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Following up on a previous impact study of Early Colleges (EC) based on retrospective admission lotteries, this study assessed longer-term impacts on students' postsecondary outcomes with 4 more years of data. The study found that students who won EC admission lotteries were significantly more likely to enroll in college, enroll in 2-year colleges, complete a college degree, complete associate's degrees or certificates, and complete bachelor's degrees within 6 years after expected high school graduation than control students. Moreover, it found that treatment students completed postsecondary degrees earlier and faster than control students. Consistent with EC's focus on college exposure during high school, the EC impacts on college enrollment and the completion of associate's degrees largely occurred within high school. The study also found that EC impacts did not vary significantly by students' demographic characteristics; however, some impacts were significantly stronger for students with higher levels of prior achievement.

Drawing on interview data from reading policy actors in California, Michigan, and Texas, this study applied Kingdon's (1984, 1995) multiple streams model to explain how the issue of reading became prominent on the agenda of state governments during the latter half of the 1990s. A combination of factors influenced the status of a state's reading policy agenda, including feedback from parents, teachers, and business groups; student achievement data; political pressure from the state administration; regional and national interest; a pervasive belief that reading is a building block for student success; and a widespread perception that the decline in reading achievement was symbolic of the failure of public schools. In addition, governors promoted reading to high agenda prominence by influencing which issues were placed on the decision agenda (agenda setting) and which alternatives were given serious attention (alternative specification). Finally, the findings suggest that the applicability of Kingdon's national-level model to the state level may depend on both the issue being examined and the participation of the state executive branch. (Contains 2 footnotes and 1 table.)