This article documents the experiences of two American professors who have taught in China and describes the similarities and differences between their students at home and abroad. Brian Coppola, who taught organic chemistry at Peking University (PKU), observes how the strengths in science preparation that Chinese students achieve in their…

College completion is a priority for federal and state governments as well as policy makers and funders. Yet a major barrier exists for many students seeking college certificates or degrees. The barrier is that more than half of community college students and about one-quarter of students at four-year universities are not well prepared to succeed…

Postsecondary programs offering vocational training and college credit to eligible inmates have had difficulty finding a place in the U.S. correctional system. Politically motivated restrictions preventing inmates from receiving federal funds for college resulted in drastic program closures. Although new laws restored funding to select inmates,…

Recent "math wars" have drawn attention to how well various high school mathematics curricula prepare students for college-level mathematics. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the high school mathematics curricula and students' post-secondary mathematics placement recommendation, specifically how…

This paper begins by outlining the "education revolution" policy direction of the Australian federal government, and the ways in which it envisages meeting its goal of having a 40% of the population between 25 and 34 with a Bachelor's degree by 2025, and ensuring that 20% of tertiary students come form LSES backgrounds. This is…

Latinos' college enrollment rates, particularly in four-year institutions, have not kept pace with their population growth in the United States. Using three-level hierarchical generalized linear modeling, this study analyzes data from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) to examine the influence of high school and state contexts, in addition…

In education and workforce-training circles, a frequent mantra is that students must graduate from high school prepared for both college and work. This article reports that amid the calls for "college for all" and the clamor for more rigorous academics, the "work" part of that imperative may be muffled to the point that…

More than 200 early college high schools serving 50,000 students have opened across the United States since 2002--and they are achieving results. Eighty-six percent of early college graduates enroll in college immediately after high school, compared with two-thirds of high school graduates nationwide. Of the 3,000 early college graduates in 2009,…

The White House will soon unveil a final version of its "college scorecard"--an online tool giving college-bound students and their families a hype-free snapshot of reliable information about any U.S. campus: real costs, graduation rates, student debt statistics, and earning potential of graduates. The college scorecard is a good idea…

For many young people, early college high schools are opening the door to higher education and better-paying careers. The 230 early college schools serve more than 50,000 students in 28 states, targeting groups that are underrepresented in higher education. These students and the schools they attend are refuting the conventional wisdom that such…

"Perspective" is a monthly e-newsletter presenting news and views from Achieve. This month's issue commences with a report presenting the recommendations made by Achieve to the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor and Pensions) Committee for the improvement of the college and career readiness of all students. This issue also reports:…

Through this document, Lumina Foundation for Education offers a "Degree Qualifications Profile," a tool that can help transform U.S. higher education. A Degree Profile--or qualifications framework--illustrates clearly what students should be expected to know and be able to do once they earn their degrees--at any level. This Degree…

The number of linguistically and culturally diverse students has been rapidly increasing in the United States. English language learner (ELL) enrollment has increased more than 50 percent from 1995-1996 to 2005-2006, composing about 10 percent of the total number of Pre-K-12 enrollment. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that 40 percent of the…

From the moment students step into an Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) classroom, they notice the difference in the teacher's approach to the subject, in the attitude of their classmates, in the new way of thinking the curriculum requires. More than just a class, AP is a community of students and educators who are passionate, curious, and…

The federal government announced in late 2011 that as an alternative to waiting for Congress to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the U.S. Secretary of Education would consider requests from states to waive certain requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The opportunity to request waivers…