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Latest Research: "How Successful Are Our High School Graduates in Post-Secondary Education: 2010 Update"
Greater emphasis is being placed on ensuring our high school graduates are prepared for post secondary education or the workplace. Even the current Race to the Top initiative from the US Department of Education has post secondary preparedness as a key indicator of the success of our K-12 public schools. But are our high school students prepared when they enter our university system? Are they equally prepared no matter what high school they attend?
In the fall of 2007, over 30,000 freshmen entered one of the colleges and universities within the North Carolina university system. Of these approximately 2,200 were CMS high school graduates. If past trends continue, of these 2,200 who enter about 1,300 (or 59%) will actually graduate by Spring, 2012.
Were all 2,200 prepared for the rigors of a college education?
As we know, it is costly to not complete a college degree -- costly to students and parents and costly to North Carolina Taxpayers. A student is not able to fulfill his or her dreams and his or her lifetime earning power is greatly diminished without that college degree. Tax payers contribute over $12,500 per year for each in-state undergraduate in the UNC system, or approximately $50,000 for a student's four years of college. If a student is able to graduate, the tax payers return on investment is high with the increased tax revenue generated for the state.
Why will these 1,300 make it but the other 900 will not? Are all our CMS students adequately prepared for the rigors of higher education?
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This study is an update to last year's study, To a Culture of No Excuses: A Look at the Success of High School Graduates in the University of North Carolina System.
The Public Education Research Institute at Queens (PERIQ) has examined the latest available data from the university system and has followed the high school class of 2007 as they entered one of the 15 UNC system schools.
The research looked to see whether the 2007 freshmen had to enroll in remedial classes before they could take college-level classes, whether they were ready for calculus, whether they were able to enter honors programs, and even whether they survived their freshmen year and returned for their second year.
In particular, PERIQ examined how CMS student success rate in the universities compared to that of students from other urban districts in North Carolina and to that of students throughout the UNC system. And, the study looked at whether the CMS high school the student attended made a difference.
In addition to examining data for the 2007 freshmen, the report looked at trends for the past three years. Are our students better prepared and are existing gaps closing or even widening?
For the complete study, click on the following:
How Successful Are Our High School Graduates in Post-Secondary Education? |
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What Is the Public Education Research Institute at Queens
Often theoretical solutions simply will not work. Instead, practical data-driven answers to real issues in our public schools are needed. The Public Education Research Institute at Queens (PERIQ), a component of the Wayland H. Cato, Jr. School of Education, has been created to provide just that.
What's the Mission and Vision of PERIQ?
Established to be a resource for the community, PERIQ is dedicated to improving educational outcomes in public schools through excellence in research and analysis.
Within the community, PERIQ seeks to be known as a highly respected, trusted source of accurate, relevant, and objective research necessary to provide effective, efficient public education resulting in students prepared for productive lives in the 21st century.
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What PERIQ Does?
PERIQ's major role is to be:
- The Community Resource for Reliable and Trusted K-12 Education Research – a learning organization that provides accurate data and objective analysis for leaders in the community seeking information needed to find solutions for real-world issues in public education
PERIQ also seeks to be:
- The University Resource for the Wayland H. Cato, Jr. School of Education – a learning organization that provides assistance to the School of Education about best practices in programs designed to prepare effective, highly qualified individuals to serve as visionary teachers and educational leaders
- The University Resource for Scholarly Research in K-12 Education – a learning organization that can be counted on to provide assistance to faculty and students as they conduct primary and secondary research focused on improving public education
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What Makes PERIQ Different?
PERIQ can help by providing research and analysis needed to find practical, timely solutions to meet today’s real challenges in public education.
PERIQ is positioned to:
- Partner with you to ensure understanding of the real-world issue that needs a solution and to help develop the right research question that addresses the issue
- Assemble the right resources to answer the question – multidisciplinary approach
- Manage the entire project, including performing needed research and analysis – 1-stop service
- Present back to you in an easily understood way the key findings, conclusions, and if needed recommendations based upon the research
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What Guides PERIQ's Work?
PERI is guided by five key principles:
- Integrity – we adhere to nationally accepted standards for research methodology and all our work will be data-driven and objective; we will conduct our work in a culture of independence, impartiality, and non-partisanship
- Excellence – we are committed to being the very best in what we do and in providing excellence in research, service, and teaching
- Relevancy– we are solution-oriented for issues that are real; we seek up-to-date information; we make recommendations for solutions that are timely, able to be implemented, sustainable, and have great positive impact on public education
- Innovation – we honor ingenuity and creativity in making data-driven recommendations; we value fresh perspectives in looking for new, effective solutions
- Collaboration – we work as a collaborative, supportive partner in all research needed to find answers to real issues in public education
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For more information, contact Cheryl Pulliam, Director of the Public Education Research Institute at Queens.
704.337.2373 (voice) 704.688.2770 (fax)
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