Rising to the Challenge: Are High School Graduates Prepared for College and Work? (press release. poll report ) A poll conducted by Achieve, Inc. as part of their American Diploma Project to help states define and align high school exit standards and assessments with college entrance standards and assessments.

Achieve has just released a new publication detailing some of their work and findings:

• "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" (793kb pdf)
  
  In February 2005, Achieve and the National Governors Association sponsored a National Education Summit on High Schools at which governors from 45 states, business leaders and education officials addressed the preparation gap that leaves many high school graduates unprepared for success in college and the workplace. In an effort to monitor state progress toward the Summit goals, Achieve surveyed all 50 states in December 2005 on a key subset of the policies from the Summit action agenda - those focused on aligning high school academic standards, course requirements, assessments, and data and accountability systems with postsecondary and workplace expectations. In most states there is a large gap between what high schools expect and what colleges and employers demand, an expectations gap. This report examines progress states are making in closing the gap.

"Closing the Expectations Gap 2006" is a followup to Achieve's 2004 study:

• "The Expectations Gap: A 50-State Review of High School Graduation Requirements" (220kb pdf)
  
  This study from The American Diploma Project (ADP) - created by Achieve, The Education Trust and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation - found that shockingly few of the nation's high school students gain the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and the workforce. In this new report, Achieve provides one important explanation for this phenomenon: No state requires its graduates to take the courses that reflect the real-world demands of work and postsecondary education. This report looks at graduation requirements and provides policy recommendations on how states should "ratchet up" their expectations.

JBHE: Latest News for 4/6/06.

Includes: "Ban on Race-Sensitive Admissions Continues to Cause Major Damage to Black Enrollments at State-Operated Law Schools in California"