Raising the bar for graduation pathways to college and work: early signals on how Louisiana's education policy strategies are affecting college and career readiness

This report is part of a four-part series on how policy actions intended to support students from birth through graduation from high school in the state of Louisiana are being implemented by educators and the organizations where they work, and how those policy actions are related to successful student outcomes. Each of the four reports addresses a different topic that has been the focus of Louisiana's education policy reforms: early childhood education, K-12 academics, teacher preparation, and graduation pathways. Taken together, these reports provide an overview of how an ambitious set of interconnected state policies, introduced in 2012, are making their mark on the teaching and learning happening in early childhood centers, schools, and teacher preparation institutions across the state. This report focuses on graduation pathways. It specifically examines the implementation of key state actions intended to support and improve graduation pathways in Louisiana, and early signals regarding changes in student outcomes that might be associated with those actions.

Findings suggest that state policies may have supported increases in college enrollment among low-income and minority students and enabled students to receive industry-based credentials upon graduation from high school. However, we also identified some achievement gaps, particularly between higher- and lower-income students, girls and boys, and minorities and nonminorities. And only a small number of students obtained the highest-rated industry-based credentials expected to lead to high-wage, high-demand jobs. Lastly, this study pointed to some challenges in implementing the state's ambitious and comprehensive graduation pathways reforms.

Edited excerpt from publication. Show less