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The expansion and increasing popularity of Advanced Placement (AP) programs have led to a new and significant trend: students are taking AP courses earlier in their high school journey, with a notable increase in enrollment among freshmen and sophomores. This study examines the effects of early engagement in AP courses for students deemed "academically underprepared", as indicated by their previous standardized test scores in reading and mathematics. By examining "academically underprepared" students transitioning from public middle schools to public high schools in Texas, this research challenges the prevailing assumption that early AP involvement is less advantageous for students with lower prior test scores. The goal is to understand whether early participation in AP courses might contribute to greater educational equity and enhancement, providing perspectives on how AP involvement can improve academic success and readiness for college among students often considered underprepared. This research not only reassesses conventional measures of academic readiness but also seeks to highlight the AP program's potential as a tool for educational advancement and equity.

"Free college" (sometimes called Promise) programs are common in U.S. higher education. Reviewing 88 studies of 25 state and local programs, I provide a nuanced picture of the mechanisms through which these programs may work and their likely effects on students, communities, and colleges. Some commonly-claimed mechanisms for these effects--e.g., improving secondary school environments or impacting residential decisions--lack empirical support or are implausible for most existing programs. Programs are consistently found to shift college-bound students to colleges where they can use more scholarship dollars, increase enrollment at eligible colleges, and (for generous local programs only) increase community school district enrollment. Less consistently, programs boost college participation and thereby degree attainment, but evidence for direct effects on college performance, persistence or completion net of enrollment is weak. There is insufficient or inconsistent evidence for program effects on secondary school performance and graduation, post-college income and debt, community population or property values, and inequality reduction according to gender, race, or socioeconomic status.

The purpose of this research was to investigate the progression outcomes of the June 2020 Key Stage 5 cohort following the completion of their post-16 studies amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary interest was to understand whether students from this cohort had progressed differently compared to the previous pre-pandemic cohort of students and, if they had, how they might have been impacted. The progression outcomes analysed were: destinations (e.g., higher education, further education), types of higher education institutions (e.g., Russell Group) and subject areas studied in higher education (e.g., Computing). This research focused on the immediate progression to higher or further education of students who achieved at least an A Level, AS Level, Extended Project Qualification, Applied General, or Tech Level in June 2020. A comparison was made with the June 2019 Key Stage 5 cohort to understand if the outcomes of the June 2020 cohort changed noticeably compared to the pre-pandemic levels. The research also investigated the progression outcomes of specific groups of students to understand whether students from different demographic and socio-economic backgrounds (e.g., disadvantaged students) had been impacted differently.

The 2024 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report is the 18th annual progress report designed to provide the Nebraska Legislature with comparative statistics to monitor and evaluate progress toward achieving three key priorities for Nebraska's postsecondary education system. These priorities were developed by the 2003 LR 174 Higher Education Task Force and described in detail in a 2004 report published by the Coordinating Commission. They are: (1) Increase the number of students who enter postsecondary education in Nebraska; (2) Increase the percentage of students who enroll and successfully complete a degree; and (3) Reduce, eliminate and then reverse the net out-migration of Nebraskans with high levels of educational attainment. This report is a comparative analysis that measures and evaluates performance in respect to each priority. [For the "2023 Nebraska Higher Education Progress Report," see ED627820.]

This brief examines the experiences of California high school seniors from the graduating class of 2023, offering insights into their preparation, plans, and concerns for college prior to enrollment. Drawing on results from a large-scale survey of seniors, the findings reveal important variation in students' secondary school experiences and their plans for college, particularly by race/ethnicity and gender identity. As students' experiences in high school influence concerns about their college futures, these results represent an important marker of what college going may look like for future graduating cohorts and can help policymakers and practitioners better understand the context of students' postsecondary decisions and pathways.

Institutions and community-based organizations that serve their communities are creating positive opportunities for students and families. Over 20 years, "Excelencia" in Education has prioritized bringing national attention to the programs, institutions, and people making a positive difference for Latino students and their communities. Premier in this effort is Examples of "Excelencia," a national initiative to systematically recognize evidence-based programs increasing Latino enrollment, persistence, and graduation. While these programs do not serve Latino students exclusively, each program disaggregates their data and can demonstrate success with Latino students. The 2024 Examples of "Excelencia" are: (1) English for Academic Purposes, Reading Area Community College, Pennsylvania; (2) The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP), Washington State University, Washington; (3) Project upGRADS, California State University, Fullerton, California; and (4) Career Pathways: Empowering Students to Succeed, The Immokalee Foundation, Florida. These programs are increasing affordability, addressing academic barriers, creating a sense of belonging, providing experiential learning opportunities, and investing in wrap-around services that improve higher education outcomes. And these programs are examples of what leaders in communities are doing across the country to ensure our students are provided the services and support to thrive personally and educationally. More detailed information about these outstanding programs as well as those selected as finalists at each academic level are included. All 18 of the programs profiled in this compendium are at the forefront of meeting the challenge of improving higher educational achievement for Latino students and are congratulated for their current and continued efforts. This compendium is a central component of the Examples of "Excelencia" initiative. By sharing what works, the initiative hopes to prompt educators, community leaders, and policymakers to take an asset-based approach to serving Latino students and inspire these decision makers to work to increase Latino student success by supporting, replicating, and bringing to scale evidence-based practices.

Families are now an undeniable part of prospective students' college search process. As American higher education stands at the precipice of profound demographic shifts, colleges and universities must reexamine how they engage not just prospective students, but their families as well. In collaboration with Ardeo and CampusESP, RNL collected and analyzed the findings of 11,309 families with college-bound students from across demographic and geographic backgrounds. The key findings from this 2024 Prospective Family Engagement Report highlight the considerations and inclinations that shape families' awareness and decision-making processes. Insights cover subjects such as their comfort with distance from home, type of information they value, communication channels and the frequency with which they hope to hear from institutions, and their concerns about financing their students' degree. Importantly, the 2024 research underscores how family income, generational status, and ethnicity can shape these categories. The authors' hope is that leaders in higher education institutions find the resulting recommendations to be a practical guide for developing proactive, targeted strategies to engage diverse families in the college planning process.

When do students start the college planning process? How many plan to take the SAT or ACT? How much do they value a college degree? RNL and Halda surveyed more than 2,200 high school students to answer these and many other key questions. Read our 32-page college planning report and discover a wealth of findings on: (1) when students start to research colleges; (2) who influences their decision; (3) how they perceive the college planning process; (4) whether they view college is worth the money and effort; (5) how students perceive test-optional institutions; (6) what information they value the most; (7) how quickly they expect a response; and (8) how much they value personalization in communications. This college planning report will help campus marketing and admissions staff better understand how they can engage prospective students, meet their expectations, and keep them progressing toward enrollment. [This report was co-sponsored by Halda.]

Apprenticeships remain an important source of skilled workers in Australia; however, commencements have not kept pace with the skills demand projected in the previous decade. During that same decade, undergraduate university enrolments grew considerably. In investigating whether young people who would previously have chosen an apprenticeship have instead entered university, this study uses data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Youth (LSAY) to compare the characteristics of apprenticeship-bound young people with those who are university-bound and to determine whether the characteristics have changed between 2007 and 2019.

The need for a larger labor force in Southwest Minnesota is at peak heights and employers are looking for strategies that keep local high school and college graduates in the region. The analysis of 38,154 southwest high school graduates shows that their post-high school paths and plans are related to whether an individual has meaningful workforce participation in Southwest. If their paths and planning for after high school involve programs with regional ties such as attending a college in the region or engaging in career and technical education (CTE) programs, they are significantly more likely to work in the region. However, if their paths and planning take them outside of Southwest, such as attending colleges outside the region, or performing well on ACT and MCA testing, they are significantly more likely to find work outside the region. There is a narrative that outlines what paths and plans students should make for success after high school, but that narrative is outdated. This old narrative, that young people need to leave rural areas to find better job opportunities, is being replaced by a new narrative that better links the educational plans and paths to local workforce demand. In this analysis, CTE programming indicates that having local ties to the labor force and increasing awareness among youth of the local opportunities available is a key part of the path and plans that keep them in Southwest. However, the data also indicates that the old narrative still holds sway: students that plan for and take a path that earns a more "advanced" degree tend to not stay and work in Southwest, despite there being significant demand for their skills locally. These students are pulled to other areas of Minnesota, and in particular, from wherever they graduate college. Adding to the complexity for southwest Minnesota is the increasing competition of border states. In particular, the state of South Dakota has developed an entire recruitment and marketing campaign targeted at our young people in southern Minnesota. And the data indicates that the region is losing nearly 20% of their own students to other states. But it is also known that students are confronted with many messages, narratives and experiences that shape their perceptions of their local opportunities. Although this analysis paints a story of how to move forward, there are likely many other factors at play that can impact Southwest's labor force.

This study assesses the impact of involuntary job loss on college persistence by leveraging different job-loss timings relative to a student's college enrollment decision. We find that job loss increases the probability that a working college student leaves college before attaining a degree, but access to short-term credit through credit card loans buffers this liquidity effect. By restricting credit supply to college students, the CARD Act of 2009 has inadvertently inhibited the ability of liquidity-constrained students to remain in college when their earnings unexpectedly fall, resulting in a stronger liquidity effect of job loss on college persistence over the last decade.

This brief is part of the Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action initiative. The brief describes the emerging practice of direct admissions, including how the practice has been designed, what outcomes it has produced, and considerations for policymakers debating the implementation of a direct admissions program in their state or system. Direct admissions policies address the barriers associated with the admissions process. Direct admissions removes complexity, simplifying the college application process, saving students time and money, and eliminating barriers that disproportionately impact students from minoritized backgrounds due to unevenly distributed social and cultural capital. Direct admissions policies provide students with an early guarantee of college admission at a critical point in high school. This guarantee of acceptance signals the students' college-going potential and reduces the uncertainty and risk of applying. Direct admissions programs tell students that they are college material and that there is a place for them. This holds the potential to overcome wide racial gaps in college-going beliefs. This brief provides summaries of how Idaho, Hawai'i, and Minnesota have adopted and designed direct admissions programs for the public institutions in their states. [Eileen and Harold Brown provided additional funding for this series of briefs.]

Fewer young adults believe college is important, only about one-third of the American public has confidence in higher education. A recent study from Pew Research Center revealed that Americans are increasingly concerned about affordability, access, and the overall payoff of a college degree. Meanwhile, technological advances and AI have begun to change the world of work, altering the credentials and skills needed for success. Many Americans have come to believe that traditional degree programs do not meet these new industry demands. Public policy has not kept up with these changing demands. While dramatically expanding financial support for college students, Washington has chronically underinvested in workforce development and the ability for non-degree workers and learners to acquire in-demand skills. Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) believes "Super Pell" grants aimed at helping future and current workers acquire valuable in-demand skills can help bridge that gap. PPI scholar Paul Weinstein proposed reforming Pell to establish a single higher education grant that would be more generous, easier to access, and financed by folding the myriad of existing tax incentives and higher education spending programs into one offering. He later renamed it "Super Pell" and PPI added to the idea in 2019 in the progressive budget for equitable growth. This policy brief dives into why Super Pell is needed now, why this proposal is different than what's out there and action that has been done to date.

High-performing first-generation and economically disadvantaged students are more likely to attend colleges and universities that are less competitive than their academic qualifications allow, which makes them less likely to graduate. EMERGE is a multiyear, personalized college advising program that aims to address this problem by preparing academically high-performing first-generation and economically disadvantaged students to attend and graduate from the nation's most selective colleges and universities. The costs associated with this high-touch approach warrant investigating how EMERGE compares with low-touch information packets and general district support. This first-ever causal study of EMERGE compared students who were admitted to HISD's EMERGE program with comparable students who applied but were not admitted and were close to the admission cutoff. The analyses showed students admitted to HISD's EMERGE program were significantly more likely to apply to selective colleges, submit more applications to selective colleges, and enroll in selective colleges. Information packets were ineffective.

This report provides highlights of the latest research from the Student Transitions Project (STP), with a focus on the first transitions of B.C. grade 12 graduates into B.C. public post-secondary education. The study was conducted by the Student Transitions Project (STP), a collaborative research partnership involving B.C.'s education and advanced education ministries and post-secondary institutions. This report presents a series of research questions and answers, beginning with brief responses to each question, followed by a more detailed explanation and visual analysis in the Research Results section of the report. [The Ministry of Education and Child Care, Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills, and the B.C. public post-secondary institutions collaborated in this research.]

Monitoring the Future (MTF) is designed to give such attention to substance use among the nation's youth and adults. It is an investigator-initiated study that originated with, and is conducted by, a team of research professors at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. Since its onset in 1975, MTF has been funded continuously by the National Institute on Drug Abuse--one of the National Institutes of Health--under a series of peer reviewed, competitive research grants. The 2022 survey, reported here, is the 48th consecutive national survey of 12th grade students and the 32nd national survey of 8th and 10th grade students (who were added to the study in 1991). MTF contains ongoing national surveys of both adolescents and adults in the United States. It provides the nation with a vital window into the important but often hidden problem behaviors of use of illegal drugs, alcohol, tobacco, and psychotherapeutic drugs (used without a doctor's orders). For more than four decades, MTF has helped provide a clearer view of the changing topography of these problems among adolescents and adults, a better understanding of the dynamics of factors that drive some of these problems, and a better understanding of some of their consequences. It has also given policymakers, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the field some practical approaches for intervening. Two of the major topics included in the present monograph are: (1) the prevalence and frequency of use of a great many substances, both licit and illicit, among U.S. secondary school students in 8th, 10th, and 12th grades; and (2) historical trends in use by students in those grades. Distinctions are made among important demographic subgroups in these populations based on gender, college plans, region of the country, population density, parent education, and race/ethnicity. MTF has demonstrated that key attitudes and beliefs about drug use are important determinants of usage trends, in particular the amount of risk to the user perceived to be associated with the various drugs and disapproval of using them; thus, those measures also are tracked over time, as are students' perceptions of certain relevant aspects of the social environment--in particular, perceived availability of each drug, peer norms about their use, use by friends, and exposure to use by others of the various drugs. Data on grade of first use, noncontinuation of use, trends in use in lower grades (based on retrospective reports), and intensity of use are also reported here. [For "Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2021. Volume I, Secondary School Students," see ED619855.]

This paper summarizes a three-year quasi-experimental evaluation with school-level assignment of a social-emotional learning (SEL) program for high school students who are at-risk of dropping out before college graduation. The field-initiated program aimed to increase students' social and emotional skills, develop their character, and increase their college-going identities (CGI) with the long-run goal of strengthening students' growth mindset, resilience, and ability to persist to college graduation. There were four interventions that constituted "the treatment": (1) a 10-lesson student-facing CGI curriculum, (2) student-led "critical conversations" with recent alumni about their college experience (3) a research-based CGI coaching rubric for college counselors, and (4) CGI professional development for teachers and counselors. Treatment students were exposed to the curriculum, and both treatment and control students were exposed to business-as-usual college preparation activities, e.g., a curriculum that did not contain specific CGI lessons, but still developed college knowledge and academic readiness. Participating schools were located in suburban Texas (San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, and the Rio Grande Valley). The study sample consisted primarily of low-income and Hispanic students. There were varied levels of implementation fidelity across the treatment schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a cluster-level quasi-experimental design (QED), treatment effects on students' growth mindset were estimated. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the CGI program led to positive effects on students' growth mindset after two and three years of exposure to the program. This research was funded by an early-phase Education, Innovation, and Research grant from the Department of Education (award number U411C170162).

The number of jobs across the United States requiring postsecondary education continues to grow. Concerns expressed by business leaders, policymakers, and the public include too few students enrolling in higher education, the affordability of college, and decreasing levels of college completion. One solution to address these issues has been to enroll students in college-level courses and certificate programs while still in high school. Students are enrolled in college acceleration courses where they are awarded college credit toward technical or degree-granting colleges upon completion and often receive high school credit. Students who enroll in college acceleration courses are more likely to graduate from high school, enroll in college within one year of receiving their diploma, and are less likely to need developmental college courses. While most studies examined courses in which students receive both high school and college credit, the present analysis looks at all college courses students participated in regardless of whether they received high school credit. The project presented in this report aims to describe the landscape of high school students who enroll in college acceleration courses facilitated by the Utah System of Higher Education institutions.

Starting with the high school graduating Class of 2009, Success Boston has provided transition coaching to Boston Public Schools (BPS) high school graduates, many of whom are from groups traditionally underrepresented in college. In the first few years of Success Boston Coaching (SBC), the program served approximately 300 students per year. In 2015, under a "scale-up" effort supported in part by a Social Innovation Fund grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service, SBC expanded from serving several hundred Boston young adults in each high school graduating class to about 1,000 students per cohort. Beginning with the 2015 cohort, Success Boston also accorded more significant and intentional focus on the coaching of students at two-year colleges as well as on supporting students who are young men of color. The study examines how SBC was implemented, and what effects, if any, SBC has had on students' postsecondary success and completion. This longitudinal study follows five cohorts of students who initially enrolled in college each fall, from 2013 through 2017, immediately after graduating from high school. It looks at whether students who received SBC were more successful in the short-term and long-term in college than a group of similar peers who did not receive SBC. This report examines the effects of SBC on postsecondary completion for the five cohorts combined: the pre-scale-up cohorts (2013 and 2014) and the post-scale-up cohorts (2015, 2016, and 2017). In addition, to complement the 2021 report's focus on the pre-scale-up cohorts' completion, and because it is a common practice to examine how a program's effects change after the program is scaled up, this report also examines SBC's effects on the three post-scale-up cohorts' completion. Finally, as an exploratory analysis, the report also examines how SBC affects students' completion of different types of credentials, such as bachelor's degrees and associate degrees.

Washington has some of the strongest state financial aid programs in the country. These programs support a diverse set of educational opportunities--from certificate programs to associate and bachelor's degrees. They are available to help cover the costs of tuition for many low- and middle-income students. Washington's commitment to helping students pursue postsecondary opportunities continues to grow as state financial aid programs grow. Many more students could access financial aid by completing a financial aid application. Students must apply for federal or state financial aid with a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or a Washington Application for State Financial Aid (WASFA). In 2022, only about half of high school seniors in the state completed a FAFSA. Washington historically ranks near the bottom in FAFSA completion nationally. Like other states, Washington's FAFSA completion got even worse during the COVID-19 pandemic as fewer students applied for financial aid or enrolled in postsecondary education and training. The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) has led efforts to address this challenge and raise awareness about the state's many financial aid and postsecondary opportunities. This brief shares key ongoing initiatives and new strategies.

Since 2011, the Alaska Performance Scholarship (APS) has awarded Alaska students who excel in high school with more than $100 million in scholarships to help cover the cost of in-state postsecondary education. This report covers: (1) APS Eligibility & Use; (2) High School Outcomes; (3) Postsecondary Outcomes; and (4) Alaska Residency and Workforce Outcomes. [This report was prepared by McKinley Research Group (MRG). For "Alaska Performance Scholarship Outcomes Report 2022. APS: Fall 2011-2021," see ED621314.]

What are the barriers to employment for young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or who have experience of care? What works best to support them? In partnership with the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), our latest report draws conclusions from a survey of practitioners and young people to understand the barriers they face, what services are offered, and what is considered to work best in helping NEET young people--and especially care leavers--to progress into work. More than one in ten young people in the UK between the ages of 16 and 24 are classified as not in employment, education or training (NEET), and the rate of young people being NEET has not fallen below 10% over the last twenty years. We know that being NEET can have immediate negative consequences for a young person, such as decreasing levels of self-esteem, increasing the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviours such as substance misuse and criminal activities, and increasing their chances of living in poverty. While there has been much research into the factors that lead to becoming NEET, how these can be mitigated, and the impacts of being NEET, there is not the same body of evidence to inform the support provided to young people to move into and stay in education, employment and training (EET). This study looks at what the existing research has to say and surveys young people and the practitioners who work with them on four key questions: (1) What are the key barriers to EET for young people and care leavers who are NEET?; (2) What is currently offered to young people and care leavers in terms of entry to EET support?; (3) What is currently offered in terms of in-work support for young people and care leavers?; and (4) What types of provision are most effective at dealing with the barriers young people face to EET? Drawing out lessons for practitioners and policymakers, this study contributes to our understanding of what young people see as the issues, the support they need and what service providers are offering to some of the most vulnerable people in society. [This report was produced with the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA).]

The High School Graduation Plan (HSBP) is a graduation requirement and a critical component of supporting students' career development throughout their secondary education experience. The Washington Legislature has revised and strengthened HSBP requirements to include the implementation of a universal online HSBP platform that can be readily accessed by students, families, teachers, and others who support students' academic and career development. This new platform will alleviate many existing equity issues and create new opportunities for students to develop and curate a HSBP that aligns with their needs and interests. The Legislature requires the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to facilitate the transition of the HSBP to a universal online platform that will ensure consistent and equitable access to the needed information and support to guide students' educational experience and ensure preparation for their postsecondary plans. This is the first of three reports to the Legislature.

The "Student FAFSA Completion Report" (2023) is submitted pursuant to Education Article § 7-212, Annotated Code of Maryland, which requires the Maryland Longitudinal Data System (MLDS) Center to annually produce, on or before December 15th of each year, beginning in 2023 and ending in 2028, on the submission and completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by Maryland high school students. Specifically, the MLDS Center is to report, disaggregated by county and student characteristics: (1) the number of students who completed and submitted the FAFSA in the immediately preceding school year; (2) the number of students who did not complete and submit the FAFSA in the immediately preceding school year; and (3) the number of students who completed the FAFSA by the deadline for State financial aid.