Original Research

This report summarizes the results of a study that examined the impact of college preparatory transition courses on students who tested below ACT benchmarks in math and reading in 11th grade. The study found most students in the approaching benchmarks category do not enroll in college preparatory transition courses. In both math and reading nearly all students who take college preparatory transition courses pass them.

This report examined the economic benefits of attaining an Associates Degree. The authors analyzed data from 579 community colleges and data gathered by Payscale.com on the earning estimates of graduates from the community colleges in the study. The authors found Associates Degree completers had a median net gain during a 40-year work-life of more than $259,000 compared with that of a high school graduate in the state where the community college is located. However, there is a wide variation in the net gain among states.

This report reviews the research on how students who are far off track in preparing for college can catch up in four years. The study examined data from four nationwide cohorts of students whose EXPLORE scores were 1 standard deviation below the benchmark scores associated with being on track. The authors found 10 percent or fewer students who were far off track in eighth grade met ACT College Readiness Benchmarks by twelfth grade.

This report details ACT's findings that the level of academic achievement students attain by the eighth grade has a larger impact on their college and career readiness by the time they graduate from high school than anything that happens academically in high school. ACT examined data from 216,000 high school graduates who had taken all three programs that make up the longitudinal assessment component of ACT’s College Readiness System.

This paper examines the benefit of performance-based scholarships on short-term academic outcomes, longer-term academic outcomes, the variation of amount and duration on academic outcomes, and which students are most benefitted by scholarships. Using a random assignment research design, 4,921 students were assigned to either a program group, eligible to earn performance-based scholarships, or a control group. The authors found most students met the academic benchmarks for one or more semesters and increased the number of credits earned during the first year.

This paper investigates the economic benefits of obtaining an Associate Degree prior to transferring to a four-year college. Data on student credit accumulation, award receipt, and labor market returns for students enrolled in the North Carolina Community College System were all taken into consideration. The author found students who transfer to four-year colleges before obtaining an Associate Degree frequently do not graduate and thus leave school with no credential.

This paper examines the ability of the freshman on-track indicator and off-track indicator to successfully predict graduation of high school freshman using student-level data collected for cohorts in two districts. The authors found the on-track indicator to be effective in predicting on-time graduation, even when controlling for student characteristics and grade 8 assessment scores. Also, students from both districts who were on track to graduate at the end of grade 9 did so on time and more than students who were off track.

This paper examines the results of the study of the Project CRISS efficacy in fostering reading comprehension in grade 9 students. Project CRISS is based on the belief that teachers can become more effective when trained in a standardized method of presenting reading comprehension strategies that eventually are internalized by the students. The comprehension strategies themselves provide an intellectual framework that aims to foster reading comprehension. The study consisted of a randomized trial with pre- and post-treatment measurement of reading comprehension abilities.

This report examines college enrollment rates of 2008 Virginia high school graduates using National Student Clearinghouse and Start Department of Education data. The analysis showed that sixty-two percent of graduates enrolled in a degree-granting institution within one-year of graduation; thirty-seven percent enrolled in four-year colleges and twenty-five percent in two-year colleges. The study also found Advanced-Study Diploma graduates had a higher enrollment rate than did Standard Diploma graduates.