Automatic admissions policies (AAPs, "percent plans") redistribute college-going opportunities across segregated high schools to diversify college enrollments, increasing opportunities at predominantly minority high schools. If students "game" AAPs by attending schools with increased opportunities, AAPs could alter racial…

Schools of choice need to provide equitable access and opportunities to all students, including students with disabilities and emergent bilinguals. In the context of Early College High Schools, principals and school districts should be partners in ensuring admissions processes are non-discriminatory. In this fictional case, a new principal in a…

While there is interest in pathways-aligned high school math reform among secondary education stakeholders, change in high school math depends a great deal on policies, practices, and norms at the higher education level. This report focuses on the role of higher education in influencing (encouraging or deterring) secondary education math reform.…

All but four states in the nation now permit teachers to come into the profession through an "alternate route," compared to only a few 30 years ago. Alternate routes into the classroom have grown so acceptable that about one in five teachers now enters the profession through one of these programs, which offer some real benefits to the…

To support the nation's college completion goals, early college high school (ECHS) reform creates opportunities for interested students to earn up to two years of free college credit during high school. ECHSs also have an equity objective: to target and enroll students who are historically underrepresented and/or might not otherwise go to college.…

This paper studies the effects of guaranteed college admission on student effort and achievement. In 1997, Texas enacted the "Top Ten Percent" law, which guarantees admission to any public college for students in the top ten percent of their high school class. In practice, eligible students become aware of their admission status at the…

This study describes a strategic planning process used for developing an educational leadership program that prepares principals for leading 21st century schools. The plan is based on recommendations received from the External reviewers representing Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Texas Education Agency, survey responses received…

To successfully participate in today's global economy, young people must graduate high school with the skills and competencies that allow them to pursue further study and meaningful work. Yet the data around successful transition from high school to higher education, and then to the completion of a degree, show some alarming trends. In 2007, 70.5%…

We investigate the efficacy and equity of college admissions criteria by estimating the effect of multiple measures of college readiness on college performance in the context of race-blind automatic admissions policies. We take advantage of a unique institutional feature of the Texas higher education system to control for selection into…

The Texas Ten Percent Plan (TTP) provides students in the top 10 percent of their high-school class with automatic admission to any public university in the state, including the two flagship schools, the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M. Texas created the policy in 1997 after a federal appellate court ruled that the state's previous…

The purpose of this Modified Delphi study was to discern the appropriate profile of an incoming freshman and the essential knowledge and skills freshmen need for academic success beyond high school. This study was conducted to examine the specific problem that the structure of public high school curriculum and the current college standards in the…

This paper investigates the impact of Texas's Top Ten Percent Rule--which grants automatic entry to any public college in Texas for Texas high school graduates who graduate in the top decile--and subsequent targeted recruitment programs initiated by Texas's flagship universities. Using data on SAT test-takers in Texas from 1996 to 2004, we find…

The purpose of this research was to determine whether particular biographic and academic characteristics would predict whether an applicant would matriculate into and successfully complete an online secondary teacher certification program for Texas public schools. Extensive biographic data on applicants were compiled into a program data base…

This report provides an in-depth look at five different programs, all of which currently, or are making efforts to, include a broad range of students. The five Credit-Based Transition Programs (CBTPs) studied are located in five states--California, Iowa, Minnesota, New York and Texas--and included two dual enrollment programs (one with a career…

This report examines the ways that credit-based transition programs (CBTPs) may help middle- and low-achieving students enter and succeed in college. It highlights promising practices used by CBTPs to help students who might have been considered noncollege-bound prepare for college credit course work. The report also discusses the challenges that…