The Early College High School (ECHS) initiative developed in response to calls to significantly decrease the number of first-generation college and underserved students of color and from poverty who are high school dropouts or marginally graduates (i.e., ill prepared for college). The ECHS model is different from other educational reforms in that…

Recent policy dialogue suggests that chronic absenteeism is not only underdocumented, but is also detrimental to the success of students as early as kindergarten. That said, almost no empirical research has examined the effects of chronic absenteeism on student outcomes. This study addresses this underresearched issue in more depth. Using a…

The economic status of families and their children's learning outcomes are closely related. For example, children living in poverty tend to score worse on measures of reading and math performance than their more affluent peers, and this achievement gap is present by kindergarten. In this study, we identified protective factors associated with…

Chicago has been in the forefront of the country in its use of 9th-grade indicators of dropout. Catalyzed by the development of the freshman on-track indicator and research around it, Chicago school administrators, central office personnel, and external partners have developed a number of mechanisms using 9th-grade indicators to stimulate school…

This article examines the turnaround and closure rates of charter and district schools in 10 states to determine if one school sector has done comparatively better than the other at addressing chronically low-performing schools. Low-performing charter and district schools were identified in 2003-04 based on their reading and math proficiency rates…

Research on summer learning has shown that children from a higher socioeconomic status (SES) continue to learn during the summer months of elementary school, but lower-SES students tend to stagnate or lose ground. However, not all low-SES students experience summer learning loss. Drawing on the Beginning School Study (BSS), a longitudinal study of…

This quantitative study evaluated the effects of Supplemental Educational Services (SES), a federally mandated component of No Child Left Behind, on student achievement in reading and mathematics. SES provides free tutoring outside school to disadvantaged students who attend Title I schools that are in their third year of failing to achieve…

This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The…

This study examined academic differences between students who attended 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) programs frequently (60 or more days) and matched nonattendees during the 2008-2009 school year. Schools included in the study represented only those centers found to be implementing high-quality programming, as measured by a…

Large, traditional urban high schools are among the most difficult education environments in the United States. These schools, which serve a high percentage of the Black and Latino students in the United States, often have low academic performance, high dropout rates, high teacher and school leader turnover, and inexperienced teachers. They often…

Utilizing a qualitative case-study design, this study explored how a mid-sized urban high school professional learning community was used as a reform effort to increase student achievement in mathematics on standards-based assessments. From a year-long interaction with the math professional learning community, which consisted of 3 school leaders…

Work-based learning interventions, particularly cooperative education, are a viable way to support the post-high school transition process, enhance work-related cognitive development, and increase the occupational engagement of at-risk youth. Using propensity score matching to analyze data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002…

This study investigated the relationship between health conditions suffered over time and student scores on the Stanford Achievement Test 9 in Yuma County, Arizona, public grade schools. The majority of children in Yuma County were of Hispanic origin. The poverty and low income status of most of these children placed them at greater risk for…

We use the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study to investigate national patterns addressing (a) who repeats kindergarten, and (b) the subsequent cognitive effects of this event. Using OLS regression techniques, we investigate 1st-time kindergartners who are promoted, 1st-time kindergartners who are retained, and children who are already repeating…

This study examines 4 groups of high school students enrolled in 2 college preparatory programs, AVID and GEAR UP. Differences in student educational aspirations, expectations and anticipations, knowledge of college entrance requirements, knowledge of financial aid, and academic achievement in mathematics were examined. Adelman's (1999)…