A 2011 survey of young adults conducted by Public Agenda found that a cluster of obstacles have prevented many of them from competing college. The author describes the opportunity, college awareness, and funding gaps that put a postsecondary degree out of the reach of so many young people. For example, just 3 in 10 non-college-completers are aware…

Basics crucial to the successful functioning of early child-care and education programs are infrastructure and system. Infrastructure refers to the supports of finance, governance, accountability, professional development and training, and quality-assurance mechanisms. Systems make the parts function by eliminating redundancies and maximizing…

Class-size reduction is the subject of much debate in the education community. Findings from research studies on three top class-size reduction programs can help states and schools decide whether reducing class size will work for them. Provided are background information, research findings, and a prognosis for the future for Indiana's Project…

The purpose of this article is twofold as it aims to compliment the effort of identifying the personal qualities and professional competencies generic to effective school leaders and to contribute to the comparison of effective leadership in diverse cultural contexts. Five examples of successful school principals in rural primary schools in Cyprus…

In this guide, transition is defined as the period of time when adolescents are moving into adulthood. This guide is designed to (a) help youth and the adults who work with them understand the role of assessment in transition and (b) describe ways to collect and use data that will lead to informed choices based on accurate assessment of each…

All effective youth programs have youth development at their core. Effective youth leadership programs build on solid youth development principles, with an emphasis on those areas of development and program components that support youth leadership. This paper has been created by the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth…

This document provides an overview and analysis of how a series of national conferences held in the fall of 2003 framed conversations around high schools and high-school-age youth This analysis explores the underlying assumptions of these frameworks and the extent to which they coalesced or diverged. The report also examines the content of the…

In the fall of 2004, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) convened members of the School Leadership Learning Community (SLLC) and invited guests for three invitational, issue-focused meetings. The meetings were supported by the Laboratory for Student Success (LSS), the mid-Atlantic regional educational laboratory at Temple University,…

This paper identifies six core principles and recommends strategies that will foster high academic achievement, close the achievement gap, and promote civic and personal growth among all high-school-age youth in the high schools and communities. At the center of the framework is the Alliance's belief that the purpose of high school is to ensure…

Schools are increasingly expected to take responsibility for aspects of educational quality assurance. The fact that the Flemish government requires its schools to conduct self-evaluations of their equal opportunities policies is an example of this. This article reports on the findings of a study that investigated the quality of these school…

Inclusive education challenges all schools to cater for a wider range of students. This implies that schools and teachers have to change. This literature study analyses how, if at all, policymakers can bring about changes in schools. Specific steering concepts of policymakers, whose interventions seem to address schools as "machine" bureaucracies,…

Summarizes the findings from the report "Barriers to Excellence: Our Children at Risk," which shows that American education still fails low-income, minority, and learning disabled students. Presents recommendations for change. (MD)

The main reasons that students drop out of high school are poor grades, family problems, and financial problems. The school reform movement may compound marginal students' difficulties and cause more students to drop out. (MD)

This study synthesizes published and unpublished research on the effects of adaptive education on student outcomes. The study found adaptive education affects student outcomes positively and suggests that tailoring instruction to individual students is more effective than traditional educational methods. (MD)

Economic elitism cripples democracy. Political rights without the material conditions necessary for citizens to exercise their rights are meaningless. Education should empower students to recognize that economic rights are linked with political rights and both are grounded in basic humanity. (MD)