This paper documents the perceptions and experiences of faculty members in the midst of statewide reform efforts in Virginia and North Carolina to integrate developmental reading and writing courses. Using interview and focus group data from 161 faculty and administrators in both states (combined) as well as three detailed case studies of faculty…

This study addressed the effectiveness of the North Carolina Career and College Promise (NCCCP) program using Conley's (2010) framework for college readiness in determining and promoting college readiness for students participating in the program at a rural North Carolina community college. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used…

Early college high schools were developed as a partnership between school districts and colleges to provide students an opportunity to earn a high school diploma concurrently with an associate's degree or transferable college credit at little or no cost. In 2011, North Carolina New Schools implemented the Rural Innovative Initiative with the…

"The Condition of College and Career Readiness" looks at the progress of the 2016 ACT®-tested graduating class relative to college and career readiness. This state briefing begins with statistics in the following categories for North Carolina: performance, STEM, career readiness, impact, behaviors that impact access and opportunity,…

Middle Appalachia--defined in this report as the Appalachian portions of Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia--is an impoverished area that has been economically dependent on the coal industry for generations. Its schools face unique challenges in ensuring the college and career readiness of students, given that…

"Core to College: Preparing Students for College Readiness and Success" is a three-year initiative. The initiative's mission is to "facilitate greater coordination between K-12 and postsecondary education systems around implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and aligned assessments." Its aim is to foster…

A rigorous K-12 science education builds student knowledge in core scientific content and equips students to analyze problems, use evidence, and investigate solutions. The education requirements of careers across the economy are increasing and all students--regardless of whether they pursue science as a career--need greater proficiency in the…

The push for increased democratization of higher education in the United States coupled with the rising costs of college have led many institutions to turn to dual enrollment models as a means to increase access for students. Most states now allow qualifying high school students to take college courses free, or at a reduced rate, while still…

This report presents a multi-year study of how states are implementing their state college- and career-readiness standards. In this report, the Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) Benchmarking State Implementation of College- and Career-Readiness Standards project studied state efforts in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to foster effective…

This report provides a non-technical overview of the guiding research questions and research design for the ACT-led core research program conducted on behalf of the GEAR UP College and Career Readiness Evaluation Consortium (CCREC). The core research program is a longitudinal study of the effectiveness of 14 GEAR UP state grants on the academic…

The Common Core State Standards present the greatest opportunity in decades to improve the quality of education afforded to all students. Uniformly raising standards across the majority of states and increasing the rigor of assessments sets an ambitious bar of college and career readiness for all students. Furthermore, assessing students against…

Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill teamed up with UnidosUS to explore whether and how our debt-driven higher education system makes it difficult for students to finish a college program or degree. The quantitative research, gathered from more than 1,500 respondents from across the country, offers insight into the primary…

Over the past decade, SREB state policy-makers have focused on actions to reduce dropout rates and increase high school graduation rates. Some policy-makers have suggested that raising their state's compulsory attendance age (often called the dropout age) to require students to stay in school until age 17 or 18 is an important step. However,…

The Core to College initiative aims to facilitate greater coordination between K-12 and postsecondary education systems around implementation of the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments. Core to College grants have been awarded to teams in Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Oregon,…

In recent months, several states have altered their high school course requirements in various ways, from creating endorsements within a single diploma to creating new diplomas. These states appear to be making changes for a variety of reasons: to elevate career and technical education; to emphasize STEM fields; to improve the alignment with…