The "2022 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report" is the 17th annual progress report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system. They are: (1) Increase the number of students who enter…

Brain drain--the movement of high school and college graduates out of state for employment--is a concern for state policymakers. This study focuses on brain drain of students who graduate from high school in Maryland. Using data from the Maryland Longitudinal Data System and applying propensity score matching to control for differences between the…

Rural youth are now graduating from high school at rates comparable to their peers in urban and suburban schools, however far fewer rural youth pursue postsecondary education. Using a comparative case study method, we explore postsecondary preparation efforts at three rural school districts. Each case represents a different classification of…

New England colleges and universities are often presented as a source of economic advantage in the New England states for providing a strong talent pool for regional employers. Yet, many state officials and others are questioning the efficacy of colleges and universities in serving regional labor market needs, as employers across New England are…

Rural areas in many parts of the U.S. experience population decline from outmigration. Geographic mobility has long been a contributing factor to the social and economic instability of rural communities; high-achieving and ambitious youth are inclined to leave rural areas to take advantage of the expansive economic opportunities and cultural and…

An extended body of research has documented the outmigration of the "best and brightest" youth from rural areas. Some of this scholarship has suggested that rural schools and educators may be complicit in this process as they devote extra attention and resources to the highest achieving students--those most likely to leave their rural…

Context: Research increasingly suggests that the high school diploma has lost its meaning as a symbol of life preparation. Having faced economic struggles earlier and longer than most regions of the United States, the "Rust Belt" region offers important lessons for the broader nation regarding how high schools might prepare youth for…

Purpose: By reviewing the related literature on the Jiaoshi Pinren Zhi (JPZ) system, this paper seeks to indicate that the implementation of JPZ not only has led to domestic brain drain and the imbalance of teachers' qualities between different areas and schools, but also has violated children's equal rights to education guaranteed by the…