We use comprehensive data on student teaching placements from 14 teacher education programs (TEPs) in Washington State to explore the sorting of teacher candidates to the teachers who supervise their student teaching ("cooperating teachers") and the schools in which student teaching occurs. We find that, all else equal, teachers with…

Each year, roughly 30% of first-year students at US baccalaureate institutions do not return for their second year and billions of dollars are spent educating these students. Yet, little quantitative research has analyzed the causes and possible remedies for student attrition. What's more, most of the previous attempts to model attrition at…

In 2013, the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) set a 10 year plan for improving the educational attainment of Washington residents. The Roadmap included two educational attainment goals for 2023: (1) All adults in Washington, ages 25-44, will have a high school diploma or equivalent; and (2) At least 70 percent of Washington adults,…

We use data from six Washington State teacher education programs to investigate the relationship between teacher candidates' student teaching experiences and their later teaching effectiveness and probability of attrition. We find that teachers who student taught in schools with lower teacher turnover are less likely to leave the state's teaching…

The purpose of this study is to answer key questions about the structure of certificates and their function in employability and degree attainment in the Washington State Community and Technical College (CTC) System. Specifically, this study addresses the following: (1) Do certificates play a role in helping students progress along career pathways…

In 2015, legislation to improve access to dual-credit programs and to reduce disparities in access and completion--particularly for low income and underrepresented students--was enacted. The new law focused on expanding access to College in the High School but acknowledged issues in other dual-credit programs and reinforced the notion that cost…

This study compared the perceptions of Korean-national university students studying in Korea and in the US regarding global citizenship. The study sample consisted of two distinct groups: students who had received their education exclusively in Korea and students who were born in Korea but had studied in the US since secondary school. By applying…

This article relates the efforts of faculty at one community college to define standards for achievement of two SLOs (critical thinking and effective communication) and to gather and analyze evidence of how well students meet those standards. Faculty from 13 disciplines assessed writing samples from 265 students. We found that, in general,…

Online learning plays an important role in the state's education landscape. Both students and schools benefit from online courses by: (1) Allowing students to enroll in courses that are not available at their school; (2) Ensuring that students are able to earn credits needed for graduation; (3) Providing schools with a wide array of educational…

Radical acceleration from middle school to university is an unusual option in the United States. The Early Entrance Program and the University of Washington (UW) Academy for Young Scholars housed in the Halbert and Nancy Robinson Center for Young Scholars are two of only 21 early university entrance programs offered in the United States. Due to…

Results from the Volcanic Concept Survey (VCS) indicated that many undergraduates do not fully understand volcanic systems and plate tectonics. During the 2006 academic year, a ten-item conceptual survey was distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in Earth science courses at five U.S. colleges and universities. A trained team of graders…

Pressures to increase accountability in basic skills education have encouraged policy makers and postsecondary institutions to focus on student achievement. Using the Washington State Student Achievement Initiative Database and two consecutive years of data, this study examines the academic progress of basic skills students at one community…

The U.S. Constitution requires a national census once every 10 years. The census is a count of everyone (all ages, races, ethnic groups, both citizens and non-citizens) residing in the United States: in all 50 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa.…

This study uses administrative data from Washington State to chart the educational pathways of first-time community college students over seven years, with a focus on young, socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Of particular interest are the rates at which students enter a course of study (by passing multiple college-level courses within a…

Society is more and more interconnected and interdependent. This results in a plethora of complex social problems and thereby creates the need for individuals with strong decision-making skills. This quantitative study examined the relationship between undergraduate students' participation in academic service-learning and their levels of…