Change is a constant. At the same time, change can be hard for everyone involved. How do change leaders do it well? In this research study, I explored the planning and execution of state-level change initiatives within the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) strategic plan. I designed my study to identify and uncover the strategies change initiative…

Transitioning away from high school to postsecondary life can be a complicated process for any young person. This process can be made more difficult for students with disabilities if options are not put in place before they leave high school. This is where the transition process becomes an important development to help guide students with…

By 2030, most jobs will require some training beyond high school (a four-year degree, a two-year associate degree, or some type of industry credential). The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board established the 60x30TX Plan to focus collective attention on meeting this need. Progress has been made in the last decade, but COVID-19 has…

By 2030, most jobs will require some training beyond high school (a four-year degree, a two-year associate degree, or some type of industry credential). Too few Texas students are currently obtaining the necessary postsecondary credentials. In response to this challenge, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board established the 60x30TX Plan in…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) 2018 Annual Report is intended to shine light on the agency's commitment to ensuring that every one of the more than five million public school students in Texas is prepared for success in college, a career or the military. In the report, TEA shares success stories of schools who are meeting the needs of their…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) 2019 Annual Report focuses on areas of achievement based on the Agency's Strategic Priorities: (1) Recruit, Support, and Retain Teachers and Principals; (2) Build a Foundation of Reading and Math; (3) Connect High School to Career and College; and (4) Improve Low Performing Schools. A key highlight of TEA's…

Accurate, timely data on student outcomes and post-graduate earnings is a critical piece of any state effort to close equity gaps in college access and success, boost attainment statewide, and strategically align education and workforce goals. Unfortunately, in the absence of a federal student-level data network, states and other key stakeholders…

Increasingly, obtaining a job that pays family-sustaining wages means getting a college degree or other postsecondary credential. However, according to the 2021 U.S. Census, only 31.5 percent of Texans ages 25 and older have a bachelor's degree or higher. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB)--the highest authority in the state…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) 2017 Annual Report is intended to shine light on the agency's commitment to ensuring that every one of the more than five million public school students in Texas is prepared for success in college, a career or the military. In Texas public schools: (1) Graduation rates are at an all-time high and put Texas in…

California has long been a national and global leader in developing and maintaining quality higher education options, as well as in providing financial aid and consumer protections for Californians who access that education. However, although California's colleges and the state government do collect, receive, and report a great deal of data, these…

In this brief, we describe the distribution of college prep course offerings across Texas and determine which school characteristics are associated with higher and lower numbers of course offerings. We also examine how college prep course offerings are related to student-level college prep course-taking and, in turn, how course-taking behaviors…

Higher education improves the lives of Texans. This new higher education plan, 60x30TX, focuses on the common goal by striving for 60 percent of the 25- to 34-year-old Texas population to hold a certificate or degree by 2030. The plan seeks to increase student success through the combined expertise and resources of many stakeholders. Because of…

Students with intellectual disability are often served in community-based services to promote effective adult outcomes in employment, community inclusion, and independent living (Gaumer, Morningstar & Clark (2004). "Beyond High School" (Wehmeyer, Garner, Lawrence, Yeager, & Davis, 2006), a multi-stage model to promote student…

This report profiles the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Escalera Program: Taking Steps to Success, a Latino-serving, community-based youth workforce development program, which was developed in 2001 in partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation and PepsiCo, Inc. and expanded in 2008 with the support of Shell Oil Company. The Escalera Program:…

Curricular reform is an intense process. Broad-based reform--like that at the statewide level--takes on complexities that may not be easily predictable. Two states, Texas and Florida, with a large diversity of gifted populations, learn from each other as they experience creating curriculum standards for their gifted students. This article…