This study provides a first look at how student college- and career-readiness have progressed in the early years of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) implementation. It is motivated by concern that changes triggered by the standards transition might be disruptive to student learning in the short run, even when those changes may become…

English learner students are challenged by the difficult task of learning English concurrently with learning content in areas such as reading and math. English learner students who have not attained proficiency in English or learned core course content by the middle and upper grades may not have the requisite skills to enroll in courses required…

During a period when the school-age language-minority population grew, from 8.8 million in 1999 to 10.8 million in 2007 (U.S. Department of Education 2010, indicator 5), the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) tracked the educational experiences of a nationally representative sample of children who were in…

This report focuses on the extent to which students who are academically far off track in fourth or eighth grade in Arkansas catch up by eighth or eleventh and twelfth grades. We studied two recent cohorts of Arkansas students whose eighth-grade ACT Explore® scores were more than one standard deviation below the ACT Explore Benchmark scores…

This report focuses on the extent to which students who are academically far off track in fourth or eighth grade in Kentucky catch up by eighth or eleventh grade. We studied three recent cohorts of Kentucky students whose eighth-grade ACT Explore® scores were more than one standard deviation below the ACT Explore benchmark scores associated with…

This report uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) to describe the middle school experiences of the cohort. The ECLS-K followed the educational, socioemotional, and physical development of a nationally representative sample of kindergartners in public and private schools in the United States…

Since the mid-1960s, when illicit drug use burgeoned in the normal youth population, substance use by American young people has proven to be a rapidly changing phenomenon. Smoking, drinking, and illicit drug use are leading causes of morbidity and mortality, both during adolescence as well as later in life. How vigorously the nation responds to…

For more than 50 years, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has been conducting comparative studies of educational achievement in a number of curriculum areas, including mathematics and science. TIMSS 2011 represents the fifth cycle of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS),…

The National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) provides a wealth of information about factors that influence academic performance and social development of students. The focus of this content overview is the research issues addressed by the NELS:88 second followup in 1992. In 1988, by surveying nearly 25,000 eighth graders, their…

As part of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88), this study examined the schools attended by eighth-graders in 1988, the year during which the more than 25,000 eighth-graders of the cohort were first studied. NELS:88 provides information on 802 public schools, 105 Catholic schools, 68 other religious schools, and 60 private,…

Descriptive statistics and associated analysis on American eighth graders are presented based on data from the 1988 National Education Longitudinal Study. The study will be repeated with the same cohort at 2-year intervals. Study variables cover attitudes, school performance, and activities of the eighth-grade students. In addition to direct…

This report describes the growth in cognitive skills and achievement, and the continuities and discontinuities experienced in school and at home by the eighth-grade cohort of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) during the 2 years between the study's base year (1988) and the first-followup (1990) surveys. The report examines…

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), standardized test scores are the indicator used to hold schools and school districts accountable for student achievement. Each state is responsible for constructing an accountability system, attaching consequences--or stakes--for student performance. The theory of action implied by this…