Other Report

This report presents the implications for implementing a group counseling program aimed at delivering career services to all students. The authors argue that group counseling programs can close achievement gaps, steer students toward career goals, and provide students with real world skills.

This report highlights the Successful Transitions and Retention Track (START) Program at Idaho State University. The START Program, which consists of three components (classroom instruction, career and personal counseling, and math/English tutoring), is aimed at providing holistic support to students in order to increase the retention of GED holders entering college. This report also discusses some positive preliminary results on START initiatives, and provides first steps for implementing a START program.

This report reviews literature on Advanced Placement (AP) to answer several questions about student outcomes related to taking AP classes. It finds that research is inconclusive about the effect of AP course offerings on students and schools. Research has found that students who take AP courses and pass AP exams are more successful in college than those who did not take AP courses, but this report cautions that the research is correlational, not causal.

This report provides evidence-based strategies to increase student proficiency and engagement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).  The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) sought out the expertise of educators, school administrators, private companies, government officials in education, and STEM practitioners to inform their policy recommendations. Suggestions range from more federal promotion of STEM to innovative and experiential learning of STEM for students from all backgrounds.

This report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology provides recommendations for increasing the number of college graduates with degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Premised on the economic projections that we will need 1 million more STEM professionals than we are currently on track to produce, the report focuses on the most cost effective solution to this problem: retaining STEM majors through their first two years of college.

This report examines national public school performance trends on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and provides an analysis of achievement patterns and gaps at various performance levels for low-income and higher income students, as well as students of color and white students. This report also presents next steps for tackling achievement gaps including setting meaningful goals for students, raising the bar for all students, utilizing data for signals, and identifying and attending to gaps in achievement.

This report from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce shows the trends in unemployment rates and earnings across college majors. The report finds that higher unemployment rates for college graduates tend to be concentrated in specific majors and graduate degrees or work experience can sometimes decrease the risk of unemployment for recent graduates.

This report describes the results of two independent panels of English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics experts in adult education, community colleges, career education, and the military that were convened by MPR Associates to review the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The report provides a set of college and career readiness standards for ELA and math for adult students, based on the CCSS. It also describes how adult educators can use the CCSS to develop or revise current standards.

This report from the National Association of State Budget Officers describes the current challenges of public higher education finance and shares examples of how states are implementing policy and budget strategies that address these challenges. In addition, this report provides an analysis of collaborative partnerships between states and institutions of higher education designed to improve the higher education system as well as recommendations for finance reform.