This study explored the relationship between high school sophomores' purpose orientations and their postsecondary completion a decade later by examining the data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002. Among four types of purpose (career, interpersonal, altruistic, and self-oriented), career and interpersonal purpose orientations were…

As students and educators head back for another pandemic-disrupted school year, the third and final edition of Quality Counts 2021 provides a broad perspective on the nation's K-12 system, with summative grades and scores for the U.S. and each state on a range of academic, financial, and socioeconomic indicators that underlie student achievement…

Graduating from college is a life-transforming achievement for young people with foster care backgrounds. Not only do the majority of adolescents in foster care aspire to finish college, but holding a degree has been associated with an increased likelihood of being employed and having higher earnings. Still, existing research estimates that fewer…

Latino students are enrolling in California's colleges and universities at record numbers; there has been a 91% increase since the 2000-2001 school year. However, Latinos still complete college at lower rates than their white counterparts and often under-enroll in community colleges. This brief examines the Latino population in California's…

Higher education regional accreditation presents problems for colleges and universities in the Southern states. Research on regional accreditation has focused on qualitative approaches to understand how institutions experience accreditation reviews or on quantitative methodologies to examine a single issue of accreditation compliance. However,…

Nearly half of students who enter college do not graduate. The majority of efforts to increase college completion have focused on supporting students before or soon after they enter college, yet many students drop out after making significant progress towards their degree. In this paper, we report results from a multi-year, large-scale…

This paper explores the factors contributing to high dropout rates in U.S. education, particularly in higher education, where 40% of students leave before completing their degrees. It examines causes such as financial difficulties, mental health issues, and lack of engagement, and discusses strategies to reduce dropouts. Key approaches include…

This descriptive study surveyed the perceptions of teachers, counselors, and administrators on issues pertaining to school services and academic and instructional challenges of English Learners (ELs) in NYC public high schools. This study attempted to identify factors that increase the dropout rate of high school English learners. In addition,…

The purpose of this retrospective analysis research study was to create a trend description of rural students' characteristics and outcomes of higher education in one state in the northeastern United States. An additional aim of the study was to determine the distance to campus for rural and non-rural students and the relationships between…

The Texas Education Code (§ 29.051) requires school districts to provide every language minority student with the opportunity to participate in either a bilingual or English as a second language (ESL) program. This evaluation report summarizes the performance of students who participated in the district's bilingual and ESL programs during the…

The purpose of this case study was to examine student experiences within an established guided pathways model program that integrated a system of student support to increase on-time graduation rates. Four research questions guided the investigation: (1) How did the participants describe the college's approach to helping students enter an academic…

This professional practice dissertation is an action research study that examined the impact alternative high school programs (AHSPs) have on the graduation rates of Black students who attend these programs. Data were gathered through the use of surveys, interviews, a focus group, and an expert panel that incorporated feedback from students,…

The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled during the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of our 58 community colleges. In 2010, a review process was established…

Due to its emphasis on academics and exclusion of athletic scholarships, the NCAA's Division III (DIII) is often praised by coaches, media, and higher education leaders for offering the purest form of collegiate athletics. However, the academics-first philosophy and higher graduation rates the NCAA celebrates for most of its sports are not…

Since the passing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 many works related to the ADA and how higher education programs comply with the ADA have been published. However, few studies have investigated the factors associated with educational completion for students with physical disabilities (SWPD) in physical therapist programs. The…