» Academic Pathways to Access and Student Success

National Inventory of Academic Pathways
This project identifies and disseminates information about new and emerging academic pathways that extend from high school to college and enhance transition to postsecondary education for underserved students, particularly underrepresented minority, low-income, and first-generation students.

» Achieve, Inc

American Diploma Project Network
The American Diploma Project Network includes 26 states that are dedicated to making sure every high school graduate is prepared for college or work.

Closing the Expectations Gap 2006: An Annual 50 State Progress Report on the Alignment of High School Policies with the Demands of College and Work
The American Diploma Project Network includes 26 states that are dedicated to making sure every high school graduate is prepared for college or work.

» ACT

Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals about College Readiness in Reading
This report finds that many students are graduating without the reading skills they will need in college and/or the workplace and calls for major changes in high school reading standards and instruction.

» American Youth Policy Forum

Essentials of High School Reform: New Forms of Assessment and Contextual Teaching and Learning
This report contends that high school students need to learn about potential careers, have a familiarity with the world of work beyond the classroom walls, and develop some occupational competencies. It includes two papers and summaries of roundtables that provide policy recommendations and practical advice on how to structure contextual teaching and learning and alternative assessments activities at the high school level.

» Association for Career and Technical Education

Reinventing the American High School for the 21st Century: Strengthening a New Vision for the American High School through the Experiences and Resources of Career and Technical Education
In this position statement, ACTE promotes a number of CTE strengths and resources that will help improve the nation’s high schools and help prepare students for postsecondary education and the 21st century workforce.

» Center on Education Policy

Annual Reports on High School Exit Exams
This series of reports analyzes state high school exit examinations in relationship to a variety of topics, including the achievement gap, underserved students, No Child Left Behind, and others.

» Education Commission of the States

ECS High School Policy Center
This online resource includes an extensive 50-state high school policy database, highlights of local initiatives, a searchable database of high school research, high school related policy briefs, and other resources related to state policy.

What is P-16 Education? A Primer for Legislators
This brief is designed to serve as a practical guide to an integrated public education system. It offers a “basic orientation” to P-16 education, beginning with an overview of the varying definitions of P-16 and concluding with specific policy questions for legislators to consider. It also includes a glossary of terms, a list of selected readings and links to a variety of resources and materials on P-16.

Dual Enrollment: Policy Issues Confronting State Policymakers
This brief provides policymakers and overview of the issues surrounding dual enrollment programs. It includes basic information about dual enrollment and provides examples of states doing work in this area.

Ensuring Rigor in the High School Curriculum: What States Are Doing
This policy brief provides a look at some of the strategies states are using to increase rigor in high schools, including: replacing conventional high-school exit exams with more rigorous end-of-course assessments; encouraging greater use of diagnostic and formative assessments; working with school districts to develop assessments and other measures to gauge student proficiency in content areas; creating an infrastructure of support for struggling students; and expanding teachers’ access to high-quality professional development, training and enrichment programs.

» Forum for Youth Investment

Ready by 21: Ready for Work, Ready for College, Ready for Life
This project seeks to ensure that every young person is ready for college, ready for work, and ready for life by age 21. In the project, the Forum for Youth Investment works with communities to improve leadership and community supports in order to change young peoples’ lives.

» Institute for Educational Leadership

Claiming Common Ground: State Policymaking for Improving College Readiness and Success
This report identifies four state policy dimensions for improving college-readiness opportunities for all high school students, including: alignment of coursework and assessments; state finance; statewide data systems; and accountability.

» Institute for Educational Leadership – National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth

Disability Legislation Updates
This web site offers summaries of legislation related to youth with disabilities and provides updates as legislation changes.

White Papers on research, definitions, information on programs and practices, outcomes, measurements, and references related to disability and youth
These papers include a synthesis of research, definitions, information on programs and practices, outcomes, measurements, and references on issues related to workforce, disability, and youth.

» Institute for Higher Education Policy

Convergence: Trends Threatening to Narrow College Opportunity in America
The report tracks a diverse array of factors at the federal, state, and institutional levels that are likely to converge in the coming decade with potentially serious negative consequences on higher education opportunity for low-income, minority, and other underserved populations.

» Jobs for the Future

Integrating Grades 9 Through 14: State Policies to Support and Sustain Early College High Schools
This brief recommends state policies that would support early college high schools, drawing on lessons learned through their Early College High School Initiative. It also points to broader policy changes that would advance the agenda of creating a seamless K-16 system that promotes smooth transitions from one education level to the next.

Add and Subtract: Dual Enrollment as a State Strategy to Increase Postsecondary Success for Underrepresented Students
This policy primer for states provides an overview of dual enrollment and a rationale for its expansion and guidelines (including funding models) for states wishing to implement dual enrollment for a wider range of students.

Making Good on a Promise: What Policymakers Can Do to Support the Educational Persistence of Dropouts
This report assesses how far our society is from “making good” on the promise of a second chance for dropouts and offers a starting point for improving the record. It challenges several misconceptions based on a detailed look at who dropped out and how much education they completed by their early adulthood.

» KnowledgeWorks Foundation

Every Student Deserves a Legacy: Behind-the-Scenes Stories from one of the Nation's Most Sweeping Statewide High School Reform Efforts
This resource provides behind-the-scenes stories from new small schools in the first year of the Ohio High School Transformation Initiative.

Local/Regional P-16 Planning Guide
This guide is designed to help local P-16 Councils of educators, business, community and civic stakeholders develop a plan for better aligning education from preschool through postsecondary education and careers.

» National Association of Secondary School Principals

Advancing High School Reform in the States: Policies and Programs
This report identifies the policies states have enacted that align with and support NASSP’s federal legislative recommendations for reforming the nation’s high schools which reflect the reform strategies outlined in NASSP’s high school reform framework, Breaking Ranks II.

NASSP Policy Recommendations for Middle Level Reform
These recommendations outline what state policymakers can do to support the achievement of students in the middle grades.

» National Association of State Boards of Education

Policy Update on Exit Exams
This brief provides a basic overview on state exit exams for members of state boards of education and their staff.

» National Governors Association

An Action Agenda for Improving America's High Schools
This framework seeks to ensure the readiness of the nation's high school students for college, work, and citizenship through five major recommendations.

Getting it Done: Ten Steps to a State Action Agenda
As part of his initiative as chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA), Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, working with the NGA Center for Best Practices, identified 10 steps governors can take to put their states on the right path toward redesigning high schools.

» New York Performance Standards Consortium

New York Performance Standards Consortium
This coalition of high schools across New York State opposes standardized testing and has developed alternative methods of assessment consisting of eight components including alignment with state standards, professional development, external review, and formative and summative data.

» Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Results That Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform
This report outlines a framework for 21st century learning that focuses on the results that matter for today’s high school graduates.

» Pathways to College Network

A Shared Agenda: A Leadership Challenge to Improve College Access and Success
This report offers broad policy recommendations and specific actions that leaders in government, education, and communities can take to improve college access and success for underserved students.

College Readiness for All Toolbox
This web site contains sections of Tools, Lessons Learned, and Resources & Links, all designed to support the collaborative efforts of educators, counselors, outreach professionals, and policymakers.

» Rhode Island Department of Education

Rhode Island High School Diploma System – Performance Based Assessment
The Rhode Island High School Diploma system requires multiple forms of assessment, including performance-based assessment to graduate from Rhode Island's public high schools.

» Social Science Research Council

Questions that Matter: Setting the Research Agenda on Access and Success in Postsecondary Education
This report provides a brief overview of the research landscape concerning what students need to succeed in post-secondary education and presents an agenda for future research by focusing on pressing questions that need to be addressed.

» Southern Regional Education Board

Getting Students Ready for College and Careers
The report describes where Southern Regional Education Board states stand on graduation requirements, college admission exams, achievement gaps, and advanced course-taking, and it offers strategies to help states improve readiness rates and reduce the need for remediation in college.

» State Higher Education Executive Officers

Student Success: Statewide P-16 Systems
This series of essays explains the key components of a state P-16 system from the perspective of higher education leaders.

» Workforce Strategy Center

Resources on Workforce Development in Schools
This web site includes resources related to workforce development and career pathways.