Background: Researchers suggest benefits for cooperative learning, but often fail to control for choosing to engage cooperatively, ACT scores or early course performance. Objective: To observe the effects of choosing cooperative work on exam performance in an Introduction to Psychology Course, while controlling for early exam performance and ACT.…

Research has shown that males often struggle with the demands of college, one of which involves comprehending academic texts. Many males, however, do understand course readings and are successful students. Unfortunately, little is known about how successful and struggling college males differ in their use of "reading strategies," the…

The purpose of this study is to look at the impact in terms of timing of language-based learning differences and how this has impacted students' overall comprehension scores on SAT or ACT and final English grade. Participants were male alumni of a private college preparatory school with a diagnosed language-based learning difference who were a…

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) English II and Algebra I scores correlate with American College Testing (ACT) English and Mathematics scores, to examine the methods teachers use to prepare students for the MAAP test, and to determine whether these methods enhance…

While previous research has examined outcomes related to academic rigor, mixed findings have resulted from differing conceptualizations of rigor as well as varying methodological approaches. Defining rigor as those in-class practices and assignments that require students to engage in deep learning and demonstrate cognitive complexity, we use…

Research methods and statistics are core courses in the undergraduate psychology major. To assess learning outcomes, it would be useful to have a measure that assesses research methods and statistical literacy beyond course grades. In two studies, we developed and provided initial validation results for a research methods and statistical knowledge…

This mixed-methods study approach investigated the impact of standardized tests on student achievement from the STEM program and the traditional program in a suburban high school. Qualitative data were collected from interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires to get perceptual data from teachers. Quantitative data were collected from different…

Critical to many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career paths is mathematical modeling--specifically, the creation and adaptation of mathematical models to solve problems in complex settings. Conventional standardized measures of mathematics achievement are not structured to directly assess this type of mathematical…

Achievement in science is a national concern, and graduating students who are college and career ready is a national imperative. In this study, we examine student achievement on the ACT science test as a high school transitioned from teaching biology, chemistry and physics with a teacher-centric pedagogy (the traditional instructional context) to…

The assessment of learning in large online courses requires tools that are valid, reliable, easy to administer, and can be automatically scored. We have evaluated an online assessment and learning tool called Knowledge Assembly, or Knowla. Knowla measures a student's knowledge in a particular subject by having the student assemble a set of…

Funded by the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts (CILA) at Wabash College, the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNS) is a multi-institution, multi-year, longitudinal study designed to identify the academic and non-academic collegiate experiences that foster liberal learning. This article describes how the study was done and…