Since 2001, U.S. states have mandated that principals in unsuccessful schools author a school improvement plan (SIP) using the rational model of planning. Research on their efficacy is sparse and evidence suggests that principals satisfice on these SIPs, producing work that is "good enough" to meet concerns for external legitimacy over…

The postsecondary transition has become more challenging for high school students in the United States. Secondary students in grades 9 through 12 are often in schools that focus on developing the skills for college but not on the skills to enter the workforce. Developing skills for the workforce has been associated with higher levels of…

The need for schools to produce graduates ready to meet increasing workforce demands and postsecondary admission requirements has called for more individualized career and academic planning with high school students. School counselors have a unique yet complex role in providing college and career guidance, monitoring, and opportunities. This study…

This paper argues for effective sequencing of mathematics content to aid transition from junior (Year 7 to Year 10) to senior mathematics (Year 11 to Year 12) curriculum in Queensland, Australia and provides a tool for sequencing the mathematics content. Planning templates and samples are available to schools; however, it is imperative for…

A large proportion of high schools across the country have adopted education and career planning requirements intended to help students prepare for postsecondary education and to facilitate successful transitions to the labor market. This study used student and counselor survey responses from a nationally representative longitudinal dataset to…

This Study Snapshot highlights key findings from a study that seeks to provide Arizona policymakers with national evidence about the education and career planning elements associated with students' college-going behaviors. This correlational study used nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 to examine the…

The "Education and Career Planning in High School: A National Study of School and Student Characteristics and College-Going Behaviors" study examined the relationships between students' participation in three core elements of education and career planning during high school and their application, course-taking, and enrollment behaviors…

The District has received the FY20 high school graduates' college matriculation data from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). The Department of Research & Evaluation (DRE) has performed a preliminary analysis of college enrollment for students who graduated from the District between FY16 and FY202, persistence rate for students who…

Improvement science is a framework which groups can use to identify problems within their sphere of influence, test agreed-upon solutions to those problems, and measure the degree to which those solutions have addressed the problems they intended to change. The pathway groups use to do this work is called Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycles, or PDSA. Much…

This study examined whether there were gendered patterns in STEM endorsement choice in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and how those patterns changed over time, in the wake of a policy change to guidance counseling. The first students required to choose high school endorsements were freshmen in 2014-2015 and graduated high school in…

Technology development is shifting teaching modality and online education has become a normal teaching mode. This shift informed teachers of changes in instructional planning. To help teachers better understand planning for online instruction, this study investigates Mid-Atlantic State Virtual Program K-12 teachers' online instructional planning…

There is a need for intervention programs that support teenagers' social and emotional development in American public schools. Education stakeholders have observed a disproportionate decline in social-emotional skills among minority and at-risk adolescents in low performing schools, increasing dropout rates and early exposure to the criminal…

Supply of students to 'the science pipeline' remains an important imperative for economic policy, and for individual life chances. In England, Science courses from age 14-16 have been divided into 'Double' and (extended) 'Triple' Science. This article draws on data from 6,053 students to investigate the effects of science course designation on…

In this article, we describe the conceptualization and development of the Secondary Transition Fidelity Assessment (STFA), a measure intended for use by high school leadership teams to examine secondary programs and practices demonstrated by research to lead to meaningful outcomes for secondary students with and without disabilities. We describe…

In this mixed-methods study, we explored perspectives of ensemble directors (N = 306) regarding standards-based instruction and circumstances impacting standards-based instruction in the areas of creating, performing, responding, and connecting. Our research was modeled on Byo's (1999) examination of teacher perceptions of the implementation of…