Research has largely been silent on English Learner (EL) persistence and completion in U.S. community colleges, yet studies conducted across higher education report that only one in eight ELs completes a bachelor's degree (Kanno & Cromley, 2013). Many interventions have been proposed to improve college student persistence and completion. This…

Impressions of admission officers toward homeschooled applicants were examined. Specifically, this study sought to ascertain whether the perceptions of admission officers adhered to the common stereotype that homeschoolers are brighter and yet socially less well-adjusted than average. The responses of 121 admission officers were analyzed across…

In January 2007, the Oregon State Board of Education mandated a new Oregon diploma that strengthened high school graduation requirements with the aim of improving student readiness for college and career. Among the major changes was a requirement that students demonstrate proficiency in nine "essential skills" that included the…

Although practitioners have been asked to make fundamental shifts in their beliefs about reaching all students, the structures of high schools to support that work have not changed appreciably. Teachers teach in isolation, departmental silos lack curricular and instructional coherence across core subject areas, and few teachers share students in…

Secondary schools have been focused on adding rigor to course work for all students in response to research indicating that high school graduates are not well-prepared for college or the workforce. Research shows a correlation between a demanding high school curriculum, particularly in mathematics and science, and postsecondary success. Success…

Using Astin's I-E-O model, relationships among the input (I) variables of gender, high school percentile rank, Tech Prep participation, and high school course-taking; environmental (E) variables of academic, career and technical education (CTE), and total dual credit and articulated credit; and output (O) variables of college readiness and total…

Despite many barriers, a group of Oregon educators began to discuss ideas about how they could provide information that would build skills to improve the entry and success rate for high school students with disabilities in postsecondary education. These educators included high school, community college, and university staff. The Postsecondary…

America's current systems of K-12 and higher education are based on the traditional view that only an elite group of students attends college. Today, the majority of students attend some form of postsecondary education after high school. These students encounter numerous challenges: many do not complete their programs of study, almost half the…

Describes Oregon's Proficiency-based Admission Standards System (PASS), a transition away from using Carnegie units and grade point averages in college admission decisions and toward use of the certificates of mastery implemented as part of Oregon's K-12 education reform efforts. (EV)