Secondary alternative education options have become prevalent throughout the United States, offering struggling students an opportunity to earn a high school diploma; however, a gap in research exists in terms of success rates of alternative school graduates. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare postsecondary success rates of…

The Latino population in the United States is large and growing. As a whole, however, it has been challenged with inequitable educational attainment rates compared to other groups, meriting the attention of public agencies, postsecondary institutions, and advocates. Latino economic and career success -- and the success of our overall economy --…

Early college schools are succeeding at our nation's most daunting educational challenge--propelling students from underserved backgrounds to graduate high school and earn postsecondary degrees. These schools combine high school and college in rigorous, yet supportive environments that embrace acceleration over remediation. Their "college for…

President Barack Obama's address to the Joint Session of Congress set forth a postsecondary education agenda focused on access and success. In Illinois, as the high school graduating Class of 2002 moves further away from their days in Illinois public education and they begin to take their place in society, trends have begun to emerge as to their…

In 2003, the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) began to follow the members of the Illinois public high school class of 2002 (the Class of 2002) on their journeys through postsecondary education. There is a wealth of higher education information on these students, including enrollment and the completion of certificates and degrees. Also, a…

This longitudinal study focuses on a new generation. Members of the high school class of 2002 were born in the years 1983 and 1984. In order to situate their lives in historical context, it is helpful to think back to some of the major events in the lives of these young Illinois citizens. This analysis of the cohort of 2002 provides leaders of…

In 2001, Illinois began administering the ACT (American College Testing) test to all 11th graders in Illinois public schools as part of the Prairie State Achievement Exam (PSAE). For the first time, ACT scores and background information were available for most public-school students who would be completing high school one year later, rather than…

The rate of increase of Illinois junior college enrollment has decreased for the past several years. One reason for this may lie in the fact that the consumption of a service has its greatest rate of increase in the early stages of the supply of the service. As the unmet demand for it becomes satisfied, additional consumption decreases, approaches…

The Illinois High School Class of 2002 is part of the third generational wave of American students following the landmark Supreme Court decision in "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka," which outlawed segregation in public education. This longitudinal study allows the authors to examine the long-term impacts of this monumental…