Each year, 20% of U.S. students drop out of high school (Balfanz, Bridgeland, Bruce, & Fox, 2013). There is an abundance of research on student behaviors from researchers who explored the process of student disengagement from school (Bowers, Sprott, & Taff, 2013; Lessard, Butler-Kisber, Fortin, Marcotte, Potvin, & Royer, 2008), however…

The Kentucky Board of Education is currently considering changes to Kentucky's high school graduation requirement policy to address concerns that Kentucky students are not graduating with the skills necessary to ensure their success after high school. A key component of this policy change would require students to pass a high school exit exam…

In 2015, the Minnesota Legislature enacted a state postsecondary educational attainment goal that 70% of Minnesota adults (age 25 to 44) will have attained a postsecondary certificate or degree by 2025 (Minn. Laws 2015 Chapter 69 Article 3 Sec. 6). Most importantly, the law also sets 30% and 50% educational attainment benchmarks for all races and…

COVID-19 has caused considerable disruption to education around the world. Disadvantaged and marginalised learners are being particularly hard hit. Naturally, throughout the pandemic, the focus of much attention has been on how to open schools safely with a preoccupation with the hygiene and social distancing considerations. A shift is noticeable…

This publication on out-of-school-children (OOSC) in the Pacific is a timely and important contribution to consider interventions to ameliorate educational disparities in the region. A contemporary view of the nine Pacific Island Countries (PICs) that are also members of the Commonwealth are captured as distinct case studies in the publication.…

This study examined a multidimensional model of school engagement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004) among low-income, urban Latino adolescents. Ecological theory suggests that students' school, family, and peer contexts influence their behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, this study…

The objective of the article is to examine what is 'taken for granted' in the policies designed to combat Early School Leaving (ESL) in Catalonia, identifying their implicit ontologies, causal assumptions and logics of action. In order to do so, the realist evaluation is applied. Specifically, this methodology has been applied to compare the…

Through engaging stories and the use of students' voices, this book corrects persistent misconceptions about youth who drop out of high school. Based on research conducted with high school dropouts in both urban and rural communities, the authors argue that, contrary to popular belief, most dropouts are not disengaged from school at an early age.…

In 2014-15, the high school graduation rate reached a record high of 83 percent (U.S. Department of Education 2016). Despite the gains, over half a million students still drop out of high school each year (U.S. Department of Education 2015). High schools have adopted various strategies designed to keep students who are at risk of not graduating in…

Research shows that students who participate in early college programs are more likely to enroll in and persist through college than non-early college students. This fact sheet examines the impact of a districtwide early college program in Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District in Texas. The fact sheet includes a series of questions…

In recent decades, a range of policy measures to support young people's school-to-work transitions has been initiated across Europe. However, these transition policies have rarely been studied systematically, particularly from a comparative perspective. Thus, the aim of this article is to compare Swedish, Danish and Finnish policies for supporting…

Dropping out of high school has adverse consequences, including negative effects on employment, lifetime earnings, and physical health. Students often fail to complete high school for complex reasons that often manifest long before they reach high school. This study examines the link between participation in a comprehensive elementary school…

Ninth grade is a critical juncture for students--and can be a jarring transition. Even students a strong track record in the middle grades can experience academic difficulty, and those who enter high school with poor course grades, weak attendance, or behavior problems are especially at risk. An early misstep can have lasting implications:…

After eighteen months of school closure and disrupted learning, civic leaders, researchers, and educational leaders are getting a clearer picture of how students fared through the pandemic, and what new reality school systems face as they return to in-person schooling in 2021-22. Increases in community infection rates and parent hesitancy have…

I examine a new generation of Career and Technical Education (CTE) models that has shifted from isolated courses to sequences of study that integrate academics and skills in specific career areas. I use data for a competitive grant administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) that incentives K-12 school districts to partner with…