This nation needs many more students to attend college and graduate, but several things are getting in the way, particularly for marginalized students. Among those who do get in, many are unable to finish. Children in this country need to be successful in school, graduate, and have options to either attend college or join the workforce. This…

This study explores high school families' understanding of college financing. The research examines what college-bound students and parents know about financial aid, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®), scholarships, and student loans. The report evaluates perceptions, exposes common misconceptions, and gauges how prepared high…

Providing opportunities for students to engage in undergraduate research is well supported as a high-impact educational practice. Shifting research experience earlier in the undergraduate career provides opportunities for more students to yield gains (both personal and professional) earlier in their career. At the Ocean Research College Academy…

This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. This brief summarizes the research on dual enrollment programs--programs which allow high school students to enroll in college coursework through a partnering college or university--and offers policymakers a strategy to increase college enrollment and…

How school districts measure homelessness among their students has implications for accountability and funding, as well as for supporting student success. Yet, measuring homelessness among high school students is challenging because students move in and out of experiencing it. Using administrative student-level data from a mid-sized public school…

For many high school students, the cost of attending college poses a major barrier to continuing their education. Federal student aid provided through Pell grants, work study, and loans can offer students with low incomes an avenue toward receiving a postsecondary education. But for students to be eligible for federal student aid, they need to…

Educational dialogue has emphasized that math and science courses be more meaningful and engaging in high school. One way in which this has materialized has been through the introduction of applied STEM courses (i.e., information technology and engineering). In these courses, traditional math and science concepts are to be more educationally…

Social and emotional (SE) skills are known to be linked to many important life outcomes, some of which fall in the academic domain. For example, meta-analytic analyses show that conscientiousness (a trait related to self-management, perseverance, and being organized and planful) accounts for 28% of the explained variance in academic performance…

Quality high-school advising is essential to ensuring access to higher education. However, while efforts are being made in a number of areas to improve access to higher education, there has not yet been enough work done to assess the impact of DEI initiatives on post-secondary advising and, in turn, on college access for underserved students.…

Black male student athletes are at risk for over-identification with their athletic role to the detriment of their other identities. This paper describes a study that explored the meaning ascribed by high school Black male student athletes to an 8-week group counseling experience. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants after…

Since the passage of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act in 1993, the Commonwealth has been seen as a national leader in education reform. The legislation introduced statewide learning standards and the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests, and provided large increases in funding for K-12 education. We explore the high…

This study examined how social constructs of race or ethnicity, sexuality, and socioeconomic status (SES) are multiplicatively associated with high school students' schooling experiences and aspirations. Using a critical quantitative intersectionality framework to analyse data from the 2016 Minnesota Student Survey, this study found that the…

This study examines relationships between dual enrollment and high school graduation, college enrollment, college choice (2-year or 4-year), and persistence in college among Nebraska's 2018 high school graduating class. Unlike previous studies that focus on states where dual enrollment is standardized and subsidized by state policy, the Nebraska…

Trends in past research note parental involvement in education tends to decline as students get older. This targeted review draws on the bioecological model of human development and parental role construction to understand how parent involvement changes across developmental periods. Three distinct issues were identified from research on the…

Research shows that Early College high schools have a significant impact on high school and college outcomes for students from low income and racial/ethnic minority backgrounds, but how similar opportunities extend to English learners (ELs) remains unknown. We examine a program that offers Early College opportunities in high schools serving large…