Centers

Finishing What My Parents Started: College Aspirations among EMERGE Students

This brief describes findings from interviews with high-performing high school sophomores from low-socioeconomic backgrounds who applied and were accepted into EMERGE during spring 2018, before any exposure to EMERGE programming. The goal of this study was to understand how students develop college aspirations and search for postsecondary institutions.

Availability of and Equity in Access to HISD Pre-K Programs (Part 1)

This study attempts to identify the spatial distribution of HISD pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs across the district and better understand how program location may be associated with access and equity issues.

The Role of College Prep Course Offerings and Course-Taking in Long-Term Educational Outcomes

This study analyzes the distribution of college prep course offerings across Texas high schools and which school characteristics are associated with higher and lower numbers of college prep course offerings

The Effects of HISD Summer School

This study provides an assessment of the effectiveness of Houston ISD 2016 summer school, which the district offered both to retained students (which was required and needed for promotion) as well as promoted students (which was not required but available for summer enrichment).

Harris County’s College Advising Needs

This Houston Education Research Consortium report assesses college advising needs in Pasadena, Galena Park, Sheldon, Humble, Aldine, Cypress-Fairbanks, Spring Branch, Alief and Katy ISD.

HISD's Decentralization Reform (Part 4: Funding)

This brief addresses Houston ISD's decentralization funding and is the final part of a larger study about HISD's decentralization.

HISD's Decentralization Reform (Part 3: Decentralization and Student Achievement)

This brief provides evidence on the relationship between HISD's decentralization reforms and student achievement.

Investigating Causal Effects of Arts Education Experiences: Experimental Evidence from Houston's Arts Access Initiative

Researchers found arts-learning experiences benefit students in terms of reductions in disciplinary infractions, increases in compassion for others and improvements in writing achievement.

Tracking Eighth-Graders' Postsecondary Outcomes in Harris County

Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) used the Houston Community Data Connections platform to track hundreds of thousands of Houston-area students' educational and professional careers for 17 years.

Predictors of School Discipline

This study examines the likelihood that a student will receive a school disciplinary action, such as in-school or out-of-school suspension.

HISD's Decentralization Reform (Part 2: Principal Survey)

This research brief looks at HISD principal attitudes and satisfaction within the current decentralized model.

Transitioning to College and Work: Where are high school seniors from 2006-2008 now? (Part 1)

This research brief describes the college outcomes of three cohorts of 12th grade students in the Houston Independent School District through descriptive statistics of college enrollment, college completion and annual income.

HISD’s Decentralization Reform (Part 1: Policy Analysis)

his research brief is Part I of a four-part series that studies the implementation and impact of the HISD decision to decentralize in the 1990s

Case Studies in Floodplain Buyouts: Looking to Best Practices to Drive the Conversation in the Houston Region

A look at best practices from other jurisdictions engaged in the hazard mitigation strategy of strategic property buyouts.

Eligiendo Escuelas: English Learners and Access to School Choice

Using data from Houston Independent School District (HISD), researchers examined English learner participation in a system of school choice. Specifically, researchers investigated the extent to which never, current, and former English learners enrolled in a non-zoned HISD school.