As an unprecedented number of colleges and universities close their doors forever while others struggle to survive, a deep pool of prospective students--and the key to accessing them--is hiding in plain sight. Students from rural America attend college at lower rates (59%) than their urban (62%) and suburban (67%) counterparts and comprise only…

Between 1994 and 2014, New York City engaged in a historic overhaul of its publicly funded high schools. This included the opening of charter high schools (made possible by a 1999 state law) and the creation of new, smaller district high schools that would, in time, replace many of the city's large, traditional, comprehensive, and vocational high…

By the end of the nineteenth century, the momentum for the idea of a more practical education better suited to life in a modern, technological world brought the first educational reform movements in the nation. Concurrent reform efforts at the state and national levels influenced both the historical development of Earth science education and the…

The "Study of Deeper Learning: Opportunities and Outcomes"--funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation--aimed to determine whether students attending high schools with a mature and at least moderately well implemented approach to promoting deeper learning actually experienced greater deeper learning opportunities and outcomes…

In the United States there are significant gaps in college-going between high-income and low-income students and between White students and African American and Latino/a students. A number of factors contribute to this persistent gap. Among these factors are the rising cost of college attendance and the complexity of the financial aid process. The…

In 1996, Cardinal John J. O'Connor, archbishop of New York, proposed to Rudy Crew, chancellor of the New York City public school system, that the city's most troubled public-school students be sent to Catholic schools, where he would see that they were given an education. New York City's mayor at that time, Rudolph Giuliani, a voucher supporter,…

One of the most wideranging reforms in public education in the last decade has been the reorganization of large comprehensive high schools into small schools with roughly 100 students per grade. We use assignment lotteries embedded in New York City's high school match to estimate the effects of attendance at a new small high school on student…

Military recruiting is thoroughly integrated in American public schools. Federal legislation mandates that every public school receiving federal funding open its doors to military recruiters in the same capacity as any postsecondary university or job organization, lest that school risk losing all federal funds. This investigation examines the…

Over the past 15 years, in New York City and across the country, expectations for high schools--and high school students--have changed dramatically. Increasingly, high schools are being asked not only to reduce dropout rates and boost graduation rates, but also to impart knowledge, skills, and experiences that will prepare students to succeed in…

Over the past 15 years, in New York City and across the country, expectations for high schools--and high school students--have changed dramatically. Increasingly, high schools are being asked not only to reduce dropout rates and boost graduation rates, but also to impart knowledge, skills, and experiences that will prepare students to succeed in…

Over the past 15 years, in New York City and across the country, expectations for high schools--and high school students--have changed dramatically. Increasingly, high schools are being asked not only to reduce dropout rates and boost graduation rates, but also to impart knowledge, skills, and experiences that will prepare students to succeed in…

Described is a 4-year model of a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP) offered to 294 academically and economically disadvantaged students and their parents during in- and out-of-school time activities through partnerships forged with school personnel and community-based agencies. In an urban high school where…

College readiness is becoming an increasingly important standard by which to measure school success and student achievement. While high school graduation and dropout prevention remain critical issues for educators, there is a substantial gap in outcomes between students who only earn a high school diploma and those who go on to obtain a college…

The shift in education reform to a goal of college and career readiness for all students is a change that has been embraced widely across the country. The challenge of designing new policies and programs that could accomplish the goal that all students should graduate from high school with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college…

High school career academies are a time-tested model for improving academic outcomes and preparing students for both college and careers. Career academies (1) are smaller learning communities taught by a team of interdisciplinary teachers, (2) provide a rigorous academic curriculum based on a career theme that demonstrates how knowledge is used…