Colleges and universities across the United States are still enrolling students who are underprepared for college-level courses of study. Tinto (1998) stated at the Conference on Replacing Remediation in Higher Education: "Students are entering college with no more than a sixth-grade education in basic skills such as reading, writing, and…

This study identified motivating factors that address specific barriers to success for students attending Alabama community colleges. The motivating factors identified in the research included academic support/tutoring programs, faculty mentoring programs, involvement in campus life, and personal resilience. The barriers include the lack of…

"The Condition of College and Career Readiness" looks at the progress of the 2016 ACT®-tested graduating class relative to college and career readiness. This state briefing begins with statistics in the following categories for Alabama: performance, STEM, career readiness, impact, behaviors that impact access and opportunity, pipeline,…

Although the two-year curriculum guide includes coverage of all eight software engineering core topics, the computer science courses taught in Alabama community colleges limit student exposure to the programming, or coding, phase of the software development lifecycle and offer little experience in requirements analysis, design, testing, and…

This individual profile provides information on Alabama's college and career readiness assessment policy. Some of the categories presented include: (1) CCR assessment policy; (2) Purpose; (3) Major changes in CCR assessment policy since the 2009-10 school year for financial reasons; (4) State financial support for students to take the CCR…

National and regional trends mask important variation among states in the supply of high school graduates. This profile provides brief indicators for Alabama related to: current levels of educational attainment, projections of high school graduates into the future, and two common barriers to student access and success--insufficient academic…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the course design decisions and pedagogical practices of American literature teachers at three rural community colleges of varying size in North Alabama. Fink's (2003) Integrated Course Design (ICD) model provided a framework for this study, and the researcher attempted to determine if and to…

This report provides educators and policymakers with information they can use to celebrate their successes, understand their unique challenges, and set meaningful goals to increase opportunity for all students. It is important to note that while AP® Exams are valid measures of students' content mastery of college-level studies in specific academic…

This individual profile provides information on Alabama's college entrance exam standards and polices. Some of the categories presented include: (1) College entrance exam policy; (2) Purpose; (3) Major changes in college entrance exam policy since the 2009-10 school year for financial reasons; (4) Preparation state offers to students taking…

Pacesetting high schools, middle grades schools and technology centers have changed classroom and other practices to prepare students to meet postsecondary requirements and rising workplace needs. The strategies include raising expectations, project-based learning, guidance and advisement, improving students' reading and writing skills,…

To keep pace with accelerating technology and workplace expectations, high school and technology center students need access to high-level programs and courses that open the doors to further education and careers. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and nine states have launched a far-reaching program to provide rigorous and relevant…

Alabama is in the process of transitioning to new English language arts and mathematics standards that will better prepare students to be successful in college and their careers. Time, effort, and resources must be dedicated to effective implementation in order to realize the promise of these new common core state standards. This paper captures…

In 2009, Excelencia in Education launched the Ensuring America's Future initiative to inform, organize, and engage leaders in a tactical plan to increase Latino college completion. An executive summary of Latino College Completion in 50 states synthesizes information on 50 state factsheets and builds on the national benchmarking guide. Each…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Every step in a student's life is important for future success. Schools are building stronger frameworks of curricula, instruction and assessments to prepare students to move from one learning environment to another with maximum results as they journey toward adulthood. This issue of "High Schools That Work" contains examples of…