The research summarized in this paper examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on student performance on the ACT[TM] test. The author compares scores during the three years preceding the pandemic (2018, 2019, and early 2020) to scores in 2021 and 2022 while accounting for changes in the tested population across years. For students tested in…

In 2014 the Washington state legislature approved career- and college-ready (CCR) requirements for high school graduation that better align with admissions standards at the state's public universities than previous requirements did and that aim to equip students with the skills to pursue the career of their choice. The requirements took effect for…

The number of available jobs in environmental science, science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) is growing rapidly. Nonetheless, women and Latinx, Black, and Indigenous people remain underrepresented in these fields. A number of diversity pipeline programs have been established with the goal of attracting and retaining individuals from…

Together, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Higher Education are committed to reducing the need for academic remediation and developmental courses at state institutions of higher education. Accomplishing this goal requires both agencies as well as the systems they oversee to work collaboratively to increase the likelihood…

Prior work has demonstrated that debate is associated with academic achievement in high school. Whether debate in high school is predictive of better college outcomes beyond its established relationship with promoting college readiness as indicated by the ACT is unknown. This research examines and evaluates the impact of participating in a high…

This report summarizes the academic and post-secondary outcomes for student athletes and non-athletes in the 2017-2018 school year.

This report describes ACT test results for Austin Independent School District (AISD) seniors in the 2018-2019 school year. In 2018-2019, the district's average ACT composite score of 23.0 exceeded the state (20.5) and national (20.7) average composite scores.

In fulfillment of Ohio Revised Code section 3333.041 (A) (1), the Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) has published a listing by school district of the number of 2018 high school graduates that attended a state institution of higher education in the 2018-2019 academic year. The listing provides the percentage of each…

Exacerbated by the pandemic, the decline in Indiana's college-going rate for recent high school graduates has accelerated. This presents stark challenges which must be addressed with urgency and thoughtfulness. Fewer Hoosiers are pursuing education or training after high school. The state's college-going rate fell from 59 percent for the high…

High school calculus has become indispensable for students seeking a college degree in a STEM field. However, in the present study, we argue that the mathematics opportunities that students seize (when afforded) in middle grades are the key to earning calculus credit in high school. To take calculus in high school, students usually need to take…

College enrollment for the Latino/a population has improved over the past 30 years, yet even with this growth, Latinos/as continue to trail their Caucasian and Asian peers in college enrollment and attainment (Camacho-Liu, 2011; Fry, 2011; Krogstad, 2016; Krogstad & Fry, 2014; Santiago, Calderon-Galdeano, & Taylor, 2015; Zarate &…

In an effort to align its college admission requirements with the new K-12 science standards, the University of California (UC) recently proposed to increase its high school science admissions eligibility requirement--known as area D--from two to three years. UC's new policy has the potential of improving student science learning and readiness for…

Offering "Early Start" programs in the summer before students start their first year of college is one of the strategies that the California State University (CSU) system has used to support incoming students who may not be ready for college-level work in mathematics or written communication. In 2017, the CSU system began implementing a…

This report is part of a series focusing on studies intended to inform the California State University (CSU) system about the implementation of Executive Order 1110 (EO 1110). A major policy adopted by the CSU Chancellor's Office in 2017, EO 1110 requires CSU campuses to eliminate noncredit developmental courses -- often known as…

When COVID-19 hit, Holyoke School District was nine months into an ambitious three-year strategy, the Homegrown Talent Initiative (HTI), designed to help rural communities across Colorado better prepare youth for success after high school by offering new career exploration and training opportunities. In the midst of school closings, remote…