The College and Career Readines and Success Center closed on September 30,2019 because the grant cycle for the U.S. Department of Education Comprehensive Centers ended. The information on this website will no longer be updated. Visit www.air.org for updates on college and career readiness.
Submitted by George Knowles on
On Thursday, January 30, 2014, the College and Career Readiness and Success Center (CCRS), in partnership with the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF), hosted a webinar titled "Early College, Early Success: Program Overview, Research Findings, and Implications for Practice."
This report includes findings from an impact evaluation of the Early College High School Initiative, launched by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The study compared the educational outcomes of students who applied and received admission into Early College through a lottery system to the outcomes of students who participated in the lottery system but did not receive admission. The study sample included 2,458 students and included data from 2004 to 2012.
Dual enrollment and early college high schools have been shown to have a positive association with college completion rates. However, these programs are often among the first to be cut when state funding gets tight. This report outlines how performance-based funding that rewards outcomes such as graduation rates or annual student growth goals is a promising answer to state funding challenges.
Submitted by CCRS Center on
CCRS Interactive State Map, an interactive state map developed by the College and Career Readiness and Success Center (CCRS Center), presents the broad landscape of college and career readiness throughout the nation. The map provides a snapshot of various efforts states are taking.
Submitted by Andrea Berger on
In 2002, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched the Early College High School Initiative (ECHSI) to increase opportunities for underserved students to earn a postsecondary credential. Early Colleges partner with colleges and universities to offer students the chance to earn an associate’s degree or up to two years of college credits toward a bachelor’s degree during high school at little or no cost. Since its start, more than 240 Early Colleges have opened in the United States.
This report presents a review of improvement strategies and reforms that educators and policymakers can develop and implement to support low-performing high schools. The report explains the theories that drive each reform strategy, reviews the evidence supporting the strategies, and provides suggestions for implementing the reforms. Some of the reform strategies include dual enrollment, early college high schools, learning communities, career academies, and charter high schools.
A record number of high school students, 1.3 million during the 2010-2011 school year, are aiming to cut down on college costs by completing college courses while still in high school. Some of the methods students are taking to earn college credit include taking AP and college courses, receiving college credit for life experiences, completing the College-Level Examination Program, and attending early colleges during their senior year of high school. Research has also found that high school students who are exposed to college-level work have an increased likelihood of success.
Submitted by CCRS Center on
Looking for new college and career readiness and success-related resources? Here are some pieces that other organizations have recently released:
College and Career Readiness Standards for Adult Education (U.S. Department of Education, April 2013)
