Volume 1, July 2024

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Stephen L. Pruitt

Message from the SREB President

Dr. Stephen L. Pruitt

Welcome to the first edition of the SREB Journal of Education Practices and Trends. Since SREB’s inception in 1948, the organization has served as a convener of education leaders, state officials, and other policymakers to improve education.

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Effectiveness of Early Literacy Policies When Statewide Efforts Support Them
Journal of Education Practices and Trends, July 2024

 
Dr. Kristin Javorsky, Associate Professor, Early Literacy Education, Mississippi State University
Dr. Kellie Fondren, Assistant Professor, Special Education, Mississippi State University
Dr. Angela Mulkana, Assistant Teaching Professor, Elementary Education, Mississippi State University
Kim Smith, Instructor, Elementary Education, Mississippi State University

Mississippi has transformed their literacy outcomes through strategies focused on improving the reading skills of public-school students in kindergarten through third grade, referred to as the Mississippi Miracle. The Literacy-Based Promotion Act led to significant changes, especially within Mississippi’s teacher education programs, resulting in great reading achievements of school districts and students.

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Opportunities and Obstacles for In-State Retention of University Graduates
Journal of Education Practices and Trends, July 2024

 
Bryn Bakoyema, Assistant Vice President for Planning and Strategic Analysis, Alabama State University
Tiara Fencher, Ph.D. Student, Alabama State University

An excerpt of the 2021 SAIR Best Paper award, this article summarizes a state’s retention challenges of college graduates identified from a college student survey and how the state responded to those challenges.

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Title Figure 1: States' FAFSA Completion Rank and % of Seniors Completing a FAFSA in Year Before and Implementation Year of Universal FAFSA. The graphic shows the FAFSA completion rank and percentage of seniors completing a FAFSA in the year before and the implementation year of Universal FAFSA for four states: Alabama (AL), Illinois (IL), Louisiana (LA), and Texas (TX). For each state, two data points are provided: 1. The rank and percentage in the year before implementation. 2. The rank and percentage in the implementation year. Alabama (AL, 2022): Year Before: 34th, 46.7% . Implementation Year: 9th, 58.7% . Illinois (IL, 2021): Year Before: 10th, 62.2%. Implementation Year: 4th, 65.7%. Louisiana (LA, 2018): Year Before: 12th, 58.8%. Implementation Year: 2nd, 69.9%. Texas (TX, 2022): Year Before: 23rd, 50.1%. Implementation Year: 5th, 62.6%. The x-axis represents the state rank by the percentage of seniors completing the FAFSA, with ranks from 35 to 0 (in reverse order) and percentages from 50% to 60%. Each state's data points are connected by horizontal bars, indicating improvement in rank and percentage from the year before implementation to the implementation year.

Increasing FAFSA Completion: Comparisons of Projects Across SREB States
Journal of Education Practices and Trends, July 2024

 
Dr. Rusty Monhollon, Vice President, Academic Affairs, The Kansas Board of Regents
Former President and Executive Director, South Carolina Commission on Higher Education
Jessie Lynn Nichols, Ph.D. Student, Auburn University

Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas, all SREB members, have mandatory FAFSA completion requirements. This article compares each state’s approach and results of implementation, shares the potential impact of the new FAFSA form, and makes recommendations for states in the early stages of considering the addition of a FAFSA completion initiative.

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Assessing the Impact of State Economies and Investment in Higher Education
Journal of Education Practices and Trends, July 2024

 
Dr. Emily C. Erwin, Associate Professor of Curricular Analytics, Louisiana State University

Researchers postulate that state economies predominately based on natural resources and agriculture are less likely to invest in postsecondary education. International data has shown that nations with these economies do not invest in human capital. This excerpt of the study presents data to update findings and recommendations on these factors. A link to the full article is available for further review.

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Collaborative Online Course Sharing Supports Student Success at HBCUs and MSIs
Journal of Education Practices and Trends, July 2024

 
Elisa Jaden, Ed.S., Program Specialist, Student Access and Success, SREB
Jamila S. Lyn, Chief Student Success Strategist, Bottom Up Thinking
Former Director of Specialized Programming, Benedict College

The white paper focuses on the impact of collaborative online course sharing at historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions and highlights the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) HBCU-MSI Course Sharing Consortium in removing barriers to student success.