While most community colleges admit all students who apply for admission, the vast majority have required students to demonstrate specified levels of literacy and numeracy before they can take college-level courses. Typically, students have been assessed using a single placement test, such as the College Board's ACCUPLACER. Colleges--or sometimes…

Racial disparities are evident across Washington's K-12 education system. This report provides an analysis of Washington K-12 education data and reveals that there are consistent opportunity gaps for students of color. The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need to address racial disparities as communities of color have faced disproportionate…

This report is in response to the requirement of RCW 28A.150.550 that the State Board of Education, with assistance from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTECB), the Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee (EOGOAC), and the Washington…

This article describes Washington State's Student Achievement Initiative, an accountability system implemented in 2005-06 that measures students' gains in college readiness, college credits earned, and degree or certificate completion. The goal of the initiative is to increase educational attainment by focusing on the critical momentum points…

This report provides information about the performance of 2010 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 2010 and tested under standard time conditions. This report focuses on: (1) Performance: student test performance in the context of…

Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC) researchers visited 38 public high schools around the United States in 2007 and 2008 with the goal of validating and operationalizing a definition of college readiness. Schools in the sample were selected because they were demonstrating success at enabling more students from underrepresented groups to…

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…

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…

This document brings together much of the information one might need to understand and discuss higher education issues. While this publication does not attempt to answer every question that may come up in discussions about higher education, it highlights the most often-asked questions about institutions, faculty, students, costs, budgets,…