Rural Mississippi schools often face challenges in providing equitable access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses, particularly in STEM fields. This lack of access limits opportunities for high-achieving students to pursue rigorous STEM coursework and related careers. The AP STEM program aims to improve access to AP STEM courses for high-achieving…

This descriptive correlational study examined the predictive relationships between ACT composite scores, high school GPA, ACT testing attempts, and gender with teacher candidate's overall performance on the edTPA and each of the three edTPA instructional tasks (Task 1, Task 2, and Task 3). The edTPA is a portfolio-based subject-specific teaching…

This brief presents a method for predicting the impact of school closures on average ACT® test scores. The purpose is to illustrate a methodology and major conditions that should be considered in predicting aggregate ACT scores when school closes prematurely and learning and testing are disrupted. Across three scenarios examined herein, the impact…

Early college entrance programs have existed in the United States since the 1950s, but in-depth research on academic success in these programs is lacking. Every year, early college entrance programs utilize a variety of data-gathering and candidate-screening techniques to select hundreds of students for admission into these accelerated programs.…

Statewide testing with college admissions exams dates to 2001, when Colorado and Illinois introduced the practice. Such testing expanded in subsequent years, and beginning in 2017--2018, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) allowed states to use a college admissions exam to meet accountability requirements for high schools. Some see this option…

The current study is a conceptual replication of the influence of an advanced educational opportunity and several student propensities to learn on a college-readiness assessment for mathematics (ACT scores) among an important and under-studied group of students. We focused on a sample of predominantly Black students from economically-disadvantaged…

This study investigated factors influencing Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) pretest and post-test scores for a sample (N=1116 students) collected in the introductory calculus-based mechanics class at a large eastern land-grant university. Several academic and noncognitive factors were examined using correlation analysis and linear…

Arkansas has identified college and career readiness indicators for schools that can be used to monitor students' performance and to improve their postsecondary readiness and success. Using two cohorts of grade 6 students, this study examined the extent to which Arkansas's middle school and high school indicators of postsecondary readiness predict…

This Study Snapshot highlights findings from a larger study on Arkansas's middle school and high school indicators of postsecondary readiness and success outcomes. The Arkansas Department of Education identified college and career readiness indicators in their Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan. Using two statewide cohorts of grade 6 students…

The "Identifying Indicators That Predict Postsecondary Readiness and Success in Arkansas" study examined the extent to which Arkansas's middle school and high school indicators of postsecondary readiness predict a student's postsecondary readiness outcome and success outcomes. The study estimated the accuracy and strength of the middle…

This study investigated the moderating roles of motivation, social engagement, and self-regulation in predicting academic achievement in grades 11-12 for 3,281 7th-9th graders. Standardized assessments of college readiness (ACT® Explore and the ACT® test) and student self-report measures of social emotional learning factors (ACT® Engage® Grades…

Students' motivational beliefs, such as disciplinary intelligence mindsets, can influence their physics performance and persistence. Intelligence mindset beliefs have long been argued to fall along of continuum between fixed and growth mindsets. Those with fixed physics mindsets believe that ability in physics is innate and unchangable, while…

Institutions of higher education face a great deal of pressure to be accessible, inclusive, and diverse, but these goals should not come at the expense of maintaining high standards. Universal and vigilantly enforced standards exist not only to safeguard students' best interests, but are crucial to the academic integrity and core educational…

During the 2013/14 school year two Florida school districts sought to develop an early warning system to identify students at risk of low performance on college readiness measures in grade 11 or 12 (such as the SAT or ACT) in order to support them with remedial coursework prior to high school graduation. The study presented in this report provides…

This study examines the relationship between student success measures on student achievement to inform our approach to mediating against potential barriers on persistence and retention for first generation and traditionally marginalized populations for students enrolled in a new Living Learning Community. Success measures examine those beyond the…