Nationally, credit recovery has been used as a strategy to encourage and enable students to re-take previously failed courses needed to graduate. The School District of Philadelphia (SDP) offers both in-person and online options for recovering failed or missing credits required for graduation. This study provides a snapshot of the district's…

In an era of escalating higher education costs, students and families need to be aware of all of their options for financing college and how those financing options work. Financing remains one the top factors for choosing a college, especially for students with greater financial need. Those who do not receive the award packages and financial…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares students for many of the jobs in Virginia forecasted to experience the fastest growth in the coming years. Given the large percentage of jobs that require some type of postsecondary education or training (currently estimated at 63 percent of all jobs in the United States), it is critical that high…

Oregon's postsecondary attainment goal for 2025, adopted in 2011, calls for 40 percent of Oregon adults to have a bachelor's degree or higher, 40 percent to have an associate's degree or postsecondary certificate, and the remaining 20 percent to have a high school diploma or equivalent (S. 253, Or. 2011). As in other states a central strategy for…

In 2008 New Mexico changed its graduation requirements for regular education high school students who completed more than their senior year of high school in a New Mexico public school. Students who entered high school in 2009 were the first to have to complete (pass with a D or better) at least one advanced course (a course designated by the New…

Recently, the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) completed a study to connect the scale of the North Carolina State End of Grade (EOG) Testing Program used for North Carolina's mathematics and reading assessments with NWEA's Rausch Interval Unit (RIT) scale. Information from the state assessments was used in a study to establish…

Mandatory exit exams are in place, or will soon be, in 27 states. Students must pass them as one condition for receiving a standard diploma. Because the standard diploma is considered a property right, states must carefully consider the opportunities that students have to pass graduation exams. Federal legislation has resulted in increased…

This report provides a summary of test results from the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP), including alternative tests taken for TASP purposes as authorized by state law, by student race/ethnicity for academic year 1999-2000. The results are provided for each Texas public university and community or technical college and for the entire state.…

Initiated in 1994, Structured Learning Assistance (SLA) is a research project whose purpose is to determine if, for certain courses, grades can be improved by requiring students to attend weekly practice workshops. These SLA workshops assist students in developing the background needed to connect to the course content and to develop and apply the…

The results of the June 2000 CLAST administration are reported in this information capsule. Results are reported for first-time examinees, retake examinees, and students earning alternatives to the CLAST requirement. During this administration period, 3,858 Miami-Dade Community College (M-DCC) (Florida) students earned an alternative in at least…

A study was undertaken at Georgia's Gainesville College to compare the distribution of grades awarded in academic courses in fall 1990 with those in fall 1996. Study findings included the following: (1) the overall college-wide pass rate in academic courses rose from 65.1% in fall 1990 to 68.6% in fall 1996; (2) excluding students who withdrew by…

Drawing from literature and research conducted at Prince George's Community College (PGCC), this report discusses student retention in community colleges in the U.S.; outlines retention indicators and strategies; and presents a summary of findings from PGCC's retention studies. After a brief overview of the challenge of student retention in the…

This summary examines public opinion research about teacher quality and strategies for improving U.S. teaching quality. Researchers examined surveys of teachers, school board members, principals, students, and the public. This review investigates: what constitutes quality teaching; how to define good teachers; the importance of teacher quality;…

The New York City Public Schools Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment annually evaluates the PCEN Math Skills Program. Evaluation objectives were devised to avoid additional testing by using tests already in place in the High School Testing Program as evaluation instruments. Objectives are that at least 50 percent of full-year program…

The Office of Research, Evaluation, and Assessment of the New York City Public Schools evaluates the Chapter 1 Math Skills program annually. Objectives, which were set by the Division of High Schools, are that at least 50 percent of full-year program participants will demonstrate a normal curve equivalent (NCE) gain of at least 1 unit as measured…