The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. The topics for this report on national and state-level high school graduation rates for English learners include: (1) National High School Graduation Rates, by Race and Ethnicity: SY 2015-16; (2)…

This paper argues for a radical restructuring of education for grades 11-14--by erasing the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college--to open opportunities for the learners the current systems leave behind. The authors make the case for an entirely new type of institution--neither high school nor college--designed specifically to…

"Projections of Education Statistics to 2026" is the 45th report in a series begun in 1964. It includes statistics on elementary and secondary schools and degree-granting postsecondary institutions. This report provides revisions of projections shown in "Projections of Education Statistics to 2025" and projections of…

In this article, Ajay Chaudry and Heather Sandstrom review research on child care and early education for children under age three. They describe the array of early care and education arrangements families use for infants and toddlers; how these patterns have changed in recent decades; and differences by family socioeconomic status, race, and…

This article shows that the traditional narrative of Black-White high school graduation gaps is inverted among economically disadvantaged female students. Two nationally representative surveys and statewide administrative data demonstrate that low-income White females graduate at rates 5 to 6 percentage points lower than Black peers despite having…

Higher education is increasingly important for individual wellbeing, the economic competitiveness of Washington state, and the state's recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. However, postsecondary enrollment trends have not kept pace with the state's changing economic needs and expanded financial aid programs. Issues with stagnant direct enrollment…

Math proficiency is a strong predictor of postsecondary attainment, yet cross-national comparative assessments show that U.S. students consistently score below many of their peers, especially those in East Asia. Similar math achievement disparities exist across ethnic/racial groups within the U.S., where Asian American students routinely…

This study uses National Postsecondary Student Aid Study of 2012 data to examine disparities in graduate students' borrowing tendency. Results show Black and Hispanic students, students in education, humanities, and social sciences, and students of parents with lower education level are more likely to borrow for graduate education, even after…

"The Status of Women in North Carolina: Health & Wellness" is the second in a series of four publications on women's status in North Carolina. Good health, access to health services, and the ability to live in a safe environment are critical to the economic security and overall well-being of North Carolina women. While poor health…

This study compares the relationship between official crime rates in census tracts and resident perceptions of crime. Using a unique data set that links household-level data from the American Housing Survey metro samples over 25 years (1976-1999) with official crime rate data for census tracts in selected cities during selected years, this study…

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international assessment of student performance in reading literacy at the fourth grade. PIRLS measures students in the fourth year of formal schooling because this is typically when students' learning transitions from a focus on "learning to read" to a focus on…

Private schools have a long and important tradition in U.S. education and have been the focus of a great deal of political controversy in recent years. There is deep division among Americans over the desirability of using public funds to finance vouchers for private education--an issue that has become the leading educational goal of the Trump…

Crude and dangerous ideas about the genetic heritability of intelligence, and a supposed biological basis for the Black/White achievement gap, are alive and well inside the education policy process but taking new and more subtle forms. Drawing on Critical Race Theory, the paper analyses recent hereditarian writing, in the UK and the USA, and…

This study assesses the relationships across racial and ethnic self-identifications, gender, and college attainment within the Latino group. With the use of data from the basic Current Population Survey (2010-2012), the results indicate that college attainment varies within the Latino sample by racial and ethnic self-identifications even after…

This Brown Center Report (BCR) on American Education is the sixth and final edition in the third volume and the 16th issue overall. The series began in 2000. As in the past, the report comprises three studies. Also in keeping with tradition, the first section features recent results from state, national, or international assessments; the second…