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…

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 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…

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…

Annually, ACT provides a snapshot of the college and career readiness of ACT-tested high school graduates. This report is offered as a service to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness and how that translates into readiness. It is designed to stimulate discussion, inquiry, and action. This report for the…

High schools that enable educators to nurture the distinctive interests and talents of all groups of students can help more students stay in school and find the motivation to prepare for college and careers. By implementing six clear-cut ideas, or conditions, that evidence shows can lead more students to success, schools and communities can…

"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…

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education…

The "Measuring College and Career Readiness" report for each state represents a snapshot of the ACT-tested graduates in the class of 2009 and focuses on their readiness for college and careers. Designed to inform policymakers and practitioners about selected indicators of effectiveness, the report is not intended to be comprehensive but…

The purpose of a state report card is to provide the general public and policymakers with information to assess and improve post secondary education in each state. "Measuring Up 2008" is the fifth in a series of biennial report cards that evaluates states in six overall performance categories: (1) Preparation for post-secondary education…

This report provides information about the performance of 2009 graduating seniors who took the ACT as sophomores, juniors, or seniors; and self-reported at the time of testing that they were scheduled to graduate in 2009 and tested under standard time conditions. This report focuses on: (1) Performance: student test performance in the context of…