This report includes findings regarding demographic characteristics and academic outcomes of Twilight students; highlights emerging topics from the student, teacher, and staff surveys; and provides recommendations for future program implementation.

Colorado, like other states across the country, utilizes various strategies to provide students with opportunities to achieve college credit in high school and cultivate seamless P-20 pathways to increase credential completion. For example, Colorado students take rigorous courses in high school through the Advanced Placement (AP) and International…

Education reform in recent decades has focused on raising standards, pushing more students to reach them, and measuring the performance of all students. While test-score growth has lagged recently, upward progress on graduation rates has not, and record graduation rates have been offered as proof of progress. However, the fact that rising…

This brief provides a demographic snapshot of enrollment in the Continuation High Schools and district-operated Community Day Schools ("alternative schools") for youth over the age of 16 in the following Unified School Districts: (1) Long Beach; (2) Los Angeles; (3) Fresno; (4) Oakland; and (5) San Francisco. Unless otherwise noted,…

The United States is plagued by large disparities in life outcomes between racial and ethnic groups. Researchers have documented how gaps in outcomes are related to gaps in access to opportunity, both in education and otherwise. Yet, as documented in this report, too often state policymakers still fail to provide equitable learning opportunities…

Colorado, like other states across the country, utilizes various strategies to provide students with opportunities to achieve college credit in high school and cultivate seamless P-20 pathways to increase credential completion. For example, Colorado students take rigorous courses in high school through the Advanced Placement (AP) and International…

Colorado, like other states across the country, utilizes dual enrollment as a strategy to cultivate seamless P-20 pathways and increase credential completion. Dual enrollment programs provide high school students with the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses, simultaneously earning both high school and college credit, often at greatly…

In today's economy, graduating from high school is more important than ever. The economic consequences of dropping out of high school are more severe than in the past, with diminished job prospects and life-time earnings (Rouse, 2007). There are also substantial social costs associated with high school dropouts such as lower productivity and tax…

Expanding pathways from high school to higher education is essential for Colorado to reach its goals of increasing college completion rates, erasing attainment gaps and increasing high school student engagement. Colorado, like other states across the country, utilizes dual enrollment as a strategy to cultivate seamless P-20 pathways and increase…

Qualitative research has identified college choice organizational habitus (CCOH) as an important mediating mechanism through which high school socioeconomic composition influences students' college choice, perpetuating social reproduction and educational inequity. This study examines the mediation effects of 2 general forms of CCOH: normative…

The Iowa Department of Education collects information on joint enrollment from Iowa's 15 community colleges. Jointly enrolled students are high school students enrolled in community college credit coursework. Most jointly enrolled students enroll through Senior Year Plus programs such as Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) and concurrent…

In this brief, authors Marybeth Mattingly, Andrew Schaefer, and Douglas Gagnon explore challenges and opportunities for youth in Southwestern (SW) Minnesota. They analyze data on various demographic, economic, educational, and social indicators to gain a better understanding of the circumstances youth face and the opportunity available in SW…

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…

Research indicates that mathematics coursetaking is related to positive academic and economic outcomes. Studies have found that high school students who take more rather than fewer mathematics courses are more likely to attend college and to have higher levels of educational attainment. Research also suggests that high school students who complete…

The Iowa Department of Education collects information on joint enrollment in Iowa's 15 community colleges. Jointly enrolled students are high school students enrolled in community college credit coursework. Most jointly enrolled students enroll through Senior Year Plus (SYP) programs such as Postsecondary Enrollment Options (PSEO) and concurrent…