Workforce readiness and preparation for post-secondary education in the 21st century are critical graduation outcomes for high school students to thrive in the emerging multicultural global society. Equitable access to college coursework in high school and support for course completion and attainment of college credit varies among school districts…

Empirical evidence confirms that increased education is positively associated with higher earnings across a wide spectrum of fields and student demographics (Barrow & Rouse, 2005; Card, 2001; Carneiro, Heckman, & Vytlacil, 2011; Dadgar & Weiss, 2012; Dynarski, 2008; Jacobson & Mokher, 2009; Jepsen, Troske, & Coomes, 2009; Kane…

Nationally, community college graduation rates remain stubbornly low, despite strides made in access--and they are particularly so for low-income students, nontraditional students, and students who need to take developmental (remedial) courses. In 2014, three schools in Ohio--Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community…

Performance-based scholarships were developed to help tackle some of the financial obstacles facing students in the postsecondary education system. In general, these scholarships aim to help reduce the financial burdens of low-income college students, and are structured to help incentivize good academic progress. Performance-based scholarships…

Community colleges play a vital role in postsecondary education, enrolling more than one in every three postsecondary students. While their importance has grown over the past 50 years, their students' success rates remain low. Consequently, community college stakeholders are searching with mounting urgency for approaches that increase students'…

Performance-based scholarships have two main goals: (1) to give students more money for college; and (2) to provide incentives for academic progress. MDRC launched the Performance-Based Scholarship (PBS) Demonstration in 2008 to evaluate the effectiveness of these scholarships in a diverse set of states, institutions, and low-income student…

In 2006, the National Center for Postsecondary Research, of which is MDRC is a partner, launched a demonstration of one-semester learning community programs at six colleges; five of these programs focused on developmental education. This is the executive summary of the final report from the project and includes findings from analyses that pool…

Community colleges play a vital role in higher education, enrolling more than one in every three postsecondary students. While the market share of these institutions has grown over the past 50 years, students' success rates remain low. Consequently, community college stakeholders are searching with mounting urgency for strategies that increase…

Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, New York, is a leader in the learning community movement. The college has run learning communities for many years, and more than half of its incoming freshmen were enrolled in one as of 2010. This Brief summarizes findings from an evaluation of the same title of Kingsborough's "Career-Focused…

Serving 20,000 students annually, College Now is the nation's largest urban dual enrollment program and represents the primary programmatic partnership between The City University of New York (CUNY) and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE). College Now's mission is to promote college awareness and strengthen the academic preparation…

Community colleges offer a pathway to the middle class for low-income individuals. Although access to college has expanded, graduation rates at community colleges remain low, especially for students who need developmental (remedial) courses to build their math, reading, or writing skills. The City University of New York's (CUNY's) Accelerated…

Low-income students are at particular risk of not persisting to earn a certificate or degree, often because of competing priorities, financial pressures, and inadequate preparation for college. One form of financial assistance designed explicitly to reward students' academic success is a performance-based scholarship, paid contingent on attaining…

In 2006, the National Center for Postsecondary Research, of which is MDRC is a partner, launched a demonstration of one-semester learning community programs at six colleges; five of these programs focused on developmental education. This is the final report from the project and includes findings from analyses that pool data across these five…

A recent report on the impact of dual enrollment programs noted that "despite the popularity and growth of dual enrollment programs, little is known about their efficacy" (Karp, Calcagno, Hughes, Jeong, & Bailey, 2007). Furthermore, much of what is known tends to focus on "postsecondary"--full-time as opposed to part-time…

Dual enrollment programs are collaborative efforts between high schools and colleges, in which high school students are permitted to take college courses. These programs provide students with a challenging academic experience and the opportunity to earn college credit prior to high school graduation. Despite the popularity of dual enrollment, one…