Background/Context: Taking even one Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), dual enrollment, or other college-preparatory course is positively associated with student outcomes including test scores; high school graduation; and college matriculation, major choice, and completion (Adelman, 2006; An & Taylor, 2019; Author,…

We provide theory and evidence about how the design of college financial aid programs affects a variety of high school, college, and life outcomes. The evidence comes from an eight-year randomized trial where 2,587 high school ninth graders received a $12,000 merit-based grant offer. During high school, the program increased their college…

Baccalaureate degree completion is essential for future development as a nation. Latinxs are the largest minority group in the country and by 2050 nearly one out of every three individuals will be of Latinx descent. While Latinx enrollment may increase, the proportion completing college is not comparable. This study explored the pre-college…

As of 2014, 24 states require students to pass exit exams to graduate from high school. In California, all high school students are required to pass the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE) to earn a diploma. Failure to pass the CAHSEE is linked with school dropout, which is associated with many deleterious outcomes and…

This report presents selected findings from the second follow-up of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). HSLS:09 follows a nationally representative sample of students who were ninth-graders in fall 2009 from the beginning of high school into higher education and the workforce. Key research topics for HSLS:09 include secondary to…

This report, the latest in a series of studies by the Center for an Urban Future examining opportunities to expand economic mobility in New York City, takes an in-depth look at college readiness and success among the city's public high school students. It explores opportunities to dramatically boost the rate at which New York City's students enter…

Dual enrollment in high school is viewed by many as one mechanism for widening college admission and completion of low-income students. However, little evidence demonstrates that these students discretely benefit from dual enrollment and whether these programs narrow attainment gaps vis-a-vis students from middle-class or affluent family…

Hispanic students make up 12% of the enrollment in Utah elementary and secondary schools but only 3.4% of the enrollment at Utah's colleges and universities, according to Aleman and Rorrer (2006). The intervention Latinos in Action (LIA) seeks to increase high school completion and college graduation rates among emergent bilingual Latinos by…

Helios Education Foundation has sponsored administration of the ACT test to all high school juniors in selected Arizona school districts since 2009 through the District Choice State Testing (DCST) program. Morrison Institute for Public Policy was asked to identify highly achieving low-income students from this group. Highly achieving students were…

The fact that Latina/o students are losing ground to their non-Latino White peers in four-year college enrollment and bachelor's degree attainment even as Latino college enrollment and graduation rates are at an all time high constitutes a perplexing puzzle. In order to realize the potential "demographic dividend" embedded in the…

The "2018 National Freshman Motivation to Complete College Report" examines the noncognitive motivations of college freshmen at the beginning of their first year and as they progress throughout that year. This report provides key insights into how freshmen are gauging their potential to graduate, what barriers (financial, academic,…

The Ingenuity program was designed to "provide Baltimore's brightest middle school students with a free, highly accelerated, and challenging mathematics and science curriculum" (Ingenuity Project, 2014). It started in 1993 at two middle schools, one on the east side of Baltimore and the second on the west, but as of SY 2014-15 the…

Cyberbullying has a negative influence on academic grades, school attendance, and graduation rates, and occurs more frequently among female high school students. The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of cyberbullying on the college objectives of female undergraduates who were victims in high school. Goleman's theory of…

Public education in the United States struggles to prepare all students for success in post-secondary education and careers. One reason attributed to dropouts, student-disconnect, and low levels of achievement is that too many students attend large, impersonal schools where they are not engaged in learning. Many policy makers view the…

This report examines three focal points for understanding incoming first-year students' motivation to complete college: (1) academic motivational barriers and opportunities; (2) social motivational barriers and opportunities; and (3) financial motivational barriers and opportunities. [For "2016 National Freshman Motivation to Complete College…