This Equity Alert discusses why goal setting matters for improving how colleges serve students of color and low-income students, and it shares guiding principles advocates can use to help ensure each college's goals: (1) are accessible and transparent to all stakeholders; (2) focus on closing equity gaps; (3) have engaged their community and…

In this exploratory mixed methods survey study, we assess preservice teachers' (n=379) experiences with and beliefs about their high-stakes testing experiences and analyze how they relate to their beliefs about the role and efficacy of high-stakes testing in education and their future profession. Using Likert, vignette, and open-ended response…

The COVID-19 pandemic (in conjunction with the Black Lives Matter Movement) exposed pervasive inequities, challenges, and opportunities to explore and implement "best" pedagogical practices to improve how we address social justice issues. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic intensified intergenerational gaps for the already vulnerable,…

In an era of increased accountability for colleges and concerns about an affordable education, it is useful to understand whether students can adequately manage the debt burden they hold after leaving higher education. In 2015, Texas called for cumulative undergraduate debt to be 60% or less of public institution graduates' first-year earnings by…

This document is the latest Grantmakers for Education's (EdFunders) study of what's now and what's next for education philanthropy. It aims to give insight into the priorities of the education funding community, and to help funders understand their role in supporting education innovation that benefits the nation's learners. The findings in this…

During the last three decades, a tremendous increase has occurred across several dimensions of diversity among student populations. While diversity and equity goals have remained systemic priorities, efforts have only led to relatively small gains in student success outcomes and proportional faculty representation in California's community…

The Performance Measures for Student Success Report is the North Carolina Community College System's major accountability document. This annual performance report is based on data compiled during the previous year and serves to inform colleges and the public on the performance of their 58 community colleges. In 1993, the State Board of Community…

The Center for American Progress proposes Beyond Tuition, a sweeping vision for restoring the promise of affordable, high-quality postsecondary education for all and for reducing the burden of student debt. This plan will make college affordable for families from all walks of life, while emphasizing the need to overcome widespread inequity in…

In the past few years, there has been a surge of interest in expanding the scope of high schools. Shifting away from an earlier era that focused primarily on graduation rates and achievement tests, states have built a range of college- and career-readiness measures to track things like whether students are taking and passing advanced courses,…

This paper argues for a radical restructuring of education for grades 11-14--by erasing the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college--to open opportunities for the learners the current systems leave behind. The authors make the case for an entirely new type of institution--neither high school nor college--designed specifically to…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Keeping the Public in Public Education." Contents include: (1) Texas Must…

The policy agenda provides a robust and compressive vision for Latino success in higher education; it outlines recommendations for how to make high-quality colleges and universities more affordable, increase access to financial aid, increase degree attainment, improve degree quality, and much more. The state of higher education today fails to…

This is the executive summary for the report, "Opening Doors: Strategies for Advancing Racial Diversity in Wisconsin's Teacher Workforce." The report is the second of a pair of Wisconsin Policy Forum reports that address the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in Wisconsin's teacher workforce. The impetus for this research is both…

Scientific thinking and understanding are essential for all people navigating the world, not just for scientists and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals. Knowledge of science and the practice of scientific thinking are essential components of a fully functioning democracy. Science is also crucial for the…

Since 1998, the Iowa Department of Education's Division of Community Colleges and Workforce Preparation (division) has compiled and published "The Annual Condition of Iowa's Community Colleges," commonly known as the "Condition Report." The intent of this report is to provide clear, objective data about Iowa's community…