Current persistence and completion rates have moved to the forefront in higher education nationwide. A new generation of Americans is on the rise: highly entrepreneurial, pluralistic, and determined to take charge of their own futures. There is a demand for colleges to provide more creative ways of serving and retaining students. Generation Z…

California's K-12 funding and instructional policies for English learners (ELs) have changed significantly over the past 2 decades. The major policy shifts held the potential to change student learning outcome patterns for ELs. As a first step in identifying the potential impacts of these policy shifts, this report describes changes over time in…

The current study investigated the challenges that undocumented and DACA recipient Latine students in Arkansas face and how they navigate their challenges. Furthermore, the study analyzed the ways in which the challenges and navigation methods influenced the student's sense of belonging and academic performance. The current study provides support…

This case study examined the connection of First-Year Seminars (FYS) and Performance Funding outcomes in the State of Florida. The comparison of Florida State performance metrics and the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of FYS on these metrics was conducted to determine which performance metrics, if any, can be indirectly supported by…

In the European academic systems, the public funding to single universities depends on many factors, which are periodically evaluated. One of such factors is the rate of success, that is, the rate of students that do complete their course of study. At many levels, therefore, there is an increasing interest in being able to predict the risk that a…

Charter and cyber charter schools were legislatively permitted to operate as publicly funded educational institutions in Pennsylvania with the passage of Act 22 of 1997. Examining the tuition payments from traditional school districts funding charter schools and resulting economic, operational, and programmatic impacts on traditional K-12…

Education is the bedrock of an informed democracy and the bridge to lifelong learning. To ensure that every Texan reaches their full potential, it's important that all families have access to high-quality education--regardless of their ZIP code. However, efforts to expand educational options for Texas families in the form of charter schools have…

Over the past two decades, education underwent a "big data" revolution as states began tracking individual student performance and interim assessments and educational software allowed for a greater granularity of data on students, teachers, and schools. Despite this plethora of new data, considerable gaps in data on early childhood…

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) ensures educational equity for multilingual learners through supporting school districts and charter schools to develop, implement and evaluate research-based language instruction education programs so that multilingual learners, including students with English learner status, attain academic language…

In the 2017/2018 academic year, the government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Education, began an educational reform policy codenamed the "Free Senior High School" (FSHS) policy to fully absorb the cost, increase enrolment, and improve the quality of education for all public senior high schools in Ghana. To accommodate more students…

Improving student achievement is a continual focus of educational and political leaders. The strategies used to impact student achievement are varied as are the results. The United States Department of Education provides grant funding to states and local educational agencies with the goal of impacting student achievement through the use of…

This dissertation includes three essays in the field of economics of education. The first essay estimates the effect of top school management on student achievement in America. I use newly-collected data on the tenures of school district superintendents--the highest-ranking executive in U.S. school districts--to estimate the impact of individual…

In 2016, Maryland adopted the Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today (BOOST) voucher program that helps pay K-12 private school expenses for low-income households. BOOST vouchers target low-income families. Funds are available to public school students as well as children in private schools and homeschools who qualify for free or…

This report is provided to the Education Interim Committee to report on the Educational Improvement Opportunities Outside of the Regular School Day Grant Program specified in Utah Code 53F-5-210. This program is also called the Program Quality Enhancement (PQE) grant program as it seeks to improve the quality of existing programs. This report…

The challenges associated with educating students with disabilities in charter schools in Connecticut are symptoms of two broader issues--the state's inequitable public education funding system and problematic ambiguity in the state charter law. Connecticut is a state of haves and have nots, and effectively advocating for more equitable funding…