Category: Student Outcomes

Diplomas Count: An Essential Guide to Graduation Policy and Rates

Summary: A state-by-state breakdown of graduation rates, finding that nationally nearly 1 in 3 high school students do not graduate.

Incentives and Test-Based Accountability in Education

Summary: This extensive and nearly 10-year long study undertaken by leading educators, economists, and psychologists with support from the U.S. Department of Education and several foundations carries a strong message: high-stakes assessments and incentives such as those mandated in NCLB, high school exit exams, and merit pay for teachers have little or no effect on student learning, and sometimes have negative consequences. While numerous studies and critics of testing and high-stakes assessment have sounded these warnings for years, the prestige and influence of the National Academies and the committee who drafted the report sends one of the strongest signals yet to policy-makers and education officials that we should proceed slowly - if at all - with high-stakes measures of education.

One Year Out: Class of 2010 Shares Lessons Learned About College Readiness

Summary: One year after graduating from high school, most members of the Class of 2010 believe that earning a college degree is “definitely” worth it, according to a survey released by the College Board, a not-for-profit organization. The comprehensive survey on college readiness and affordability, One Year Out, explores how young Americans assess their high school experience and its role in preparing them for life after graduation - be it work or postsecondary education.

Strong Connections at School Can Lead to Healthier Choices

Summary: The studies referenced here demonstrate the importance of students being connected to their school, both for social and developmental benefits as well as student achievement. School Connectedness is described in these reports as the belief by students that the adults and peers at their school care about their learning and about them as individuals, and it is marked by including young people in decision-making, supporting social and emotional development of young people, and creating a safe and trusting environment.

The Positive Impact of Social and Emotional Learning for Kindergarten to Eighth-Grade Students

Summary: This review summarizes the vast research and many benefits of social and emotional learning (SEL). It finds that SEL programs improved students' social-emotional skills, attitudes about self and others, connection to school, positive social behavior, and academic performance; they also reduced students' conduct problems and emotional distress. SEL is defined in this report as the process through which children and adults acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to recognize and manage their emotions, set and achieve positive goals, demonstrate caring and concern for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle interpersonal situations effectively.