R&R: April Research & Reports
Published: April 1, 2006
The California High School Exit Exam Gets Real
This EdSource report maps out the history and status of the exit exam and addresses its impact on students and the state education system, issues of fairness surrounding the exam, what the state is doing to help struggling students (particularly special education students), and options for students who have not passed by graduation day.
The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts
Researchers for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation asked 500 former students why they dropped out of high school, and found that although some dropouts had faced academic problems, the overwhelming majority possessed the potential to graduate.
Reading Between the Lines
Based on 2005 ACT-tested high school graduates, only about half of our nation’s high school students are ready for college-level reading, a skill equally important whether the student goes to college or straight to work.
2006 Education Vital Signs: U.S. Schools In Facts & Figures
The American School Board Journal presents state-by-state figures on student enrollment, teacher salaries, per-pupil expenditures, assessment scores, and other gauges of the health and wellbeing of our nation’s schools.
Breaking Ranks in the Middle: Strategies for Leading Middle Level Reform
This report from the National Association of Secondary School Principals challenges middle level principals to take responsibility for improving the academic outcomes of all of their students and for getting them on track for success in high school and beyond. It details nine cornerstone strategies and 30 specific recommendations for improving student achievement.
Public Schools and Sexual Orientation: A First Amendment Framework for Finding Common Ground
This guide from the First Amendment Center – endorsed by the American Association of School Administrators, as well as gay and Christian groups – offers guidelines that school officials can use to reconcile deeply conflicting community views and legal imperatives on issues surrounding sexual orientation in schools.
Effects of the Implementation of Proposition 227 on the Education of English Learners, K-12
This report from WestEd and American Institutes for Research is based on a study of 1.5 million California English learner and 3.5 million English-fluent and native English speaking students, and includes detailed findings and policy implications for education in California and nationwide.