>From:   Desrochers, Angela

>

>Sent:   February 14, 2006 5:02 PM

>

>Subject:         The Toolbox Revisited:  Paths to Degree Completion From 

>High School Through College

>

>Contacts:  Jane Glickman or Stephanie Babyack- (202) 401-1576

>

>NEW U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STUDY FINDS STRONG LINK BETWEEN 

>CHALLENGING STUDIES AND DEGREE COMPLETION

>

>Study Finds Students With Rigorous Academics in High School More Likely to 

>Complete Bachelor s Degree

>

>         February 14, 2006:  Completing academically challenging course 

> work in high school dramatically increases the likelihood of a student 

> earning a bachelor s degree, according to a new U.S. Department of 

> Education study released today.  The study, The Toolbox Revisited:  Paths 

> to Degree Completion From High School Through College, found that the 

> academic intensity of a high school curriculum is the strongest indicator 

> of postsecondary degree completion, regardless of a student s major 

> course of study.

>

>         Students who enter college should be ready for college-level 

> work.  And it s the job of high schools and middle schools to prepare 

> them for it, said U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings.  The 

> president s proposed American Competitiveness Initiative would promote 

> stronger instruction in key subjects such as math and science.  As the 

> scientific data in this study show, strengthening curriculum now will pay 

> dividends well into the future.

>

>The President s American Competitiveness Initiative would support rigorous 

>instruction in math, science and foreign languages in the early grades and 

>more challenging course work in high school.  Math Now programs, which aim 

>to give younger students solid instruction in math, as well as increased 

>incentives for high school students to take Advanced Placement courses, 

>will ensure that the nation s students are better prepared to complete 

>college and compete in a global workplace.

>

>The Toolbox Revisited studies the High School Class of 1992 as it moved 

>from high school to higher education and includes comparisons to a 

>previous report, Answers in the Tool Box, which followed the High School 

>Class of 1982 from high school through college.  Both national 

>longitudinal studies had similar findings.

>

>This new data empirically confirms what educators already 

>know:  Challenging high school course work prepares students for the much 

>tougher challenges that lie ahead, said Secretary Spellings.  It also 

>helps colleges and universities by reducing the need for costly remedial 

>education.  The American Competitiveness Initiative is an educational win-win.

>

>Through high school and college transcripts, the study examines students 

>who attended a four-year college at any time, including students who 

>started out in community colleges.  The data on which the study is based 

>cover a period of eight and a half years for degree completion-from high 

>school graduation in spring 1992 until December 2000. It is based on data 

>from the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988.

>

>The Toolbox Revisited is available at 

><http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/index.html>www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/index.html 

><http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/toolboxrevisit/index.html> and 

>will be available in hard copy on Feb. 28 for free through ED Pubs at 

><http://www.edpubs.org/webstore/Content/search.asp>www.edpubs.org/webstore/Content/search.asp 

><http://www.edpubs.org/webstore/Content/search.asp> or by calling 

>1-877-4-EDPUBS or 1-877-576-7734 (TTY/TDD).

>

># # #

>

>Angela Desrochers

>

>Communications

>

>Office of Vocational and Adult Education

>

>U.S. Department of Education

>

>Potomac Center Plaza

>

>550 12th Street SW

>

>Washington DC  20202-7100

>

>Phone-(202) 245-7722

>

>Fax-(202) 245-7837