Other Report

Upward Bound is one of the largest and longest-running federal programs designed to help disadvantaged students prepare for, enter, and succeed in college. This report is the last in a series of study reports from the Upward Bound evaluation. Data collected included surveys, high school and post-secondary transcripts, and data on Upward Bound participation. Results indicated that Upward Bound increased the likelihood of earning a post-secondary certificate or license from a vocational school.

This report examined disparities in the distribution of teaching and learning resources in California secondary schools. Results indicated that the most disadvantaged populations of middle and high school students are likely have teachers with limited qualifications to teach their subject areas. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds also were less likely to be enrolled in the necessary courses for admission to four-year public institutions.

This report provides state education leaders with information on how to align academics and career & technical education (CTE) through implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). This report describes what states are doing to align CTE and CCSS, highlights strategies, and identifies common challenges and barriers to alignment.

This report highlights innovative strategies and priorities aimed at community college improvement as well as providing next steps for Massachusetts colleges and state officials to improve student outcomes. Some recommendations for next steps include: effectively implementing performance funding and developmental education reform, expanding access to structured pathways to credentials, identifying and removing barriers to innovation, and supporting sustained advocacy.

This report from the College Board describes the current state of the Pell Grants, the need for reforming them, and recommendations on how to reform them in order to increase the effectiveness of the Pell Grant program. Some of these recommendations include dividing the program into two components, one that serves people through the age of 24 and one that serves older adults; simplifying the application process and eligibility criteria; and changing the award eligibility requirements for those over the age of 24.

This report from ACT examines academic factors indicative of first-year college success and retention for high school students, specifically underrepresented racial/ethnic minority and low-income students. The report finds that college readiness, core curriculum, and taking additional coursework in math and science are directly related to college success. This report also discusses factors that lead to lower college success rates and presents recommendations for narrowing achievement gaps.

This national study examines Phase I of the implementation of Talent Search, a federal program designed to encourage students to participate in the federal aid program for post-secondary education. This report provides program growth, regulatory and legislative changes that occurred during this period and how the program was operating in terms of  providing academic assistance, using technology to serve students, and issues faced when serving middle school students.

This paper reports preliminary findings from the evaluation of the New York State Education Department’s Model Transition Program grants to sixty local education agencies aimed to improve post-secondary outcomes for youth with disabilities. Data were collected for more than 16,000 participants. This part of the evaluation aimed to describe the types of services provided and characteristics of the program participants. Results indicated that most of the students targeted by the program were male and enrolled in 11th and 12th grades.

An update to the 2005 report, An Action Agenda for Improving America's High Schools, this report examines state progress made in improving high schools to prepare students for college and career since 2005. Specifically, this report offers recommendations and best practices to help states restore the value of a high school diploma, redesign high schools to better prepare students for postsecondary success, improve teacher and principal quality, establish high standards and better accountability measures, and improve education governance.

This paper focuses on strategies for creating postsecondary pathways for high school dropouts in order to close the skills gap as well as connect the talents of these youth to postsecondary skills and credentials. The paper argues that in order to improve educational and economical outcomes for high school dropouts, there must be alignment of secondary, postsecondary, workforce, and adult education systems and several actions must be taken.