Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) is a federal program designed to promote postsecondary readiness and success among low-income students. Some evidence suggests that this program promotes college enrollment and persistence, but GEAR UP may include a wide variety of services, and it is unclear which ones…

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federal program designed to promote college access and success for students from low-income backgrounds. Although some literature has examined K-12 outcomes, little research has explored the extent to which GEAR UP achieves its intended postsecondary objectives. The…

This paper draws on data collected from two of the most extensive longitudinal studies of care leavers in the US. The Midwest Study (2003-2011) included 732 youths in foster care in three Midwestern states, and the CalYOUTH Study (2012-present) includes 727 youths in California foster care. The paper has three objectives: (1) describe trends in…

Community colleges across the country are plagued with tight budgets--caused in part by state disinvestment and chronic federal underfunding. For rural community colleges, these challenges are even more acute, as their needs are greater and the costs of providing services higher. The COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened the prosperity gap between…

Data and information are important components of school improvement. They show how schools are changing and how students are progressing. Providing and interpreting data is one of the critical functions of the Iowa Department of Education. The annual Condition of Education report provides valuable data about students, educators and school…

A study to obtain follow-up information on graduates from small Iowa school districts was conducted in 1988 to identify rural youth's "educational pathways" during the first 5 years after high school graduation. The sample of high school graduates was randomly drawn from 11 of 98 rural Iowa school districts with an enrollment fewer than…

Ranking 49th in total employment growth between 1978 and 1986, Iowa actually lost 0.48% of its workforce each year. Income fell 2.2% annually between 1978-86 (10% per annum in the farm industry) and unemployment rates doubled since the mid-1970s. This 1988 study describes the school-to-work transition of a sample of high school graduates, class of…