Students moving from high school to college in the United States typically confront a bewildering set of largely unstructured options. In the absence of clear signals about how to get the most out of college, they often choose pathways that involve limited academic rigor and engagement. In this article, Richard Arum describes a study that followed…

The authors, pioneers in detracking and in shrinking achievement gaps, pose a question: Is it possible to have all students in a large high school successfully complete a challenging curriculum that gives them practice in the habits and skills necessary for success in college? The answer, they say, "is a resounding yes." This article…

Summit San Jose is part of the Summit Public Schools network, a group of charter schools in California's Bay Area. In 2011, when Summit San Jose first opened its new high school with a cohort of 9th graders, the teachers decided to pilot Khan Academy. At the time, they had piloted their math resources and platform with five classrooms in Los…

Like all early college high schools, Clear Horizons Early College High School in Houston, Texas, tries to help its students earn a high school diploma and a two-year associate's degree simultaneously through taking dual credit courses while in high school. Although many of the school's students were successful, Clear Horizon's leaders realized…

Teachers and administrators at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, California, wanted to create a grading system that reflected understanding while still encouraging students to practice. They developed course competencies, or performance assessments, that teachers use to measure what students know and can do with the concepts…

What would happen if schools offered all students the same challenges and opportunities that some schools now offer only their "best" students? The Southern Regional Education Board addressed that question in 1987, when it developed the High Schools That Work Model. Blending challenging college-preparatory content with modern vocational and…

Defends comprehensive high schools against critics, past and present, who advocate specialized high schools or dual or tripartite systems separating college-bound from noncollege-bound students. Argues that comprehensive high schools promote social class integration and democratic values, and notes James B. Conant's role in supporting…

Describes and assesses six high school reform projects that concern the values underlying secondary schooling; changes in curriculum, instruction, and teacher preparation; preparation of students for college; communication among schools undergoing reform; the condition of secondary education today and proposed solutions to problems; and the…

Many students falter in college because of a gap between their high school experiences and the higher expectations they encounter in college courses. Research has found that college instructors often expect students to exercise higher-level thinking skills, such as interpreting and analyzing information, supporting arguments with evidence, and…

In Japan, after-school schools prepare students for admittance to "right" colleges. Japanese families spend about $240/month per child for supplementary instruction five days a week and half-days on Sunday. Cram-school teacher salaries range from abysmal to over $400,000 a year. Only few universities are considered first-rate by…

Unskilled and low-level jobs are rapidly disappearing, partly through technological advances. High school graduates are functionally illiterate. The college prep curriculum is too theoretical; the vocational curriculum is more relevant, but its watered-down academics attract less capable students. To enter today's competitive job market, students…

For years, College Board has been promoting and publicizing necessary pathways to postsecondary education. Even bolder step is EQUITY 2000--demanding program of prealgebra, algebra, and geometry designed to ensure minority students' success in vigorous high school mathematics programs. Pacesetter initiative aims to make high-standards curriculum,…