June Issue Brief: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Degrees, credits, credentials, certificates, badges, microcredentials, and licenses are all ways of communicating to the world that an individual has gained particular knowledge and skills. The problem is, these signals do not seamlessly build on one another to provide a true picture of an individual’s expertise. Even within the higher education system, individuals who transfer Read more about June Issue Brief: Giving Credit Where Credit is Due[…]

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New Program Gives Low-Income HS Students College Credit and a Pathway to Higher Ed

Writing for The 74, Phyllis Jordan explains a new program that is bringing college-level coursework into Title I schools. Excerpts from the piece appear below: Leaders at selective colleges and universities often say they want to recruit high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds – but can’t find them. A new program that brings college coursework into Read more about New Program Gives Low-Income HS Students College Credit and a Pathway to Higher Ed[…]

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Half-Time High School May be Just What Students Need

Writing for the Fordham Institute, Michael Petrilli explains the opportunity we have to explore the benefits of a high school schedule that looks more like a college model. Excerpts from the piece appear below: While there’s much to rue about what the pandemic has taken away, it’s possible to glimpse a future in which technology Read more about Half-Time High School May be Just What Students Need[…]

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Early College High Schools May Pay for Themselves in the Long Run

Some solutions in education are expensive. Take early college high schools, which give students a head start on their college degrees but cost about $3,800 extra per student. Are they worth it? New research suggests that these schools might actually pay for themselves in long-term benefits to both students and the public as a whole. Read more about Early College High Schools May Pay for Themselves in the Long Run[…]

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In Case You Missed It!

February Issue Brief: Dual Enrollment

Whether you call it early college high school, dual enrollment, or college acceleration, the line is blurring between high school and college, and for good reason. Students who earn college credit in high school are more likely to graduate high school as well as earn a four-year degree, and they do so earlier in life Read more about February Issue Brief: Dual Enrollment[…]

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Early College: The Little Reform Bundle That Could

Recently, Tom Vander Ark reviewed the literature on early college high school for the Fordham Institute. Excerpts of his piece appear below: Ten years ago I called early college high schools the best philanthropic initiative in education that never scaled. But the idea keeps chugging along gaining steam with policy and practice innovations. It’s now Read more about Early College: The Little Reform Bundle That Could[…]

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Coleman: Applying to college has become an endless chore

Recently in The Atlantic, David Coleman, CEO of the College Board, reflected on the hoops that students are jumping through to get admitted to college and recommended a renewed focus on what really matters. Excerpts of his piece appear below: The crazed pursuit of college admissions helps no one thrive. And while the Varsity Blues Read more about Coleman: Applying to college has become an endless chore[…]

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The Impact of Early Colleges: What does the research say?

Liz Bell, writing for EdNC recently explored the evidence basis for early college high schools. Excerpts of the piece appear below: The SERVE Center and researchers from RTI International and RAND Corporation have found early college students are more likely to attend class, complete courses that prepare them to enter into a university, and graduate Read more about The Impact of Early Colleges: What does the research say?[…]

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What Students Can Show Us About How School Is Letting Them Down-and How to Fix It

Three years ago, TNTP set out to understand how so many students could graduate from high school unprepared for the lives they want to lead. To find out, they followed nearly 4,000 students in three large urban districts, one small rural district, and one charter network with three schools in separate cities to view school Read more about What Students Can Show Us About How School Is Letting Them Down-and How to Fix It[…]

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Why do high school expectations matter?

Another student gets good grades, graduates from high school, and earns admission to a public university, but realizes too late that high school coursework did not provide the academic preparation needed for college and must be repeated- this time costing college tuition. All students deserve the opportunity to take courses that prepare them to enter Read more about Why do high school expectations matter?[…]

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What Predicts College Completion? High School GPA Beats SAT Score

Preston Cooper, writing for Forbes, has reviewed a new article by Matthew Chingos of the Urban Institute that finds high school GPA to be a better predictor of college completion than SAT score. For excerpts from the article, see below:  For obvious reasons, students who exhibit better academic preparation in high school are more likely Read more about What Predicts College Completion? High School GPA Beats SAT Score[…]

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Achieve: Do not use SAT or ACT as state summative assessment

Achieve released a new brief warning against the use of ACT or SAT exams as the summative high school assessment for English language arts (ELA) and mathematics. Achieve highlighted three reviews of these tests, looking at their alignment to states’ college- and career-ready academic standards and how using the tests for accountability would impact students, Read more about Achieve: Do not use SAT or ACT as state summative assessment[…]

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College Success Awards: Celebrating high schools that prepare students to succeed in college

GreatSchools has released a first-of-its-kind award recognizing and celebrating high schools that excel in ensuring students are prepared for college based on school-level postsecondary data collected and shared by their states. The award also underscores the need to open up new sets of data so we can shine the light on success and find the Read more about College Success Awards: Celebrating high schools that prepare students to succeed in college[…]

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Identifying Latino Student Success: Identifying Top- and Bottom-Performing Institutions

As the Latino population in this nation has increased over the past few decades, there has been a dramatic surge in the numbers of Latino students pursuing postsecondary credentials and degrees on college and university campuses across the country. In addition, graduation rates for Latino students at four-year institutions have been steadily increasing since 2002. Read more about Identifying Latino Student Success: Identifying Top- and Bottom-Performing Institutions[…]

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The Promise of Performance Assessments

As states, districts, and schools are expanding instruction to include the competencies associated with college, career, and civic readiness, they are also developing ways to measure mastery of these deeper learning and higher-order thinking skills. These measures include performance assessments, such as portfolios, capstone projects, and senior defenses, alongside classroom performance. Meanwhile, more than 900 Read more about The Promise of Performance Assessments[…]

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January Issue Brief: Not Just a High School Diploma

High school students are now graduating with much more than their high school diplomas – some have already earned an Associate’s degree or industry-recognized credentials. Many have amassed enough AP, IB, or community college credits to begin their postsecondary studies a semester or two ahead. Research is showing that these early college/credentialing models promote college Read more about January Issue Brief: Not Just a High School Diploma[…]

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