The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. The accompanying report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. The report considers a range of achievement measures, including…

Some high school seniors who plan to attend college in the fall following graduation do not enroll. This phenomenon, known as summer melt, contributes to lower educational attainment, particularly among low-income students. We extend the literature on summer melt in two ways. First, we show that melt estimates can be sensitive to measurement…

Noncognitive constructs such as self-efficacy, social awareness, and academic engagement are widely acknowledged as critical components of human capital, but systematic data collection on such skills in school systems is complicated by conceptual ambiguities, measurement challenges and resource constraints. This study addresses this issue by…

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated educational inequities for students from institutionally marginalized communities. This article specifically examines the college (in)opportunities and conscious choices of rural Latinx students from California's San Joaquin Valley as they pursued higher education during the pandemic. This…

Although persisters now represent the largest group of non-graduating high school students, they have received little attention in the research literature, leaving unanswered the question of how persisters differ from dropouts in terms of demographic characteristics, academic preparation, and key life outcomes. Using statewide…

High school student participation in dual enrollment--a key strategy for increasing equitable access to postsecondary education and improving readiness for college--has been on the rise in California in recent years. Despite the overall increase in participation, however, large gaps between racial/ethnic subgroups persist. Also of concern, English…

This research brief summarizes student outcome findings from SRI International's evaluation of the California Linked Learning District Initiative, an effort to build robust district-level systems to sustain high school career pathways in nine school districts in the state. With funding from The James Irvine Foundation, SRI conducted a rigorous…

The California Community College (CCC) system serves a large student body, diverse in backgrounds, experiences, and educational goals. This report uses data from the CCC system's records to measure variation in achievement across the state's Strong Workforce Regions. We consider a range of achievement measures, including initial enrollments,…

Considerable research has examined the personal factors and practices associated with transition-age youth with disabilities achieving higher employment rates and greater self-sufficiency as adults, but there is limited evidence on the longer-term effectiveness of these practices and services. This study examines the role of youth's use of…

Since 2006, The James Irvine Foundation has invested more than $100 million in Linked Learning, a promising approach to transforming education in California. In 2009, the Foundation launched the California Linked Learning District Initiative ("the initiative") to demonstrate this approach in nine school districts. The multiyear…

Since 2006, The James Irvine Foundation has invested more than $100 million in Linked Learning, a promising approach to transforming education in California. In 2009, the Foundation launched the California Linked Learning District Initiative ("the initiative") to demonstrate this approach in nine school districts. The multiyear…

This dissertation includes three chapters focusing on policies directly related to improving college access and success. The first chapter focuses on lifetime eligibility of federal and state financial aid policies. The Pell Grant plays a critical role in helping students across the US to afford undergraduate education. In spite of its importance…