Academic rigor has long been considered important for students' learning and development in higher education. However, findings about students' outcomes from previous studies of rigor are mixed, in part because of varying conceptions of what constitutes rigor. In quantitative research, rigor is often operationalized in one of two ways: through…

"Core to College: Preparing Students for College Readiness and Success" is a three-year initiative. The initiative's mission is to "facilitate greater coordination between K-12 and postsecondary education systems around implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and aligned assessments." Its aim is to foster…

Improving teacher preparation is critical to long-term improvement in teacher quality. More than 200,000 new teachers enter classrooms each year. Increasing student enrollment, the retirement of baby boom generation teachers, and high attrition in their first five years (between 40 and 50 percent of new teachers leave the profession) have…

Governors are increasingly aware that the emerging economy will provide few well-paying jobs for workers who have not earned a postsecondary degree or a relevant workforce certificate. Fifty years ago, nearly 80 percent of all jobs required only a high school diploma or less and most paid a good wage. Fast-forward to data from 2013 and that number…

As states are working to align their education systems with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in support of the goal of graduating all students ready for college, careers and life, academic and career and technical education (CTE) leaders at the state and local levels can and should maximize this opportunity to finally break down the silos…

This report provides information about the performance of Indiana 2016 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 2016. Beginning with the Graduating Class of 2013, all students whose scores are college reportable, both standard and…

Annually, ACT provides each state with "The Condition of College & Career Readiness," a report that details the college readiness of students who took the ACT[R] test. This report is a companion to "The Condition of College & Career Readiness." This paper traces the college enrollment, retention, re-enrollment, and…

The roads of incoming information to the US higher education system about the Bologna Process are varied and numerous. They include not only the on-line and traditional trade press, but also conferences of national organisations. Whether anyone remembers much of that information, on the other hand, is an open question, as a limited survey…

In May 2006 the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) released a groundbreaking study, "What Education Schools Aren't Teaching About Reading - and "What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning." The primary findings were disheartening: in a representative sampling of education schools in 35 states, only 15 percent of schools…

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 is…

This report provides information about the performance of Indiana's 2012 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 2012 and tested under standard time conditions. This report focuses on: (1) Performance: student test performance in the…

To ensure all students have every opportunity to succeed, Indiana adopted world-class academic standards in English-language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies and an assessment system to measure student progress. These standards clearly outline what students should know and be able to do in each subject, at each grade level. This…

Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…