Preparing students for the 21st century learning standards has become paramount. Calls for reform in education and an emphasis on college and career readiness in the 21st century have been prescribed as key to providing proper instruction. The implementation of these skills often require changes to the traditional high school schedule. One…

Despite recent gains, Latinx students still lag behind other subgroups on measures of academic attainment. Explanations for this gap have ranged from pernicious deficit ideologies to deterministic frameworks which emphasize differences in human capital. While culturally responsive pedagogies are promising alternatives, there are few studies that…

This brief from the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, in consultation with the New York State Education Department, presents seven state case studies that illustrate the implementation of performance-based assessments. It contributes to the growing research on performance-based assessment, highlighting specific state-level policies that include…

In the United States, advances in information technology and globalization present new social and political terrain for citizens to navigate. Preparing well-rounded young adults who are ready to meet the demands of citizenship in the 21st century--thinking critically, communicating, collaborating, and creating--is an imperative function of…

New York State has long been a leader in educational reform, including initiating efforts to enhance civic education. For example, in 1985, concerns regarding the civic and economic literacy of the state's youth prompted the New York State Education Department (NYSED) to mandate a fourth credit in social studies education. This fourth credit…

Workforce readiness and preparation for post-secondary education in the 21st century are critical graduation outcomes for high school students to thrive in the emerging multicultural global society. Equitable access to college coursework in high school and support for course completion and attainment of college credit varies among school districts…

The purpose of this research was to discover what specific attitudes and behaviors first year students believed were necessary to transition to college by employing a qualitative lens. We chose to explore how students describe building their identities as college students, responding to the cultural shifts between high school and college, and…

Early college programs offer students a wide-ranging curriculum of high school and college course work, enabling students to graduate with a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit. This fact sheet examines one such program, Bard High School Early Colleges, and includes a series of questions state and district leaders can use to…

The problem that this study addressed is that current research has overlooked the potential transferability of needed 21st century skills from video game playing in middle and high school to success in college many years later among under-prepared college students. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the lived…

Transition curricula are courses, learning modules, or online tutorials typically developed jointly by secondary and postsecondary faculty and offered no later than 12th grade to students at risk of being placed into remedial math or English programs in college. Based on interviews and other data, this brief describes key elements of English…

Rural, economically disadvantaged communities face a bigger challenge than urban communities in recruiting and retaining high school (HS) students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) because many of these students do not have access to high-quality STEM opportunities. In this article, we describe a mentoring program we…

This paper outlines current trends, progress, and possibilities for fostering more authentic ways to assess students' competencies and mastery of skills needed for college, work, and civic life in the 21st century. It provides an introduction to performance assessments and their value. The authors highlight efforts to develop such assessments in…

The report on which this brief is based describes performance assessments and their value for guiding and evaluating high school students' learning, as well as informing colleges and universities about what students know and can do. It explores state and local policies that support the use of such assessments, along with emerging higher education…

The past few years have seen a persistent and consistent focus on Career Technical Education (CTE), including a particular focus on graduation requirements. This brief from Advance CTE highlights a few ways in which states are exploring embedding and elevating CTE programs, assessments and experiences within their statewide graduation…

This multiple case study examines practices of educators in high schools called "odds-beaters". These schools are exemplary in that they consistently achieve better-than-predicted graduation outcomes among economically disadvantaged, African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and English language learners. Findings from this study revealed…