Issue/Policy Brief

This brief from ACTE's <i>Career Readiness Series </i>discusses the benefits of various career and technical student organizations to a student's academics and future success. The research indicates the benefits of involvement in student organizations include higher levels of academic engagement, increased grade point averages, increased ACT/SAT scores, higher graduation rates, among other benefits.

This brief from the Bill & Melnda Gates Foundation discusses the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) project whose goal is to help build fair and reliable systems for teacher observation and feedback. Through data collection and analysis of the program, the authors revealed the early findings regarding whether teacher's past performance helped students learn.

In this brief, the author discusses the benefits of online learning for increasing a student's career readiness through means besides career and technical education (CTE). In order for students to be ready for careers, they must have access to educational opportunities that provide skills in a variety of academic and non-academic areas. The author argues that online learning can provide this access to those students who may not otherwise receive it through traditional schooling.

Information Brief 96-1 illustrates factors that can help ethnic minorities be better prepared for college.

This brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education argues that providing students with flexibility regarding where, when, how and from whom students learn will help support the nation’s goal of graduating students who are ready for college and a career. The brief outlines some of the challenges that the current organization of the school day presents and proposes some alternatives, including some brief profiles of specific initiatives that support more comprehensive approaches to expanded learning opportunities.

This policy brief, written by The After-School Corporation, provides examples of how six states (Ohio, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island) are incorprating personalized learning into education policies. This brief includes seven recommendations for New York and New York City.

This updated brief provides background information on the extended-year graduation rate and discusses how use of this rate can support increased services for struggling or off-track students. In addition, the authors provide three recommendations for state policymakers as they work to create new accountability systems that document and reflect student success outside the traditional four-year graduation rate.

This article presents a four-year case study on the impact that an urban college preparatory charter high school had on the postsecondary outcomes of its graduates. Through analysis of staff and teacher interviews, the impact that logistical constraints and staff turnover had on the implementation of the school’s mission to prepare educationally and socially disadvantaged students for college was revealed.

This evaluation of the Illinois College and Career Readiness Act Pilot Projects, partnerships between five community college and high schools to develop college preparatory programs and supplemental services, assesses their implementation and promising practices. Focus groups, interviews, and classroom observations were used to gather information about each program. Program elements, attainment of program goals and student and instructor perceptions are provided for each program.

This study assesses how the High Schools that Work initiative prepares students for college and careers. The report also presents strategies that district and school leaders can use to help students become more prepared for transitioning from high school to college and careers.