Reforming today’s high schools to achieve better educational outcomes is at the top of most national, state, and local education agendas. One of the country’s most ambitious statewide efforts to prepare college- and career-ready high school graduates is the Texas High School Project (THSP). THSP encompasses such initiatives as High Schools That Work; High School Redesign and Restructuring; Early College High Schools; New Schools and Charter Schools; Texas Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (T-STEM); and High School Redesign.

To provide policymakers and educators with objective, timely, and targeted information that will help ensure the progress and success of these high school reform initiatives, SRI and subcontractors are conducting a longitudinal evaluation of THSP. The team is examining the role of state and district policy, school reform networks and support providers, school conditions, and teacher and student activities in the implementation of THSP reforms.

The mixed-methods approach includes qualitative interviews and case studies, quantitative surveys, and other analyses. In a quasi-experimental approach, the team is tracking the effects of the THSP programs on outcomes for THSP students relative to their peers in well-matched comparison schools.