This paper examines the long-term impact of the 1993 Massachusetts Education Reform Act (MERA) and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) on postsecondary education outcomes, with a focus on historically underserved students. MERA aimed to improve educational standards and close achievement gaps through the introduction of MCAS,…

The PreACT® suite of assessments (PreACT® 8/9, PreACT®, and PreACT® Secure™) can be used to monitor students' progress toward college and career readiness. Scores are classified into one of three readiness levels based on chances of meeting the ACT College Readiness Benchmark. This data byte presents the updated score ranges for each readiness…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between motivation in high school and postsecondary enrollment among 10th-grade students whose parents did not go to college. Specifically, this study (1) identified distinct groups of students' self-reported reasons for attending schools among 10th graders, (2) examined whether these…

Based on the first cohort of students who took the PreACT® in 10th grade and the ACT® test in 11th grade, this study examines the effects of PreACT adoption on ACT test scores, participation in challenging high school courses, interest-major fit, and college score sending behavior. Adoption of the PreACT led to an increase in ACT Composite score…

We investigated the impacts of a peer-facilitated instructional intervention in mathematics on progress towards readiness for college among 10th graders who facilitated instruction for 9th graders in algebra classrooms in urban secondary schools. A goal of the intervention is to promote readiness for college by placing middle-performing students…

Juniorstudy is a concept of the University of Rostock, which can be used by school students before starting their time at the University. Thus, it is an instrument of supporting the choice of study direction. Moreover, we have been able to show in our last cohort, that using Juniorstudy courses also helps to significantly enhance the knowledge…

This executive summary report includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2019-2020 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic programs serving students in middle and high school and describes APIE support provided to teachers' instruction. As…

Early exposure to college and career readiness supports were offered to disadvantaged grade 10 and 11 high school students through the Launch Ignite Scholar Program. Ignite Scholars were encouraged to build a stronger foundation for college and career through participation in one-on-one advising, college and industry tours, and college and career…

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) Miles Ahead Scholars (MAS) Program was launched in October 2019 with a $22 million grant sponsored by Senator Boris Miles and funded through a Texas Education Agency Student Success Initiative (SSI) Community Engagement Grant. Scholars were mentored by men of color in the community who shared their…

States and districts have expressed interest in administering the ACT® to 10th-grade students. Given that the ACT was designed to be administered in the spring of 11th grade or fall of 12th grade, the appropriateness of this use should be evaluated. As such, the focus of this paper is to summarize empirical evidence evaluating the use of the ACT…

This is an executive summary of a full report that includes results for Austin Partners in Education (APIE) programs in 2018-2019 including math classroom coaching, GEAR UP tutoring, college readiness, and mentoring. It highlights continued academic support programs serving students in 8th grade math classroom coaching and 12th grade college…

Purpose: The purpose of this two-year study was to assess the impact of the CORE program, a model that integrates technology and active learning modules in high schools by providing multi-disciplinary teams of teachers and administrators with professional development and resources to support the development of students' non-cognitive skills and…

Community asset mapping is an approach that school counselors can use to locate resources to meet the needs of families, schools, and communities. This article provides step-by-step instructions on how school counselors might use community asset mapping to address the needs of their population(s), illustrated with an example of implementation in a…

The Global Graduate initiative was developed to help Houston Independent School District (HISD) students be successful in college and in the global workforce upon graduation. The program emphasizes six characteristics in its Global Graduate Profile: (1) A Leader; (2) Adaptable and Productive; (3) A College-Ready Learner; (4) A Critical Thinker;…

Despite its promise to help teachers meet the needs of diverse learners, district usage of Achieve3000® among most students with access to it remains far below the optimal level necessary for them to realize literacy growth and college and career readiness. Only a tiny minority of students (402 out of about 111,000) seem to be engaging Achieve3000…