This Brief presents a profile of the enrollment, demographic, and educational characteristics, and the educational goals, of community college students in occupational programs. It compares their features with those of community college students in academic programs and with baccalaureate students. This analysis further considers the distinct…

Policymakers and educators seek options for helping high school students transition successfully into postsecondary education. Though there are a variety of approaches to doing this; some initiatives are based on a body of research demonstrating that postsecondary success is predicated on both rigorous academic preparation and a clear…

Recognizing the need to strengthen the community college pathway, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance has undertaken an initiative on community colleges. Through its research, the Committee has noted three critical transition points for students who start at a community college and intend to obtain a bachelor's degree:…

This document reports on a study conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that examines the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program. ATE aims to promote systemic reform of the nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The study analyzed the influence of the ATE program on the nature of STEM…

Community colleges are a crucial point of access to higher education for low-income, minority, and other underserved students. These groups are overrepresented (with respect to their share of undergraduate enrollment) in two year and less than two year post secondary institutions. The community college access mission is built on low tuition, …

In response to the 1992 Scientific and Advanced Technology Act (SATA), the National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program to promote systemic reform of the nation's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The Act gave community colleges the central role for the…

While the high cost of education draws headlines, the cost of not educating America's children goes largely ignored. "The Price We Pay" remedies this oversight by highlighting the private and public costs of inadequate education. In this volume, leading scholars from a broad range of fields--including economics, education, demography,…

This report, which is directed toward policymakers, educators, employers, researchers, and others interested in the school-to-work (STW) movement, synthesizes literature on the development and effectiveness of STW programs since 1993. Part I provides an overview of the STW movement and examines the effectiveness of STW efforts in terms of…

This document reports the oral and written testimony submitted at a Congressional hearing on ways in which the government, business, and industry are working to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. work force through education and training initiatives. Witnesses included the following: U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich; U.S. Department of…

A core component of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act, work-based learning refers to programs that provide students with exposure to or actual experiences in workplaces. Typical work-based learning programs include youth apprenticeship, internship, job shadowing, cooperative education, and mentoring. This document contains reprints of seven…

Traditionally, vocational mathematics and precollege mathematics have been separate in schools. This book illuminates the interplay between technical and academic mathematics. This collection of essays by mathematicians, educators, and other experts is enhanced with illustrative tasks from workplace and everyday contexts that suggest ways to…

The Committee on the Impact of the Changing Economy on the Education System of the Center for Education, National Research Council, held a workshop to discuss changes in postsecondary education practices in response to economic factors. The report results from the Committees deliberations, the discussions at the workshop, and the papers prepared…

This is an opportune time for researchers in higher education to examine policy via cross-state comparative analyses. Momentous court, legislative and policy developments that impact state-level higher education policy are emerging at a rapid rate. The states have emerged as postsecondary policy innovators in the areas of student financing,…

Goal 5 of the Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning initiative of the U.S. Department of Education states that by the year 2000, every adult will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Flowing from this goal are the following five…

This book, which is intended for professionals in the assessment/evaluation/measurement, vocational and technical education, and educational psychology communities, contains 16 papers examining specifications of work force competencies and assessment of competencies. The following papers are included: "Review of Workforce Readiness…