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Linking Research and Resources for Better High Schools

The National High School Center, based at the American Institutes for Research, provides the latest research,
user-friendly tools and products, and high-quality technical assistance on high school improvement issues.

Spotlight Using the Right Data to Determine if High School Interventions Are Working to Prepare Students for College and Careers This report is designed to guide educators in collecting and analyzing valuable student achievement data that can help them determine if and how high school interventions for underprepared students are working to effectively prepare them for college and careers. The report was authored by Chrys Dougherty, a senior research scientist at the National Center for Educational Achievement (NCEA), which is a partner of the National High School Center. The press release for this report may be viewed here. (January 2010) A Coherent Approach to High School Improvement: A Needs Assessment Tool Building off of Eight Elements of High School Improvement: A Mapping Framework, this tool is designed to help districts and schools assess current high school education policies and practices, identify areas of strengths and limitations, and implement coherent and sustainable school reform initiatives. (December 2009) Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants This handbook provides practical and useful guidance on the models and strategies required and recommended for use in applying for School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds, and includes references to the underlying research and connections to useful resources. Developed by the Center on Innovation and Improvement at the request of the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Secondary and Elementary Education, this resource includes contributions from the National High School Center, the Center on Instruction, the Assessment and Accountability Center, and the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality. (January 2010) What Matters for Staying On-Track and Graduating in Chicago Public Schools: A Focus on Students with Disabilities Freshman year course performance—more than background characteristics such as race, gender, socioeconomic status or prior achievement—predict which students with disabilities are most at risk for dropping out of high school, according to a new report from the National High School Center at the American Institutes for Research and the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago. The report found that absences, course failures, course credits and GPA all can be used to accurately predict whether ninth-graders with disabilities will graduate from high school. Identifying these early warning indicators is especially crucial for students with disabilities, who drop out of high school at alarming rates. The press release for this report may be viewed here. (December 2009) Additional news spotlights.

Featured Resources Ask the Expert: Join our online discussion through the end of January on Common Core State Standards Initiative featuring Dane Linn.     High School Improvement Topics View resources on pressing high school issues including: Dropout prevention Transitions into high school Early Warning Systems Transitions out of high school High school literacy Access our complete listing of Topics for High School Improvement Interactive Map: Navigating the National High School Improvement Landscape This map offers state profiles featuring national high school improvement initiatives at work in each state. Each state profile also compares high school graduation requirements with what is required of students entering state university systems. .

The National High School Center is based at the American Institutes for Research and funded through a grant by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Special Education Programs at the U.S. Department of Education.

The contents of this Web site were developed under a grant (Grant #S283B050028, CFDA Subprogram 84.283) from the Department of Education. Information presented in this site does not necessarily represent the policies of the Department of Education, and does not imply endorsement by the Federal Government.