Reform efforts in America's public high schools over the last decade have focused on graduating all students and ensuring they are ready for college and careers. One way policy-makers have increased the rigor of the high school curriculum and bridged the readiness gap between high school and college is through accelerated learning…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Education Secretary Outlines Obama Education Agenda: In Appearance Before House Committee, Duncan Stresses Reform…

As governors confront the worst state fiscal environment in the past 25 years, long-term prospects for strong economic growth are hampered by an immense underlying problem: the high school dropout crisis. At least one student in five drops out of school, and nearly 5 million 18- to 24-year-olds lack a high school diploma. Annually, dropouts cost…

This report examines the issues associated with school-to-work programs being developed in the U.S. and provides recommendations designed to facilitate the process of developing a national school-to-work initiative. It stresses the nation's increasing need for better-educated workers but notes the low rate (less than 50 percent) of high school…

This paper is directed to policy and practice leaders interested in making urban secondary and postsecondary learning environments more widely available, especially to young people who have not been well-served by the large, impersonal high schools dominating most cities. Section 1, "Coming of Age in a Time of Economic and Demographic Change,"…

As part of the broader policy debate on how to reform K-12 education, particularly high schools, basic questions about career and technical education are on the table. "Remaking Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century" begins with a summary of what researchers know--and do not know--about the value of high school…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Senate Approves Budget Plan: Amendment Adds Funds for Education Programs; (2) The Hits Keep Coming: House…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Chance Favors the Prepared Mind": Report Finds that Students in the Highest-Achieving States Score As Well…

This document summarizes annual reports of two organizations providing specialized education, training, and work experience to targeted youth who have not been effectively served by the current education system in Minnesota. The City, Inc., in Minneapolis, and the Bi-County Community Action Council, Inc. (BI-CAP) in Bemidji, provided programs for…

A study was done of two Minnesota State "second chance" program options designed to help at-risk students to complete high school. The options are: (1) private urban alternative programs, administered by non-sectarian, community-based organizations principally serving teenagers from Minneapolis and St. Paul (Minnesota); and (2) the Area…

This book documents a year in the life of five adolescents preparing for college. The text examines the different pathways that brought these students to where they are: living in poverty, attending overcrowded schools, and the pressure to be the first in their families to attend college are just a few of the challenges these students must battle…

This study focuses on school system characteristics that affect the dropout rate in the Chicago public high schools. Although the primary variable for investigation is attendance rate, other school system variables examined include type of school, percentage of low-income students in a school, and the overall level of student ability for a school…

This report, a product of the Commission on Youth and America's Future, addresses the problem of the approximately 20 million 16- to 24-year-olds who are not likely to attend college. Although many youth without college education are successful, a large fraction are not and need help to succeed. However, the portrait of them as troubled and in…

This report draws heavily on the material already written about the programs and sites that were visited, as well as speakers at forums, presentations at roundtables, and summaries of discussion groups, available on the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) website. This report describes some of the common approaches, strategies, and policies that…

This document records the oral and written testimony from a 1999 Senate Committee hearing on "the forgotten half"--young people who do not continue their education past high school and, in many cases, do not finish high school. Witnesses testified that there is a great need for persons with technical skills to fill existing and projected…