Course withdrawals may lead to financial burdens for students, institutions, states, and the federal government. Understanding consequences of course withdrawal is key to understanding its implications and developing interventions to improve student success. Since no research has examined course withdrawal behaviors and their relations to student…

This study examined the effect of attending Pre-K 4 SA on students' educational achievement in third and fourth grades. Pre-K 4 SA is a high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-K) program in San Antonio that meets all quality standards defined by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). The results showed that distance to Pre-K 4 SA…

This paper examines the effects of the Top Ten Percent policy, which guaranteed students in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class admission to Texas Public Universities. As a result of the policy, the composition of the student body changed, particularly at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA). This paper asks, what were the…

Texas, like many states, considers students to be "college, career, or military ready" if they earn an industry-based certification (IBC) in high school. While the expansion of opportunities for students to earn IBCs has been stimulated through state policy, limited research has systematically examined what factors influence students'…

Little is known about differences between traditional, university-based certification programs and alternative certification programs in terms of outcomes for students and teachers. Across all preparation pathways, however, too many early career teachers leave the field (over 40% within first five years). This attrition problem is likely to grow…

This study examines the effect of dual enrollment (DE) on college enrollment and degree completion for less academically prepared students who attended public high schools in Texas. The authors employ a propensity score matching method to reduce selection bias from DE participation and supplement the analysis with a bounds test. The results show…

We continue to witness disparities in exclusionary disciplinary outcomes within K-12 public schools, leading to persistent concerns for educational equity. In-school suspensions represent one of the most frequently employed components of school exclusionary discipline systems, and they are also largely left up to the discretion of principals and…

Low levels of teacher diversity in U.S. elementary and secondary schools represent a wasted opportunity to narrow achievement gaps. Evidence from other states suggests that students of color have better outcomes in the classrooms of teachers of color, but the teaching workforce remains predominantly white. Teachers of color are underrepresented at…

Forty percent of all Texas public college students start at a community college and 75 percent earn at least some community college credits. Yet there is very little evidence about how students make transfer decisions and whether the policies meant to avoid credit loss, like the core curriculum, actually improve transfer success and degree…

Rural students in the United States have a lower likelihood of entering and completing college compared with their non-rural peers, despite strong high school graduation rates. Postsecondary attendance and degree attainment gaps observed across geographic regions present equity and access concerns in the high school-to-higher education pipeline.…

Texas House Bill 3 established a college, career, and military readiness (CCMR) outcomes bonus, which provides extra funding to districts for each annual graduate demonstrating CCMR under the state accountability system. Some small district and rural district leaders expressed concern about the ability of their graduates to meet the career…

This paper analyzed the role of students having a same-race teacher on a high school student's short- and long-term outcomes. How is a student's academic achievement affected in the classroom with a same-race teacher and how is their likelihood of attending college changed by having a same-race teacher? Race-matching improves Black and Asian…

The Inclusion of Children with Disabilities Act (IDEA) act requires that to the maximum extent possible, children with disabilities should be taught alongside the regular students. In line with the IDEA, advocates of inclusion argue that disabled students incorporated in a normal academic environment display improved academic achievement among the…

This paper focuses on the role of non-native peers in classrooms. What is the impact of classroom composition on short- and long-term academic outcomes of native students? This study takes multiple approaches to estimate the causal impact of non-native students in Grade 9 on students' test scores and college attainment. The author finds that while…

The policy brief describes a study done by the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest. Round Rock Independent School District (ISD) wanted to enhance its high school career and technical education (CTE) programming to prepare CTE graduates to either enter high-wage, in-demand careers in Central Texas or continue their education after high…