In 2001, Illinois began administering the ACT (American College Testing) test to all 11th graders in Illinois public schools as part of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE). For the first time, ACT scores and background information were available for most public-school students who would be completing high school one year later, rather than…

Now in its third year, "Minnesota Measures" provides policymakers and educators with a statewide look at higher education effectiveness in the context of broad state objectives and national and international performance comparisons. Findings are reported across five goals: (1) Improve success of all students, particularly students from…

Expanded learning opportunities (ELOs), which include afterschool, summer learning, and extended day and extended year programs, can help states reduce dropout rates and increase graduation rates. Effective elementary, middle, and high school ELOs support academic rigor, boost student engagement, and provide students with supportive relationships.…

Young adulthood is filled with major life events and pursuing higher education is one of the most common transitions. It is also the time when many young adults enter the labour market, move out of their parents' household and begin family formation. These significant events affect each other and impact the rest of their lives. Given the…

"Higher Education Counts" is the annual accountability report on Connecticut's system of higher education. Since 2000, the report has been the primary vehicle for reporting higher education's progress toward achieving six, statutorily-defined state goals: (1) To enhance student learning and promote academic excellence; (2) To join with…

The primary purpose of the study was to identify successful electronic and manufacturing engineering programs at two-year colleges that Northeast Community College (a pseudonym) programs can be benched marked against. The project examined two-year college programs for increased enrollment and the number of graduates for the academic years 2000 to…

The transition into high school is a critical point in the educational pipeline, and ninth-grade can be characterized as one of its leakiest junctures. This policy brief examines how some states and districts are currently easing the transition into high school for students. It focuses on five key challenges that states, districts and schools…

This article considers the practical, conceptual, and empirical foundations of an early identification and intervention system for middle-grades schools to combat student disengagement and increase graduation rates in our nation's cities. Many students in urban schools become disengaged at the start of the middle grades, which greatly reduces the…

This study assessed the impact of a first-year experience course on the academic performance, persistence, and graduation rates of first-semester college students enrolled at a public research university in fall 1998. Two groups of first-year college students were matched according to their gender, race, SAT score, high school GPA, and intended…

The road to a college degree is often littered with potholes of self-doubt, and sometimes those are deep enough to discourage even the most ambitious students. If the transition from high school to college were easy, the average six-year graduation rate at four-year institutions in the United States would probably be higher than 63 percent. To…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of compiling, analyzing, and summarizing the data for Indicator 1--Graduation--from the FFY 2008 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and amended State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted by States to the Office of Special Education…

This latest annually produced Iowa Kids Count data book, "Iowa Kids Count 2009: Trends in the Well-Being of Iowa Children," provides data on 18 different indicators of child and family well-being at the United States, Iowa, substate and county-level. The 18 indicators presented in the data book contain an expanse of data from economic,…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, per Section 162.1136 RSMo, conducts an annual study of the educational status of eligible blind/visually impaired students and reports the findings to the Missouri Legislature on December 1st each year. The information contained in this report pertains to the twelve data elements…

The "Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006" ("Perkins IV" or "Perkins") requires states to report to the Department of Education each year on their progress in achieving their adjusted performance levels--negotiated with and approved by the Department--on the core indicators of performance (core…

This report details the graduation rates for the class of 2003 for Montana High Schools. Sections include: Montana High School Completion and Graduation Rate Overview, and Montana High School Completion and Graduation Rates, 2002-03 School Year.