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.
This study calculates high school graduation rates and the percentage of all students who left high school eligible to apply for college from 1991 to 2002. The study finds that during this period the graduation rate went from 72% to 71%, while the college readiness rate increased from 25% to 34%.
Through examination of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 and its transcript component, vocational education is analyzed for a group of youth. Career and technical education (CTE) courses taken and participation in career-related programs of courses and activities are described. The findings revealed that the majority of American high school students participate in CTE courses and work-related activities, which hold true across demographic subgroups as well.
This study assesses how the High Schools that Work initiative prepares students for college and careers. The report also presents strategies that district and school leaders can use to help students become more prepared for transitioning from high school to college and careers.
This policy brief describes programs and initiatives from different states and districts that have been implemented to retain students, lower dropout rates, and help provide students with life skills to make them successful through and after high school. The authors start with a discussion of how to determine the parameters of graduation policy, i.e., identifying which courses students should be required to take and anchoring courses in standards that are aligned with college and career expectations.
This paper illustrates the advantages of career and technical education in high schools in order to retain students and provide those students that are not college bound the skills needed to be successful after graduation. The authors provide recommendations on how federal resources can support a systemic approach to knowledge and skill development for all youth. These recommendations provide policymakers ideas on how federal and state policies can support a greater role for CTE in high school reform.
In this webinar, presenters Larry McClenny, Superintendent, Patton Springs ISD, Kristina Baca, Superintendent, Loving Municipal Schools, and John White, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach, U.S. Department of Education discuss how rural schools are preparing students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful in college and in jobs by creating learning opportunities through dual enrollment and career and technical education. The panelists discussed the challenges and successes of collaborating with partners such as community colleges and local businesses.
In this webinar, Tiffany Jones from CUE, Sarah Melnick from NCAN, Catherine Chiu from Boston Public Schools, and Catherine Carney from East Boston High School present their work in promoting an equity-based college-going culture through the use of the Equity Scorecard—a change process, previously implemented in colleges and universities, that examines racial inequities in educational outcomes.
To better predict high school graduate preparedness for college course taking, the authors use Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM) to analyze ACT English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science test scores to discern the utility of these scores as predictors of success or failure in first year college students taking typical freshman year courses. They found that although the test scores are useful predictors of success in first-year college courses, ACT scores above the cutoffs do not guarantee success.
This report from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University discusses the findings of a qualitative study of 13 New York City schools that have experienced success in improving student outcomes. Through interviews with school administrators, faculty, and staff, the authors discerned four effective practices or key strategies that were shared among the 13 successful schools. These include: academic rigor, networks of timely supports, college expectations and access, and effective use of data.
