Audience-Specific Tools and Research

General information

Reports, tips and guidance on communicating with different target audiences.

Use this section to learn more about different audiences, including the barriers they face, how they view the problem(s), what messages appeal to them, and what channels to use to reach them.

Browse Tools and Research for:

Adult Learners

Reasonable Choices
This research project investigates why individuals lacking a high school diploma or GED choose not to pursue educational opportunities.

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education’s Survey Results of Adults With Some College
This PowerPoint presentation describes the traits and behaviors of Kentuckians who have not completed a bachelor’s degree; the barriers potential students face in continuing their education; motivations for seeking higher education; and expectations about the perceived benefits of earning a degree.

Investing Wisely in Adult Learners is Key to State Prosperity
This report documents the benefits of providing more education for adults who did not complete high school and the urgency of increasing the number of high school dropouts who pursue further education.

SREB Adult Learning Campaign 
A Web site of resources for states, the higher education community and organizations interested in the advancement of adult learning.

African Americans

African-American Male Initiative
A strategic pilot initiative working to raise the college aspirations of African-American males.

Creating Seamless Transitions
This study examines the influences on postsecondary planning that Urban African American and Hispanic students have encountered and how such influences have helped them develop and implement their plans for postsecondary education.

School Relationships Foster Success for African American Students
This policy study shows the strengths and weaknesses of African American students’ school relationships, and how these relationships can affect students’ educational outcomes.

Public Education and Black Male Students
The Schott Education Inequity Index (SEII) highlights disparities in the quality of education provided to African-Americans by examining high school graduation rates of Black and White non-Hispanic males.

Given Half a Chance: The Schott 50 State Report Card on Public Education and Black Males
The Schott Education Inequity Index (SEII) highlights disparities in the quality of education provided to African-Americans by examining high school graduation rates of Black and White non-Hispanic males.

High School Dropouts and At-Risk Youth

Cities in Crisis 
Graduation rates are examined in the school districts serving the nation’s 50 most-populous cities. Results show that graduation rates are considerably lower in the nation’s largest cities than suburban school systems.

From the Prison Track to the College Track
This report proposes innovative types of high school experiences are proposed as means to encourage youth at risk of dropping out to remain in school and go on to post-diploma success.

Getting Serious About High School Graduation
This report explains how graduation rates are calculated and provides strategies and promising practices for increasing graduation rates.

High School Dropouts in America
This fact sheet provides statistical information on the drop-out rate in America.

The National Dropout Prevention Center
The National Dropout Prevention Center/Network serves as a clearinghouse on issues related to dropout prevention.

The Silent Epidemic
Researchers found that although some dropouts had faced academic problems, the overwhelming majority possessed the potential to graduate. Further, the students had strong and thoughtful opinions on what might have kept them in school.
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Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-Of-School Youth
This report documents what committed educators, policymakers, and community leaders across the country are doing to reconnect out-of-school youth to the social and economic mainstream.
American Youth Policy Forum

Latino Populations

A Matter of Trust: Ten Key Insights from Recent Public Opinion Research on Attitudes About Education Among Hispanic Parents, Students and Young Adults
This report summarizes how Hispanic parents rate their local schools, what problems they identify, what kinds of goals they have for the education of their children and what challenges they see ahead.

Creating Seamless Transitions
This study examines the influences on postsecondary planning that Urban African American and Hispanic students have encountered and how such influences have helped them develop and implement their plans for postsecondary education.

The “DREAM Act” and the “American Dream Act”
Summary of the “Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act,” S. 774, a bipartisan federal proposal that would facilitate access to college for immigrant students.

English-Spanish Glossary of Terms Relating to Higher Education & Student Financial Aid
This glossary provides Spanish-language information about college and student financial aid to facilitate college attendance among Hispanics, particularly since parental support is such an important factor in a child’s college attendance and completion.

Éxito Escolar
Éxito Escolar is an exciting multimedia college access curriculum focused around a series of four bilingual films. The curriculum builds off the collection of telenovela-style films which follow the experiences of students and their families as they explore life beyond high school.

Five Facts about Undocumented Workers in the United States
This report challenge some common myths about undocumented immigrants.

Hispanic Education in the United States
This statistical brief provides a summary of the key data concerning Latinos in the educational pipeline.

Knocking at the College Door
Between 2004-05 and 2014-15, the nation’s public high schools will produce almost 207,000 more Hispanic graduates (an increase of 54 percent). These data show that minorities account for all the growth in the our public high schools’ production of graduates.

Latino Students and U.S. High Schools
This fact sheet provides statistical information on Latino student in U.S. High Schools.

Pew Hispanic Center
The Pew Hispanic Center has focused attention on outcomes at the post-secondary level and provides several useful fact sheets and research reports.

Opening the Door to the American Dream: Increasing Higher Education Access and Success for Immigrants
This report describes the demographic and educational characteristics of the U.S. immigrant population and discusses barriers faced by legal immigrants seeking to enroll in postsecondary education.

Rural Hispanics at a Glance
This analysis discusses ongoing changes in rural areas and assesses Federal, State, and local strategies to enhance economic opportunities and quality of life for all rural Americans. As part of this analysis, ERS researchers compare current demographic, social, and economic indicators for rural Hispanics with those for other nonmetro residents.

Additional Resources