This study of advanced-level high school courses that offer credit toward both a high school diploma and a college degree in Florida compares one such program (dual enrollment) with others, describing the number and characteristics of grade 11 and 12 students enrolled overall and by district. It also examines dual enrollment partnerships between…

This study investigated the dual enrollment outcomes associated with a 2005 policy change intended to expand dual enrollment participation in Virginia. Results indicated that overall access to and participation in dual enrollment courses increased following the policy change. However, data showed this increase was not uniform, and minority groups…

High school feedback reports let school and district leaders know where their students go after graduation and how well they are prepared for college and beyond. This roadmap discusses the seven key focus areas the Data Quality Campaign (DQC) recommends states work on to ensure quality implementation of high school feedback reports.

The purpose of the report is to give a review of public education and depict how the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) and West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) are addressing the needs of students as they prepare to enter college or the workforce. The report highlights successes achieved during the 2017-2018 school year through the…

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP), created in the field of international schools in the late 1960s, has made considerable in-roads into publicly-funded schooling in many educational jurisdictions of the Anglo-West. Although the IBDP did not enter into the Ontario public system until 1991, there are now forty-four (and growing)…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of selected Advanced Placement (AP) programs on the academic performance and college readiness of high school students. Specifically, the researcher was concerned with ascertaining the effectiveness of social science, math, science, English, music/art and language AP programs on the…

This quantitative study examined the impact that Advanced Placement (AP) coursework had on students attending college with specific emphasis on those who failed the exam. The study comprised four years of entering freshmen students between the academic years 2006-2009. The study was comprehensive in that it revealed all AP attempts regardless of…

This cross-sectional study determined whether students who take part in academically challenging high school curricula experience elevated levels of stress and whether this stress co-occurs with psychological and/or academic problems. Data from self-report questionnaires and school records were collected from 480 students from four high schools.…

Apex Learning is the largest provider of secondary digital curriculum in Houston Independent School District (HISD). Introduced in January 2010 through Graduation Laboratories (Grad Labs) located at each high school, the program has grown from providing seniors with opportunities to recover credits required for graduation to providing secondary…

Our 31st annual report analyzing data from southeast Wisconsin's public school districts finds that while 68 of the 92 school districts are exceeding or significantly exceeding expectations on our new state report cards, there are large achievement gaps across the region on state assessments for low-income students and students of color. Key…

Our 32nd annual report analyzing data from southeast Wisconsin's public school districts finds progress on some college readiness indicators and largely positive showings on district report cards. Those results are offset, however, by discouraging results on standardized tests and continued substantial achievement gaps between students of…

In the fall of 2008, the authors contacted a representative sample of over 3,600 high schools in the U.S., both public and private, to determine whether or not physics was taught there. The authors received responses from over 99% of the schools. For the schools which indicated they were offering physics, they obtained contact information for the…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of M-DCPS students participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) and Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) programs. Outcome data are provided for the eight M-DCPS schools offering the two programs and corresponding examinations. Participation in international…

This article examines the factors that determine a high school's probability of offering Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The likelihood that a school offers advanced courses, and the number of sections that it offers, is largely driven by having a critical mass of students who enter high school with…

The continuing emphasis by Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS) on rigorous course taking resulted in MCPS students taking a record-setting 33,662 Advanced Placement (AP) exams in 2014. Additionally, the percentage of AP exams taken by MCPS students who attained scores of 3 or higher (73.9 percent) was 13.0 and 16.7 percentage points…