Recent publications raise three concerns about the traditional senior year: it lacks rigor, it fails to provide students with clear pathways to work and postsecondary education, and it does not prepare students for a successful transition from high school to post-secondary experiences. These documents suggest that high schools should transform the…

This paper examines the impact of attending different categories of selective institutions on students' college completion. Specifically, it explores differences in the impact that selectivity of an institution has by race and ethnicity. The analysis accounts for the impact of individual and institutional characteristics and corrects for omitted…

One in four American students does not graduate from high school on time, if at all. Many of these young people blame schoolwork that failed to challenge them and assignments that meant nothing in their lives. More surprising are the large numbers of students who graduate from high school and enter college but do not receive a degree. They drop…

Black student-athletes have been the focus of study regarding academic and psychosocial adjustment to college since the 1960s. Although recent literature generally reports higher graduation rates for Black student-athletes compared to their nonathlete peers, little attention has been given to their psychosocial experiences on predominantly White…

The purpose of this study was to determine if requiring multiple credits of high school physical education for graduation has an impact on promoting physical activity in young adults. Participants in this study (N=361) were surveyed concerning their high school physical education experiences and current performance of physical activity. Results…

The high school dropout crisis in diverse urban communities in the United States is evidence of an endemic disengagement from formal education. The project on which this essay reports utilized visual sociology methods to explore city students' perceptions of schools' purposes, as well as the supports for and impediments to their school success.…

Previous research has largely overlooked discipline specific admission criteria at the undergraduate level and its relationship to student success. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine if college of business admission criteria and other variables predicted undergraduate college of business student graduation. The specific variables…

In the Salinas Union High School District, California, diplomas are presented to qualified students at the end of either the fall or the spring semester. Graduation requirements specify courses, number of semesters, proficiency (or remedial in lieu of substitution), and number of cumulative units. Therefore, at mid-year two bodies of seniors are…

A random sample of 500 Ocean County College students were surveyed by means of a mailed questionnaire to ascertain their opinions on whether the College should have a mandatory or voluntary commencement attendance policy. In addition, all New Jersey county colleges were surveyed to determine the prevailing practice with regard to institutional…

Achievement testing is the centerpiece of the state accountability systems mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Accordingly, the public attention directed towards achievement scores has largely eclipsed the crucial role that graduation rates play in NCLB accountability, at least until recently. As a new body of research on…

This study uses a widely respected method to calculate public high school graduation rates for the nation, for each state, and for the 100 largest school districts in the United States. Graduation rates are calculated overall, by race, and by gender, using the most recent available data (the class of 2003). While this report builds upon a…

Thirty-three universities were surveyed by the University of Arizona to see who was responsible for the process of evaluating students' remaining degree requirements, how much of this process was automated or computerized, and who in each institution responds to the Higher Education General Information Survey. Results are presented. (MSE)

Whether the dropout rate is a good measure of a quality education is debatable. One could probably make a case that a high dropout rate is just as credible an indicator of a quality education program as a low dropout rate. As with any high-stakes measure of performance, those being evaluated scramble, sometimes frantically, for strategies that…

This is the final report of the National Evaluation of Student Support Services (SSS). SSS is one of eight federally funded grant programs that are administered as part of the Federal TRIO Programs within the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The SSS program, in particular, focuses on students while they are enrolled in college. In general, SSS…

Prior Learning Assessment, or PLA, is an important and often overlooked strategy for helping adults progress towards a degree. PLA is the process by which many colleges evaluate for academic credit the college-level knowledge and skills an individual has gained outside of the classroom, including employment, military training/service, travel,…