On Friday, December 9^th, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) hosted a seminar Expanding College-and-career Pathways for High School Students: What Does it Cost? During the seminar, University of California –Berkeley professor David Stern presented findings from two related studies. The first part of the presentation included an analysis of the California Partnership Academies (CPAs) annual reports for 2004-05 and 2009-10. The second included a summary…

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At last week’s “Data for Action 2011: DQC’s State Analysis” Webinar, it was clear that states have made substantial progress in collecting longitudinal data to inform decision-making. The Data Quality Campaign’s (DQC) Executive Director, Aimee Rogstad Guidera, noted that every state now has the ability to provide education stakeholders with these data, but she asserted that more progress is still necessary. The expectation of graduating every student…

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Looking for new high school-related resources?  Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:*

Access to Algebra I: The Effects of Online Mathematics for Grade 8 Students (Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands, December 13, 2011). This study, conducted by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) for the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI), tested the impact of expanding…

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Not satisfied with solely increasing high school graduation rates, more districts and states are emphasizing the content and quality of high school students’ educational experiences, as well as their performance on academic assessments and enrollment in college after high school graduation.

For example, Chicago Public Schools has begun including measures of college readiness on schools’ and students’ report cards. The metrics fall into three broad categories:

1. Student Progress

…

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On Tuesday, November 29^th, the Alliance for Excellent Education held a Webinar, “Personalizing High School: Breaking Barriers to High Achievement,” where presenters Julie Evans, Chief Executive Officer of Project Tomorrow; Mariana Haynes, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at the Alliance for Excellent Education; Yvette Jackson, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban Alliance for Effective Education; and Michael Wotorson, Executive Director of the Campaign for High…

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On November 10, 2011, the U.S. Department of Education announced the highest rated applicants for Investing in Innovation (i3) grants. Ten out of the 23 highest rated applicants are specifically focused on improving high schools, and 12 claimed Competitive Preference Priority 7: College Access & Success. Applicants proposed to expand instructional programs, provide professional development to school and district staff, facilitate student career exploration and planning, and leverage technology…

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Looking for new high school-related resources?  Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:*

Data That Matters: Giving High Schools Useful Feedback on Grads’ Outcomes (Education Sector, November 8, 2011). In Data That Matters, Anne Hyslop identifies four characteristics—the 4Ts—of the most successful college readiness reports. They must be: transparent, thorough, timely, and tailored.

Characteristics of GED Recipients in High School: 2002–06 (National Center for Education Statistics, November 16,…

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