Secondary

Home  »  Research  »  Secondary

Secondary Education

Students at Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology take time to explain their advanced science lesson to classroom visitors in 2012. These students could very well be college graduates by now.

There’s much going on in the world of secondary education.  Here you will find a variety of research/reports/articles highlighting many of those issues.  Posting here does not imply Georgia Partnership endorsement. Entries go back to 2016.  Broken links should be reported here.

Current K-12 News provided by EducationDive:

June 11
June 9 – Weekend Edition
June 8

Additional Secondary Education Resources

Alliance for Excellent Education and REACH Georgia

2018

Proficient vs. Prepared 2018: Disparities Between State Tests and 2017 National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)
Achieve

In 2015, Achieve first released its Proficient vs. Prepared report, comparing state test results against the results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The newest edition of the report, which compares 2016-17 state test results with 2017 NAEP results, finds that while many states have made progress in their transparency about true student proficiency in reading and mathematics, several large “honesty gaps” still remain. (May 21)

Are High School Diplomas Really a Ticket to College and Work?
Center for American Progress

A 50-state review of high school graduation requirements shows misalignment between the coursework necessary to receive a high school diploma and to be eligible for college admissions. Related story. (May 18)

Rethinking Dual Enrollment to Reach More Students
Education Commission of the States

This Promising Practices report discusses state approaches that systematically broaden dual enrollment access and provide pre-collegiate experiences to middle- and lower-achieving students. Introduction.  Related story. (May 1)

College Success Awards – Celebrating High Schools that Prepare Students to Succeed in College
GreatSchools

GreatSchools releases this first-of-its-kind report recognizing and celebrating high schools that excel in ensuring students are prepared for college based on school-level postsecondary data collected and shared by their states. Introduction. Related story. (April 26)

2017

Is Georgia Making the Grade?  2017 National Report Card on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High School
Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain University

Using national data, this study looks at how the states are doing at teaching financial literacy.  It proves we have a long way to go. Related story.(December 19)

A National Sample of 8th Grade Students:  The Impact of Middle Grade Schools on the Academic and Psychosocial Competence (Abstract – Fee for the PDF report)
The Journal of Early Adolescence

This study evaluates the effect of attending a U.S. middle school or junior high school as compared to a K-8  school on eighth graders’ academic and psychosocial development. Related story. (October 22)

What Happens to Students Who Take Community College “Dual Enrollment” Courses in High School?
Community College Research Center

The number of students taking dual enrollment courses in high schools across the U.S. has increased significantly over the past two decades – especially at community colleges – but many colleges and states don’t track student outcomes. Abstract. Related story.  (October 11)

The Predictive Power of 9th Grade GPA
UChicago Consortium on School Research

It has long been accepted that how well a student does in ninth grade is an indicator of futuyre secondary success.  This study underlines that point and adds new thoughts and evidence. Introduction.  Related story. (October 9)

Paper Thin? Why All High School Diplomas Are Not Created Equal
Alliance for Excellent Education

This report builds on prior research and shows the degree to which traditionally underserved students graduate from public high schools having earned a college- and career-ready (CCR) diploma. (August 3)

What Teens Want from Their Schools – A National Survey of High School Students Engagement
Thomas B. Fordham Institute

What truly motivates and engages our high school students today?  Check this survey for interesting answers. Introduction. (June 27)

2016

Closing the College Gap – A Roadmap to Postsecondary Readiness and Attainment
GradNation

The report analyzes new longitudinal data to link the progress made in raising high school graduation rates to what is known about college readiness, access and persistence; the best indicators of a students’ postsecondary success; and the necessary and complementary roles that both the K-12 and higher education systems must play to raise educational attainments and close opportunity gaps. Press releaseRelated story. (December 12)

Knocking at the College Door – Projections of High School Graduates
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education

The steady growth in high school graduates that led to significant expansion of higher education in the United States in recent decades is coming to an abrupt halt. IntroductionPress releaseExecutive summary. Related story. (December 6)

High Stakes for High Schoolers – State Accountability in the Age of ESSA
Thomas B. Fordham Institute

This examines the extent to which states’ current (or planned) accountability systems attend to the educational needs of high-achieving students; it also explains how states can take advantage of ESSA to create systems that serve all students. State profiles. (November 15)

“Billion Dollar Bets” to Establish Pathways to Careers
The Bridgeman Group

Employers say today’s graduates are not applying for jobs with the skills they need to be successful in a range of industries. Related story.(November 11)

Horizon Report – An Examination of Emerging Technologies for Their Potential Impact On and Use in Teaching, Learning and Creative Inquiry in Schools
New Media Consortium and Consortium for School Networking

Achieving personalized instruction is one of the challenges cited here. This annual report, produced by 59 leading experts with online input from others, plots the five-year look ahead for education technology. IntroductionRelated story. (September 22)

Do Top Dogs Rule in Middle School? Evidence on Bullying, Safety, and Belonging
Syracuse and New York University Researchers

In this study, we examine one commonly cited mechanism, the top dog/bottom dog phenomenon, which states that students at the top of a grade span (“top dogs”) have better experiences than those at the bottom (“bottom dogs”). Abstract. Related story. (September 19)

Do Students Show What They Know on Standardized Tests?
Bentley College

This study suggests students taking a test behave like you or me: They do better with a little incentive. Dollars and cents, that is. Related story. (May 23)

NAEP – The Nation’s Report Card
National Assessment of Educational Progress

In comparison to 2013, the national average mathematics score in 2015 for twelfth-grade students was lower and the average reading score was not significantly different. NAEP web site. Related stories: NPR; U.S. News & World ReportLos Angeles TimesBrookings. (April 27)

How the Time of Day Affects Productivity: Evidence from School Schedules
The Review of Economic and Statistics

In this paper, the researcher proposes a simple innovation that schools can use to improve student performance: rearranging schedules to take advantage of time-of-day effects. (April 13)

Career and Technical Education in High School:  Does It Improve Student Outcomes?
Thomas B. Fordham Institute

Career and technical education programs – which policymakers and business groups have been touting as solutions to help fill the skills gap, but which students and parents have been slow to embrace – are paying off in a big way in Arkansas.  Related story. (April 8)

Keeping Tabs on Dual Enrollment
Education Commission of the States

This 2016 update (50-State Comparison: Dual/Concurrent Enrollment Policies) shows some encouraging improvements in state policy – but also shows there are plenty of opportunities for states to enhance their policies on dual enrollment. (April 7)

Meandering Toward Graduation – Transcript Outcomes of High School Graduates
The Education Trust

Forty-seven percent, or almost half, of American high school graduates complete neither a college- nor career-ready course of study — defined here as the standard 15-course sequence required for entry at many public colleges, along with three or more credits in a broad career field such as health science or businessIntroduction. Related story. (April 5)

Graduation Advantage Persists for Students in Deeper Learning Network High Schools 
American Institutes for Research

Can deeper learning experiences translate to higher grad rates?  Related story. (March 21)

The College and Career Readiness of U.S. High School Graduates
Achieve

For more than a decade, Achieve has issued an annual 50-state report on each state’s adoption of college- and career-ready (CCR) policies as reflected in state standards, graduation requirements, assessments, and accountability systems. Press release. Introduction. (March 14)