Brief | EdInsightsCenter

Next Generation Learning Challenges Innovation Briefs

by Jodi Lewis | Mar 2014 | College and Career Readiness and Success, K-12 Reform, Reports and Briefs

This publication series, written by IHELP and funded and published by EDUCAUSE, looks at the strategies and tools used by Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) grant recipients to implement their new “breakthrough model” schools. NGLC is an initiative to improve postsecondary readiness and completion by identifying and scaling technology-enabled approaches to secondary and postsecondary education, especially for low-income students.

Social Policy Report: Common Core Development and Substance 

by David T. Conley | Jan 2014 | K-12 Reform, Reports and Briefs

This new brief published by the Society for Research in Child Development uses research and literature to provide an overview of the Common Core Standards, including its development and implementation, its relationship to college and career readiness and its effects on educational practice. On pages 16-17 of the brief, Andrea Venezia provided a commentary entitled, “Tracking Common Core Implementation in California,” in which she discusses key challenges of implementation for grades 9-14 and provides an overview of some of California’s work in this area. 

Career Opportunities: Career Technical Education and the College Completion Agenda – Parts I and II (summarized)

by Nancy Shulock, Colleen Moore, Su Jin Jez and Eric Chisholm | Mar 2012 | Career and Technical Education, College and Career Readiness and Success, Reports and Briefs, State and System Policy

This policy brief is a summary of the first two reports in a series on career technical education in the California Community Colleges. The first report analyzes the complex organizational structure and funding arrangements for the CTE mission and the closely related economic and workforce development mission, while the second report examines the full set of career-technical certificate and associate degree programs offered by the CCC. The brief identifies key issues discussed in the two reports that will need to be addressed as efforts proceed to increase the effectiveness of CTE.

Good News But a Long Way to Go

by Colleen Moore | Oct 2011 | Reports and Briefs, State and System Policy

This brief discusses the findings of a report from the American Association of Community Colleges titled, The Road Ahead: A Look at Trends in the Educational Attainment of Community College Students. The brief offers an analysis of the AACC report’s claims that the investments made in a community college education are “paying off” due to the higher increase in certificates and degrees awarded by community colleges than in total enrollment. While there is cause for celebration with respect to increases in enrollment and college completions, a closer look at the data shows some reasons for caution related to the prominence of short-term certificates among the increased awards and to minority rates of improvement that lag the improvement rate among white students.

Highlights of Findings on Latino Student Success

by The Institute for Higher Education Leadership & Policy | Jul 2011 | College and Career Readiness and Success, Reports and Briefs

This one-page brief highlights the findings regarding Latinos in California in the IHELP report, Divided We Fail: Improving Completion and Closing Racial Gaps in California’s Community Colleges. It was prepared at the request of Excelencia in Education to complement their series of reports on Latino college completion.

Performance Incentives to Improve Community College Completion: Learning from Washington State’s Student Achievement Initiative

by Nancy Shulock | Mar 2011 | College and Career Readiness and Success, Reports and Briefs

This policy brief, jointly produced by IHELP and the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University, offers lessons to date about the Student Achievement Initiative (SAI), a policy adopted by the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges that draws on intermediate measures of student progress to reward colleges for improvements in student achievement. The brief examines policy choices that Washington faced in designing and implementing SAI, the choices that leaders in other states will confront when considering adopting performance incentive policies as a means to improve student outcomes.

Prerequisite Policy in the California Community Colleges

by Nancy Shulock | Jul 2010 | College and Career Readiness and Success, Reports and Briefs, State and System Policy

This brief examines proposed changes to prerequisite policy in the California Community Colleges. It discusses the challenges faced by the CCC regarding under-prepared students and the current trends in other states to increase the success of under-prepared students. A written statement containing this information was presented to the CCC Board of Governors.

Beyond the Rhetoric: Improving College Readiness Through Coherent State Policy

by Nancy Shulock | Jun 2010 | College and Career Readiness and Success, K-12 Reform, Regional Education Partnerships, Reports and Briefs, State and System Policy

his policy brief, jointly produced by the Southern Regional Education Board and the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, examines the college readiness problem and offers recommendations to help government and educational leaders strengthen their efforts to lessen the college readiness gap. IHELP Director Nancy Shulock participated in the workgroup that produced the report, which analyzes the causes of the college readiness gap and discusses how states could better address the problem.

Strategies for Improving Higher Education in California: Some Lessons from Florida for California’s Higher Education Policy

by Colleen Moore | Mar 2010 | College and Career Readiness and Success, Reports and Briefs, State and System Policy

This policy brief, sponsored by the Campaign for College Opportunity, examines the public higher education policies and practices of the state of Florida in order to determine possible lessons for California in its efforts to increase student success and degree completion. While Florida still faces significant challenges, some of the state’s policy approaches for public higher education warrant consideration in California’s quest for improvement, specifically the comprehensive student data system, policies related to student transfer from community colleges, statewide Career Technical Education program standards, and standardized policies for assessment, placement and remediation.

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