This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. The brief describes the emerging practice of direct admissions, including how the practice has been designed, what outcomes it has produced, and considerations for policymakers debating the implementation of a direct admissions program in their state…

To engage interests and connect with 21st-century learners, educators must be able to effectively use technologies in their classrooms. The problem this study addressed was the limited understanding that language arts educators in urban school districts have of effectively using technological tools while teaching digital literacy. The purpose of…

Discover a bold new vision for high school mathematics that empowers students through engaging, real-world learning. For decades, mathematics education has been guided by the visionary efforts of educators and leaders who recognized the importance of making math relevant, engaging, and accessible to all students. From the foundational principles…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Accelerating Students from High School to College and Careers: A Playbook for State Policymakers." College acceleration opportunities can set students up for success. But before this can happen, states need to thoughtfully advance college acceleration opportunities that prioritize quality,…

This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. This brief summarizes the research on dual enrollment programs--programs which allow high school students to enroll in college coursework through a partnering college or university--and offers policymakers a strategy to increase college enrollment and…

Financial aid opens the door to a college degree and makes higher education a real possibility for students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Student knowledge about financial aid availability and application processes, however, varies substantially by race, ethnicity, and income. Despite belonging to families with lower-than-average family…

This study examines the digital divide and socioeconomic disparities that hinder equitable access to quality education in modern schools. This study highlights how unequal access to technology and the internet disproportionately affects students from low-income families, exacerbating existing educational inequalities. This paper defines the…

Nationwide, public schools began to experience a youth population decline prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. After 14 years of successively smaller U.S. birth cohorts, elementary public schools now face gradually declining student counts. The complex convergence of shifting age demographics, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing…

There are deep and often institutionalized root causes for persistent equity gaps in postsecondary access and attainment in the United States. Many data sources, as well as the dozens of practitioners interviewed for this paper, affirm this. The majority of K-12 public school students are now students of color, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates…

The COVID-19 pandemic has been painful, and its long-term negative impacts on equitable educational outcomes will unfurl for years to come. However, in spite of the disruption of the pandemic, education leaders have an opportunity to re-imagine and rebuild systems to be equity-centered in ways they have never been before. Dual enrollment holds…

This book contributes extensively to a better understanding of how vocational education and training (VET) and practice-based learning and teaching is developed and designed. It presents examples of vocational education as an ongoing dialogue, continually refreshed through engagement between educators and learners, Maori, employers, industry, and…

The early college high school (ECHS) model is a postsecondary attainment strategy with a uniquely robust evidence base of research that demonstrates its effectiveness. Despite the proven track record of success, many states either do not offer ECHS opportunities or have a limited number of programs. However, two states -- North Carolina and Texas…

Employers in today's global economy value a range of postsecondary credentials--industry-valued credentials, postsecondary certificates, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees and advanced degrees-- because they can each signify whether an applicant has the skills employers need. While debates in the past have dwelled on college vs. career, today's…

This report describes the establishment of and delivery of Illinois Career and Technical Education (CTE), the existing condition of Illinois CTE based on fiscal year 2022 data, and the future developments and recommendations for CTE in our state as required by Illinois School Code 105 ILCS 435/2e. Further, this report provides an update on police…

This national study provides a comprehensive analysis of the instructions days lost due to out-of-school suspensions in 2015-16 for middle and high school students, for every state and district. The study also demonstrates how the frequent use of suspension contributes to stark inequities in the opportunity to learn, especially for those groups…