Education Level: High School

Overview

High School
9th to 12th grade

High school graduation is one of life’s great milestones, propelling adolescents into adulthood. During these years, schools must prepare students for as many options as possible: college, career and life as productive citizens.

Publication February 2022 | 11 pages
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Improving Secondary and Postsecondary Outcomes for Students with Disabilities

How can states, schools and colleges help students with disabilities to improve high school graduation rates, postsecondary success, and career and technical education participation?

This piece, produced for a request from a state department of education, includes actions to consider, examples from SREB states and a review of current research on professional development, educational technology and individualized instruction.

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Post

Advanced Career
High-tech skills plus high-level academics

To help high schools prepare students for both college and careers, SREB partnered with state leaders, local employers and master teachers to develop Advanced Career. Four-course pathways connect academics with hands-on projects so students see how learning connects to life outside the school walls.

From aerospace engineering to clean energy technology, the research-based curricula allow teens to test drive careers in high-demand STEM fields while building college-ready reading, writing, math, science and workplace skills. 

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Publication June 202034 pages

Dual Enrollment Research
A Comprehensive Review

Part of the ongoing work of SREB’s Dual Enrollment Initiative, this comprehensive review is intended to help policymakers better understand what the research tells us (and what it doesn’t) about dual enrollment. The research analyzes more than 500 journal articles, master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, web documents and books from 1959 to 2019.

FULL REPORT

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Publication September 2019 | 20 pages
Shared-Time Technology Centers: A Study of Six State Funding Systems. Special Report for the Kentucky Career and Technical Education Task Force Southern Regional Education Board.  SREB.org. September 2019

Shared-Time Technology Centers
A Study of Six State Funding Systems

Students need learning experiences connected with the world of work to equip them to enter the workforce and secure good jobs. This report provides an overview of funding for career and technical education and a detailed look at CTE funding models in Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Produced by SREB for the Kentucky Career and Technical Education Task Force, it also offers considerations for actions to improve CTE.

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Blog post Jeff Gagne

SREB States Lead the Nation in High School Graduation Rates

Graduation rates are up again in states across the nation – and SREB states lead the pack once again in data released this week by the United States Department of Education.

Graduation rates climbed in 11 of the 16 SREB states between the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years. Ten SREB states tied or exceeded the national rate. Three of the SREB states were on the list of top 10 states: Kentucky, Tennessee and Texas.

Publication August 20128 pages(12E12w)

Reaching Higher Ground
SREB States Outpace U.S. Growth in High School Graduation Rates

The 2002 Challenge to Lead Goals for Education called for SREB states to raise the percentages of all groups of students graduating from high school to above the national average, as part of the region’s mission “to lead the nation in educational progress.” Detailed in this SREB Policy on Point report, the gains made by the region as a whole and by individual states since that time have been remarkable. Almost every SREB state increased its high school graduation rate from 1999 to 2009, and more than half outpaced the nation’s gains.

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Publication May 201212 pages(12E02R)

Smart Class-Size Policies for Lean Times

This policy brief summarizes class-size reduction policies across the region, reviews research on the issue, and offers recommendations on how states might make sensible adjustments without jeopardizing student achievement.

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Publication 200930 pages(09E01)

A Critical Mission
Making Adolescent Reading an Immediate Priority in SREB States

Report of the Committee to Improve Reading and Writing in Middle and High Schools

Nationwide, students in the middle grades and high school are failing to develop the reading and writing skills they need in order to meet higher academic standards. This major SREB report on adolescent literacy discusses the urgency of the problem in depth and presents specific solutions for SREB states based on the recommendations of the SREB Committee to Improve Reading and Writing in Middle and High Schools, chaired by Governor Tim Kaine of Virginia, the SREB Board chair. The report includes a message from SREB President Dave Spence and status reports on recent state actions on the issue.

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Publication June 20114 page(11E05)

Transitioning to the New High School Graduation Rate

For nearly a decade, states have had flexibility in collecting and reporting graduation rate data for state and federal accountability purposes. But in 2008, the U.S. Department of Education issued new guidelines that require all states to report a new rate – the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate - beginning in the 2011-2012 school year.

Publication April 2011 | 12 pages | (11E02)Matthew Lenard

Strengthening Attend n’ Drive Laws
To Reduce Truancy and Dropouts

The majority of states nationwide and all 16 SREB states link eligibility for a driver’s license to school attendance (and in some cases to academic performance). This policy brief compares attend ‘n’ drive laws across SREB states, takes a look at their effectiveness, and offers recommendations for states.

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Publication 2009 | 32 pages | (09V17)

The Next Generation of School Accountability
A Blueprint for Raising High School Achievement and Graduation Rates

Report of the Committee to Improve High School Graduation Rates and Achievement

This report recommends strategies that states and public schools can use to improve student achievement and raise graduation rates. The report is based on the recommendations of the SREB Committee to Improve High School Graduation Rates and Achievement, led by Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia.

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