In this follow-up to her bestselling book, "Why Our Schools Need the Arts", Jessica Hoffmann Davis addresses the alarming drop-out rate in our high schools and presents a thoughtful, evidence-based argument that increasing arts education in the high school curriculum will keep kids in school. Davis shares compelling voices of teachers and their…

More than half of 9th graders in the United States will never complete a college degree. High schools must do more than prepare some students for college: They must prepare all American youth for productive lives as well as continued learning beyond high school. In this timely volume, two educational leaders advocate for a more meaningful high…

High school graduation and dropout rates have long been used as indicators of educational system productivity and effectiveness and of social and economic well being. While determining these rates may seem like a straightforward task, their calculation is in fact quite complicated. How does one count a student who leaves a regular high school but…

This book unveils "essential measures" that create a revitalized educational system of which educators and parents can use to promote student success. When these measures are applied properly, the benefits include, eradicating student fear, elevating student motivation, improving school attendance, and reducing student dropout rates. These…

The phrase "data-based decision making" has been used so often in discussions about school improvement efforts that it has become almost a mantra. However, it's "how" data is used that really provides the critical link between practice and school improvement. "Data-Based Decision Making 2.0" is designed to help principals take on the role of…

Even as the number of students attending college has more than doubled in the past forty years, it is still the case that nearly half of all college students in the United States will not complete their degree within six years. It is clear that much remains to be done toward improving student success. For more than twenty years, Vincent Tinto's…

It's up to school leaders to shift the momentum away from conversations based on misperceptions and toward those that study critical issues about school improvement. "Crucial Conversations About America's Schools" talks about how to do this and provides examples of how to reframe conversations on the hot-button but important topics of…

This book collects articles that examine the patterns of dropping out evident among American youth, and the policies developed and implemented to reduce the incidence of dropping out. The following chapters (and their authors) are included: (1) Introduction (G. Natriello); (2) Can We Help Dropouts? Thinking about the Undoable (D. Mann); (3) Large…

This report, which is the eighth in a series, presents data for 1995 on high school dropout and retention rates, and examines high school completion and graduation rates. In addition to extending time series data from earlier reports, this report focuses on three specific subpopulations that are at particular risk of dropping out of school: (1)…

This Kids Count report details statewide trends in the well-being of Vermont's children. The statistical portrait is based on 30 indicators of well-being: (1) population; (2) racial and ethnic diversity; (3) median family income; (4) working mothers; (5) single-parent families; (6) child poverty; (7) children receiving ANFC; (8) children receiving…

This comprehensive report on Texas schools indicates that more than 80 percent of students pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TASS) test, and students continue to show impressive gains on math and reading tests. Chapter 1, "Student Performance," provides data on student performance on the Spring 2000 Texas Assessment of…

Across OECD countries, governments are seeking policies to make education more effective while searching for additional resources to meet the increasing demand for education. The 2008 edition of "Education at a Glance: OECD Indicators" enables countries to see themselves in the light of other countries' performance. It provides a rich,…

"Education Indicators" are facts and statistics that help to describe a public education system. They are tools which are useful in examining and measuring the effectiveness of the system. Examples include information such as the amount of local funds raised to support local schools, per pupil expenditures, pupil-teacher ratios, and…