The rhetoric of the creative economy agenda has influenced the revised Ontario curriculum in the arts for grades 9-12. Yet, increasing rhetorical and substantive support for a creative economy agenda in Ontario at large is not sufficiently reflected in the revised Ontario arts curriculum. The expanded agenda is not matched by expanded substantive…

To be considered for admission to the University of California (UC) or the California State University (CSU) system, high school students must complete all a-g courses with grades of C or higher. The a-g course sequence includes 30 semesters of UC-approved college preparatory coursework in seven subject areas, and completion indicates a high level…

This brief describes an evaluation of the "Online Pathway to Graduation" (OPTG) program in Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools (MCPS) during the 2012-2013 school year. The OPTG program provides students who participate in an alternative learning opportunity to earn course credits and graduate from high school. The purposes of the…

The authors report the status of personal financial education in light of the recent economic crisis from the perspective of secondary school business teachers. Results showed that in the state of Kansas, 20% of the schools required a personal finance course prior to high school graduation, with 12% considering such a requirement. The recession…

Mathematics and science course graduation requirement (CGR) increases in the 1980s and 1990s might have had both intended and unintended consequences. Using logistic regression with Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data (n = 2,892,444), we modeled CGR exposure on (a) high school dropout, (b) beginning college, and (c) obtaining any…

ACTA [American Council of Trustees and Alumni] today released a report that examines the country's most prestigious liberal arts colleges. Despite endowments soaring as high as $1.8 billion, nearly all institutions increased tuition during the Great Recession to finance bloated administrative spending, with many college presidents enjoying…

In 2007, the State Board of Education conducted a study to determine what course credits students were "required" to take in order to graduate from high school. In 2008, the Board commissioned a transcript study by the BERC Group to determine what course credits students in the graduating class of 2008 were actually "taking".…

"The Vanishing West" traces the decline and near extinction of the Western Civilization history survey course in America's top colleges and universities from 1964 to 2010. This course, covering classical antiquity to the present, was once part of the undergraduate curriculum's intellectual bedrock, not only because it was often a graduation…

In 2007, the State Board of Education conducted a study to determine what course credits students were "required" to take in order to graduate from high school. In 2008, the Board commissioned a transcript study by the BERC Group to determine what course credits students in the graduating class of 2008 were actually "taking".…

The Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB's) case study series highlights best practices High Schools That Work (HSTW) network schools and districts are implementing to better prepare students for further studies and careers. Lee's Summit West (LSW) High School near Kansas City, Missouri, boasts of a 99 percent graduation rate; 93 percent of…

For several decades, policymakers have embraced the goal of preparing students for college and careers, particularly for careers in the area of mathematics and science. The recent emphasis on these STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects is due to the growth of STEM occupations and the perceived shortage of qualified…

As in most states, New York does not currently have a state-level protocol for collecting data about schools' objectives or methods for offering online courses. The goals of the study conducted by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands' Northeast Rural Districts Research Alliance (NRDRA) were (1) to create a survey tool capable…

This "Stated Briefly" report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report of the same name. The goal of the study conducted by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands' Northeast Rural Districts Research Alliance (NRDRA) was to provide information about how and why high schools in the Greater…

This study describes a typology that allows us to explore and analyze the career and technical education (CTE) credit-taking experience of all high school students, not just those traditionally considered CTE (or vocational) students. We argue that this new typology provides a better framework for understanding CTE than the more traditional…

A new national survey shows that better communication between high schools and parents is needed to address the disconnect between parents and students, faculty, and employers in perceptions of recent graduates' readiness for life after high school. Parents see significant room for improvement in the job their child's high school did conveying…