a focal point for policymakers. Proponents argue that virtual education can expand student choices and improve the efficiency of public education. In particular,…

This report is the second of a series of annual reports by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC) on virtual education in the U.S. The NEPC reports contribute to the existing evidence and discourse on virtual education by providing an objective analysis of the evolution and performance of full-time, publicly funded K-12 virtual schools. This…

This national study, which comprehensively reviews 311 virtual schools operating in the United States, finds serious and systemic problems with the nation's full-time cyber schools. Despite virtual schools' track record of students falling behind their peers academically or dropping-out at higher rates, states and districts continue to expand…

Contradictory trends emerge relative to Black women's college success: They have doubled their enrollment rates in thirty years but their graduation rates remain behind those of White and Asian women. This integrative, interdisciplinary review of both student- and institutional-level factors explores the role of individual characteristics and…

This report shows college enrollment and graduation trends among Latino SAT® takers who finished high school in 2004 and 2010 by various student characteristics including aspirations, self-perceived ability, and academic achievements. In every case, students in the top categories (high aspirations, high perceived ability, high assessed ability)…

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) serves a large majority of socioeconomically disadvantaged students who are struggling academically and are underprepared for high school graduation and college. This article describes the partnership between LAUSD and the Los Angeles Education Research Institute, and how this collaboration endeavors…

This report shows college enrollment and graduation trends among Asian American SAT® takers who finished high school in 2004 and 2010 by student characteristics, including aspirations, self-perceived ability, and academic achievements. In every case, students in the top categories (high aspirations, high-perceived ability, high-assessed ability)…

The State University System of Florida Board of Governor's Annual Accountability Report provides retrospective year-over-year and longer time periods of tracking for how the System is progressing toward its goals. This Annual Accountability Report provides information regarding the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) from…