Ready for Success Blog

Aligning Expectations for College Readiness

What does it mean to be college ready?  According to panelists in a briefing last week sponsored by the Lumina Foundation, college readiness must be determined by aligning expectations for high school graduates with expectations for college freshmen.  In other words, when students graduate from high school and pass their final exams, they should be ready to succeed in an entry level college class, without having to take remediation courses.  This goal requires a commitment on the part of K-12 educators to listen to what colleges and universities e

Promising Findings from a Study of Professional Development for High School Teachers

We don’t come across rigorous research on teacher professional development at the high school level as often as we’d like. So, when we read the positive findings from a randomized control trial of the web-mediated professional development strategy, My Teaching Partner—Secondary (MTP-S), we thought it would be interesting to blog about it.[1]

The Role of Online Education in Graduating At-Risk Students

Online education, previously primarily used for promoting accelerated learning, is gaining traction as a widespread alternative to traditional school.   According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), 82% of U.S. school districts had students enrolled in online classes in 2010.  Most recently, digital learning has been recognized as a useful tool for supporting at-risk and off track students.

NPR Series Highlights High School Dropout Crisis in America

This week, National Public Radio (NPR) is airing a five-part series that focuses on the dropout problem in the United States. In an introduction to the series, NPR education correspondent Claudio Sanchez explained that the original impetus for the series was the state of the current U.S.

New College- and Career-Readiness Data Shows Progress Across States

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released updates to its State Education Reform website, including an overview of the 2011 state high school policies related to college- and career- readiness.  With the advent of the Common Core State Standards, it comes as no surprise that 47 states plus the District of Columbia have aligned high school standards with the expectations of college and the workplace, but man

The Impact of Truancy on Student Performance

In 2010, Nebraska passed a law requiring schools to refer students to juvenile court when they accrue over 20 absences.  However, according to the Omaha World Herald, new data suggests that the number of students who missed more than 20 days may have increased during the 2010-2011 school year.  In light of this preliminary data, Nebraska is considering possible improvements to the law.  A task force convened in early July 2011 suggested focusing on curbing truancy in elementary school before it becomes habitual.  The

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