Alabama’s College-Going Rate Declines With the Class of 2019
Even before the arrival of the Coronavirus, the number and percentage of Alabama high school graduates entering higher education after graduation was falling. According to new data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE), the college-going rate for the Class of 2019 declined to 58%, the lowest percentage of high school graduates going into […]
Corporal Punishment in Alabama and the US
Significantly fewer students are receiving corporal punishment in Alabama, according to a new dataset released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and analyzed by the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. Still, Alabama paddles more students than almost any other state. Alabama is one of only 11 states where corporal punishment […]
2020 Kids Count Data Book provides roadmap for helping Alabama children
VOICES for Alabama’s Children recently released its 2020 Alabama Kids Count Data Book last month. This annual statistical portrait is meant to provide a roadmap for policymakers who seek to improve the lives of Alabama’s children. PARCA provides research support for the project. The Data Book can be used to raise the visibility of children’s issues, identify areas of need, […]
2019 Likely a High Point for High School Graduation and Readiness
Alabama’s high school seniors of 2019 graduated at the highest rate the state has ever reported, 92%. And, a greater proportion of those students, 80%, were rated college and career ready than ever before. Search results for local systems and schools. Alabama’s reported high school graduation rate now ranks No. 7 among U.S. states. The […]
Raising Educational Attainment by Keeping College Graduates
Only about half the students who earn four-year degrees from Alabama colleges are found to be working in the state five years after graduation, according to a new study by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. The study, which compared graduation records to labor force data, found that 62% of in-state students who earned a […]
Agenda for Alabama’s Third Century: Raising Educational Attainment for All
While Alabama continues to gain on other states in the percentage of adults with a high school diploma, it is falling further behind the national average when it comes to the percentage of the population with a bachelor’s degree or better. This is important because higher educational attainment is correlated with higher rates of labor […]
Alabama First Class Pre-K Research Gains National Exposure
The National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University has recognized research on the persistence of the impact of First Class Pre-K. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, PARCA, ThinkData, and the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education published a peer-reviewed article in the International Journal of Child Care and Education […]
COVID-19 and Public Education: Lessons Learned Last Spring
Alabama schools are set to re-open in August, with plans for local systems to offer educational services through traditional on-campus schools, remote on-line education, and a hybrid of traditional and remote learning options. With the novel Coronavirus still spreading, all plans are subject to change. Already, the state’s largest system, Mobile County, and the Selma […]
School Discipline and Race in Alabama
Black students face harsher disciplinary measures than white students for similar offenses, a PARCA review of public school disciplinary records has found. Meanwhile, Alabama is one of few states nationally, and the only state in the Southeast, that has no uniform statewide policies requiring due process when students are suspended or expelled. Suspensions have been […]
2019 ACT WorkKeys: Preparing Students for Work in a Time of Uncertainty
High school seniors and recent graduates are preparing to enter a workforce that has been disrupted, hopefully only temporarily. In a matter of weeks, the nation has gone from record low unemployment to levels not seen since the Depression. Employers are adapting to a new set of work conditions and the demand for new skills […]