Active learning has been shown to improve student learning and engagement in many 4-year institutions; however, large-scale studies on the efficacy of active learning in community colleges are lacking. In this study, we investigate the effects of active learning in a first semester majors' general biology course at a large, suburban community…

In this study, we examine whether institutional-level characteristics, student demographics, and state conditions are associated with student loan repayment rates and cohort-level loan default rates. We separately explore these characteristics for each of four higher education sectors: public 2-year colleges, for-profit colleges, public 4-year…

Great City School districts that have embraced the challenge of educating America's urban children have recognized the value of benchmarking their performance and growth against the progress of others. This report presents a number of different ways that member districts can analyze the data themselves by disaggregating results, showing trends,…

This study estimated the promotion power of public high schools in the District of Columbia. Promotion power is a measure of school effectiveness that distinguishes a school's contributions to student outcomes from the contributions of the background characteristics of the students it serves. Promotion power scores are distinct from status…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that explores the promotion power of public high schools in the District of Columbia. Promotion power is a measure of school effectiveness that distinguishes a school's contributions to student outcomes from the contributions of the background characteristics of the students it serves.…

The "Using Promotion Power to Identify the Effectiveness of Public High Schools in the District of Columbia" study examined the promotion power of public high schools in the District of Columbia. This study examined public District of Columbia (DC) high schools' promotion power for three outcomes: meeting the College Board's college and…

As schools look to raise standards and close achievement gaps, they need effective strategies for serving English language learners, the fastest-growing segment of the school-age population who have historically lagged behind their native English-speaking peers on state assessments and in graduation rates. Flipped learning, which blends in-person…

Enrolment in higher education has risen dramatically in Latin America, especially in Chile. Yet graduation and persistence rates remain low. One way to improve graduation and persistence is to use data and analytics to identify students at risk of dropout, target interventions, and evaluate interventions' effectiveness at improving student…

Latino/a college enrollment rates have increased over the years. However, graduation rates are not rising at the same rate as enrollment. One of the programs designed to help increase Latino/a college retention and graduation rates is the College Assistance Migrant Program. This program assists students with tutoring, counseling, stipends, health…

This dissertation examines how state political partisanship influenced public school finance and student achievement during the accountability-focused No Child Left Behind (NCLB) era (2001-2015). Although education is a ladder of opportunity for disadvantaged students, U.S. federalism decentralizes most education funding to states, leaving fiscal…

Prior research shows that English learners (ELs) lag behind their peers in academic achievement and education attainment. The persisting gap is partly attributed to ELs' limited exposure to academic content. This article investigates the efficacy of a summer credit recovery program aimed at expanding high school newcomer ELs' access to academic…

Since 1987, nearly 450 high school students have participated in the High School Intern Program (HIP) led by the Science and Health Education Partnership (SEP) at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Acceptance is not contingent upon grades, being solidly on a path to college, or commitment to a science career. Rather, HIP seeks…

The 2020 Youth Transition Report underscores the persistent and pernicious gap between youth and young adults with disabilities and those without disabilities on measures of success in education, employment, and poverty. While data and reports exist for the working-age adult population and children with disabilities, the Institute for Educational…

Despite reforms in federal and state laws to address educational equity, students with disabilities still often underperform their peers across academic outcome measures (i.e., school attendance, academic achievement and grade point average, graduation rates, and school drop-out). While researchers have suggested both individual and…

This dissertation presents a collection of three essays on the economics of higher education. Although these essays were conceived as independent research projects, they all concern higher education in Chile. For that reason, I begin in chapter 1 with a general overview of Chile's higher education system. I briefly describe the institutional…