Secondary education encompasses the years between elementary school and college, with curricula ranging from language arts, social studies, and mathematics to vocational and physical education. RAND conducts research on secondary education throughout the world, exploring such topics as the role of sports and physical education, programs that improve reading, the effects of school choice on academic achievement, and school-based drug prevention and education programs, among others.
Journal Article
Using a nationally representative sample of high school students, the authors examine the relationship between career and technical education (CTE) coursework and mathematics achievement in high school.
Journal Article
The career focus at magnet high schools seems to help students move through the indecision of adolescence and build a career identity. However, career magnet schools had a higher dropout rate than comprehensive high schools, and many of the programs were of poor quality.
Report
This document describes recent RAND work related to K-12 education, including teacher pay for performance, measuring teacher effectiveness, school leadership, school systems and reform, and out-of-school time.
Journal Article
Exposure to violence correlated with absenteeism and suspension. The strength of these relationships depended on mode and role in exposure.
Journal Article
Integrating decision training enhanced academic performance and improved an important, general life skill associated with improved life outcomes.
Content
Research has uncovered links between the motives movie characters convey for smoking on the silver screen and real-world smoking risk among middle school students.
Report
Examines the costs of implementing Carnegie Learning's Cognitive Tutor Algebra I curriculum and comparison algebra I curricula (published by Prentice Hall, Glencoe, and McDougal Littell).
Journal Article
This systematic review aims to synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of various approaches to higher education provision in increasing access, quality and completion for students in developing countries.
Report
The ChalleNGe program seeks to alter the life course of high school dropouts ages 16-18. A rigorous evaluation has shown that the program has positive effects on educational attainment and employment. A cost-benefit analysis supports public investment in the program as currently operated and targeted.
Research Brief
A cost-benefit analysis of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program, a program serving high school dropouts, indicates that every dollar invested in the program yields $2.66 in social benefits, an estimated return on investment of 166 percent.
Journal Article
The author investigates the extent to which secondary and higher education supply constraints affected aggregate educational attainment in Colombia for cohorts born between 1945 and 1981.
Journal Article
The goal of this study is to better understand the longitudinal cross-lagged associations between popularity, assessed through self-rating and peer nominations, and alcohol use among middle school students.
Journal Article
Without a strong combination of district, state, federal government, or community-based organization commitment, more engaging versions of civic education will not flourish.
Journal Article
Nearly 40% of a nationally representative cohort of children started kindergarten with a BMI in the top quartile of the growth charts. This proportion increased significantly between 1st and 3rd grades but there was no further increase during middle school.
Journal Article
The purpose of this article is to bring together findings developed from the Schools and Continuing Professional Development in England – State of the Nation Study.
Report
Pittsburgh instituted a new college scholarship program to encourage eligible students to continue their education. An assessment of the program offers recommendations for improving its short- and long-term effectiveness.
Research Brief
To deal with the challenges of struggling public schools, declining populations, and diminishing quality in the local workforce, Pittsburgh instituted a new college scholarship program to encourage eligible students to continue their education.
Journal Article
Examines the progress that Qatar has made in implementing a comprehensive reform, begun in 2002, of its K-12 education system.
Report
Reviews the controversy over the true high school graduation rate in the United States, provides a comprehensive review of the debate, discusses shortcomings of current methods, and proposes new methods that address those shortcomings.
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