College retention, persistence, and completion are key indicators of a successful institution, but six-year degree completion has remained stagnant in recent years (National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, 2022). Despite institutional efforts through success initiatives to keep students retained, one set of barriers to degree completion may…

The transition period of a student from middle school to high school is of critical importance because students who can successfully navigate the first-year physical, academic, and social pressures of high school have the greatest chances for successfully completing high school in four years (Allensworth & Easton, 2005). Students who cannot…

Summer school programs have been a part of national, state, and local education systems' instructional programming for decades. These programs exist in varying forms and rarely have a prescribed way in which they should be implemented. There is little to no research about teacher and administrator perceptions about these summer programs. The…

Literature shows that students who enter the science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical-related (STEMM) pipeline at earlier stages of their career are more likely to be successful. This is especially true for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students. Despite the increasing number of students entering the pipeline,…

The Florida College and Career Readiness Initiative (FCCRI) is a statewide policy that has required college readiness testing in 11th grade, and then participation in college readiness and success (CRS) courses in 12th grade for students who did not test as "college-ready." CNA Education is evaluating the FCCRI through a five-year grant…

This report discusses the findings from a three-year study of the California State University STEM Collaboratives project, funded by the Helmsley Charitable Trust. The project selected eight CSU campuses to rethink the ways in which they support first-generation, low-income, and underrepresented minority students in science, technology,…

Drawing on a larger study, this qualitative investigation explored the factors that African American and Latino high school students perceived as barriers to positive educational opportunities. Eighteen African American and Latino urban high school students comprised the sample. The findings indicated that perceived barriers to positive…

The cost of attending college has risen sharply over the last 40 years. Although more credit and grant aid have been made available to students, there are still major gaps between aid and the cost of attendance for many students in the United States, all of whom are left to figure out whether they can afford the remaining costs associated with…

The need is urgent for reducing literacy achievement gaps--both morally to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education as well as economically to build our nation's workforce with the requisite skills needed for the 21st century. Taken together, changes to the economy, divergent literacy skill distributions, and changes to the…

In classrooms across the country, when students hear the bell ring at 3 p.m., it signals the end of the school day and, for many, the start of an afternoon without supervision, without productive activities and without direction. Afterschool and summer learning programs are filling the invaluable role of providing essential services--such as a…

Standards-based reform is a strategy that includes specifying what is to be learned, devising tests to measure learning, and establishing consequences of performance for students and schools. Popular support remains strong for standards-based reform, according to national polling data as well as local data in the states implementing this strategy.…