Other Report

This study evaluated the effects of English, mathematics, and career development curriculum on high school sophomore and junior American Indian students’ academic achievement in Nizhoni Academy, a five-week summer program. Data from teacher-constructed math and English pre and posttests and a questionnaire regarding students’ feelings related to career goals and opportunities available to them after graduation were examined. Results revealed that the academy improved test scores in both content areas and prepared American Indian students for college.

This study examines the alignment of the American College Testing (ACT) and the American Diploma Project (ADP) national college readiness standards sets with the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for English language arts and reading (TEKS ELAR) standards for 9th-12th grade students, and their cognitive complexity. It was determined that a majority of the content in the ACT and ADP standards sets is addressed to some extent by the TEKS ELAR standards, and that the TEKS ELAR standards require higher levels of cognitive complexity than the other standards sets.

This report describes the Keeping Options Open program, a collaborative partnership between Johnson County Community College and Johnson County high schools that help students develop career and life plans. This three-year tiered pilot program for parents and students intends to link academic readiness with career development. The program led to communication among school counselors and parents.

This report from <i>American Educator</i> discusses five features of successful early college high schools (ECHS). The authors examine the effects of these five features on high school educators, college educators and students, and provide recommendations that include providing a packaged curriculum, and proactively monitoring and guiding students, among others. This resource may be especially relevant to district administrators and teachers looking at way to improve disadvantaged students’ transition to college within their districts or classrooms.

This report from Jobs for the Future highlights successful practices from North Carolina’s early college high schools. The report examines the effects these practices have had on students successfully completing the schools’ requirements. Successful practices include collaborative group work, literacy groups, and classroom conversations, among others.

This report discusses barriers to high school graduation rates and college readiness for Latinas. The author examines the challenges facing Latinos to achieve a high school degree and continuing on to higher education. The resource provides recommendations for federal, state, and local policy makers including additional funding, providing mentors, and ensuring that the school environment is culturally inclusive.

This report from the National Center for Learning Disabilities discusses the educational attainment of students with learning disabilities. The author examines the effects of learning disabilities on students within the K-12 system with a focus on the struggle to attain grade level standards and graduation rate and provides recommendations that include transition planning activities and the use of technology to support students with learning disabilities.

This report provides information on student levels of college and career readiness across the United States based on their performance on the ACT. In addition to showing performance on ACT-related college and career readiness metrics and trends in performance over time, the report provides recommendations to states, districts, and schools to help increase college and career readiness.

This report documents the problems that a sample of 544 graduates from the high school classes of 2006 through 2011 have encountered to understand how recent high school graduates who are not attending college full time are doing in the workforce. It also looks at how well high school graduates feel they were prepared for the job market or attending college, and how recent high school graduates feel about their financial futures.

This report provides information on transition services for students with disabilities as they moved toward postsecondary pathways. Four federal agencies, the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Labor, and the Social Security Administration all provide transition services, but these efforts are not well-coordinated around a common goal.