A very different world is evolving at a breathtaking pace. America's future is headed toward an information-based economy in which new jobs require some postsecondary education. The nation is depending on community colleges to be the linchpin to produce an essential, highly skilled workforce. However, America is not close to meeting that…

By examining data from interviews with students in the Upward Bound program (a federally sponsored program that provides academic support to students at risk who are preparing for college entrance), this study seeks to strengthen an understanding of the role of trust among urban youth at risk in the educational organizations that serve them. This…

Teachers at Irvington High School in Fremont, California are looking for meaningful and relevant connections between what students are learning in the classroom and the job skills companies are looking for in the years to come. For Irvington, a Bay Area public high school serving about 2,000 students, that pursuit of a "logical link" led…

This fourth edition of the "ES Review" brings together, in one setting, some of the best work from 2009-10. It features: (1) Teacher Quality (Teachers at Work: Improving Teacher Quality Through School Design (Elena Silva); Understanding Teachers Contracts (Andrew J. Rotherham); How Teachers Unions Lost the Media (Richard Whitmire and…

For the graduating class of 2006, the average ACT score for all test takers in West Virginia was 20.6. While the rate is below the national average, scores have increased significantly for the second consecutive year. Research demonstrates that the best predictor of college success is a rigorous high school curriculum, and it is anticipated that…

This report organizes information from the forum in terms of how Oklahoma fares in building students' transitions, what challenges it faces in improving transitions and what actions it can take to improve students' high school to college and career transitions. On February 17, 2006, 33 Oklahoma state educational and policy leaders participated in…

The prevalence and severity of child and adolescent overweight (OW) in the United States have been documented, but little is known regarding the prevalence of OW and "Extent of Overweight" (EOW) in individual states or specific regions within states. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of OW and EOW in school-aged…

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes toward the use of telephone crisis services (hotlines) among 519 adolescents in 9th through 12th grade mandatory health courses in six high schools in New York State. Few adolescents (2.1%) used hotlines and negative attitudes were stronger toward hotlines than they were toward other formal…

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…

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2008 and 2009. Summary data for the district are also provided.…

Hispanic students value a college education. Among high school graduates, Hispanic students are second only to Asian students in attendance at colleges and universities. Richard Fry of the Pew Hispanic Center summarizes, "There can be no doubt that Latino families are willing to invest in their children?s education" (2002). Much of what accounts…

Projects based in the community give students the opportunity to engage in investigation as scientists and apply their work to make a difference at home. Community-based projects allow for easy implementation of high-end inquiry in the science classroom. When students become involved in research based in authentic community problems they gain a…

The High School Puente Project, one of several outreach efforts of the University of California, is an innovative program that is designed to assist traditionally underserved students. Puente builds on community and the idea of "familia" and features a strong component of professional developments for teachers as well as structural…

Dual enrollment programs allow high school students to enroll in community college courses while still attending high school. These programs are appealing to students since they can earn high school and college credits simultaneously and become accustomed to college-level coursework. The structure of dual enrollment programs varies by state and…

For the thirty-fifth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…