Writing for The 74, Sara Allan of the Bill & Melida Gates Foundation, explained a new Gates-funded project, Accelerate ED, which is providing grants in 12 states for programs that seek to link K-12 education, college, and the workplace. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Today, we’re proud to launch Accelerate ED: Seamless Pathways to Read more about With Grants, Accelerate ED Looks to Better Link K-12, College & Work[…]
Colleges and universities fail to graduate just under half of all students who enter their programs. This is often due to external factors and barriers that affect students’ ability to focus on learning—like being a student parent or provider for their family, encountering mental health difficulties, or the rising cost of attendance. However, evidence-based college Read more about The 101 on Evidence-Based College Completion Programs[…]
The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) has released a series of resources focused on providing design principles for policymakers at the federal level looking to expand support for college in high school programs like dual enrollment and early college. Federal Design Principles are provided for: Creating a Dual Enrollment State Grant Program Proposes the Read more about Restructuring the High School-to-College Transition[…]
Writing for the Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Andrew Scanlan recently reviewed their research on the role of advanced placement courses in narrowing achievement gaps. Excerpts from the piece appear below: This report presents key findings from Learning in the Fast Lane: The Past, Present, and Future of Advanced Placement, a book by Read more about The Role of Advanced Placement in Bridging Excellence Gaps[…]
As its name suggests, the middle-skills pathway sits between a high school diploma and a bachelor’s degree. There are a wide variety of credentials associated with this pathway, but certificates and associate degrees are the most popular. In general, associate degrees include a mix of general education courses and career preparation, while certificates are almost Read more about Associate Degrees and Certificates are More Valuable Than you may Think[…]
As automation, AI, and other technological advances continue to disrupt jobs, more Americans will need to upgrade their skills throughout their lives to stay competitive. Right now, however, the postsecondary credentialing system is fragmented. It doesn’t acknowledge or connect the learning that happens through different sources of education–from school to work to the military. And Read more about Solutions to Build a 21st Century Connected Credentialing System[…]
Time-based systems, also known as “seat-time” requirement systems, still form the basis of today’s traditional schools. The prevailing assumption has been that state policies for seat-time requirements constrict schools and hinder attempts to innovate. However, far more flexibility exists than originally thought. New research by ExcelinEd examining seat-time requirements for awarding credit and graduation reveals Read more about Debunking the Myth of Seat-Time: A National Analysis of Seat-Time Requirements for Credit[…]
A new policy scan from Education Commission of the States reveals the incredible growth of dual enrollment policies across the nation. Because dual enrollment programs offer advanced learning opportunities to high schoolers and can lower the cost of college for students and families, state policymakers have been looking at ways to expand access to these Read more about Dual Enrollment Access Policy Snapshot[…]
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[…]
GripTape asserts that learner agency—defined as the ability to make intentional choices about and take an active role in the course of one’s own learning—is the key to a self-reinforcing cycle of learning and development. After two years spent working directly with more than 400 young people nationwide designing and testing approaches to solve this Read more about Griptape Releases Learner Agency Framework[…]
Can teaching and learning practices that foster deeper learning among all students-not just the most advantaged-be successfully replicated across large numbers of schools? The answer is an unqualified “yes,” according to the Learning Policy Institute’s recently released study, Deeper Learning Networks: Taking Student-Centered Learning and Equity to Scale. The study examines how three school networks, Read more about Recent Research: Taking Student-Centered Learning and Equity to Scale[…]
We know more than ever about the science of learning and development, but education policy hasn’t kept pace with these advancements. In a new report, iNACOL (Renamed the Aurora Institute) explores the emerging research and offers a set of recommendations to align policy with how students learn best. Aligning Education Policy with the Science of Read more about Nine Ways to Align Education Policy with the Learning Sciences[…]
Researchers from the Community College Research Center at Columbia University are working with Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program to improve the outcomes of college acceleration strategies for underrepresented high school students, particularly students of color and those from low-income families. This research project is designed to better understand the drivers that can increase equitable access Read more about College Acceleration for All? Mapping Racial/Ethnic Gaps in Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment Participation[…]
The College in High School Alliance (CHSA) has partnered with the Level Up coalition to publish Unlocking Potential: A State Policy Roadmap for Equity and Quality in College in High School Programs. This resource can serve as a roadmap for states that want to design policy that drives meaningful change in access, equity, and quality Read more about Equity and Early College Experiences[…]
Listening closely to what students say about their school experiences can be beneficial to educators for understanding and addressing school-related topics and problems and for rethinking policies and practices. A new toolkit from REL West provides educators a purposeful and systematic means to gather and analyze local data by eliciting and listening to student voice Read more about Tools for Using Student Perspectives for School Improvement[…]
A team of current and former Stanford University researchers studied whether racial and ethnic segregation at school still matters today by looking at 350 million test scores across nearly every school in the United States from the 2008-09 school year to the 2015-16 school year. The study looked at student test performance in math and Read more about Poverty levels in schools key determinant of achievement gaps, not racial or ethnic composition, study finds[…]