This study examines the association between college-bound friends and college enrollment using restricted transcript data from the High School Longitudinal Study. Propensity score matching and school fixed effects models suggest that having close college-bound friends is positively associated with enrolling in college. However, Black and Latino…

With the increase of technology in day-to-day lives, online college education is sweeping the nation as numbers of students enrolling online is consistently on the rise. Unfortunately, because of the nature of open enrollment at the community college level, students often enroll without necessary skills to be successful at the college level,…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of Florida's Best and Brightest Teacher Scholarship on the retention rates of "High-Quality" Teachers. In 2015, the state provided $44 million for recruitment and retention bonuses of $10,000. In subsequent years, the program was reduced in size of award until ultimately canceled in…

This is the fourth report in a series of studies conducted to investigate ACT's fee waiver program. Although the three prior reports in this series provide valuable descriptive information about ACT fee waiver usage and test-day absenteeism among students who use fee waivers, this brief provides information directly from students who registered…

When do students start the college planning process? How many plan to take the SAT or ACT? How much do they value a college degree? RNL and Halda surveyed more than 2,200 high school students to answer these and many other key questions. Read our 32-page college planning report and discover a wealth of findings on: (1) when students start to…

Purpose: This research explores the key factors that contribute to the success of Black students in a predominantly White institution (PWI). Two measures of success are examined: cumulative grade point average (GPA) and graduation status. Design/methodology/approach: Using student-level data from a southeastern university, this research estimates…

This mixed-methods study explored American College Test (ACT) composite scores and Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) growth scores in connection with a student's race, socioeconomic status, and gender as well as perceived factors that promote or inhibit success on the ACT. Quantitative data were collected from existing TVAAS data for…

Using administrative data from Georgia, we provide the first study of the full set of college entrance exam-taking strategies, including who takes the ACT and the SAT (or both), when they take the exams, and how many times they take each exam. We have several main findings. First, one-third of exam takers take both the ACT and SAT. Second, we see…

This high rate of test-day absenteeism is concerning. The ACT test is an important step in the college-going process, with over 1,500 colleges across the US either requiring, recommending, or considering test scores as a criterion for admission decisions. Fee waivers are intended to remove the financial burden of taking the test, thus potentially…

In the American Education system, high school plays an important role. High school education in the country is impacted by several factors such as peer pressure, parental influence and personal characteristics. There are discrepancies in achievements between Black and White students across the United States. Therefore, this paper will aim at…

College-readiness testing has increased drastically over the last thirty years, with increases in the number of Scholastic Achievement Tests and American College Tests taken by students. The number of Advanced Placement tests has also reached an all-time high. With states using these college-readiness assessments as high-stakes exit tests and the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of cognitive and non-cognitive factors on the academic achievement of female veteran students in a four-year university. Specifically, this research was interested in the influence of High School Grade Point Average (GPA), standardized test scores: Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and American…

This article describes a revision of a first-year writing program curriculum using the pillars of the Reimagining the First-Year Program. The authors adapted principles related to mindset and habits of mind from both college retention scholarship and composition scholarship. After developing a research project in order to understand what elements…

What is it like to be a gifted adolescent girl in today's world? Situated in the context of a five-session group activity, called Gifted+Grounded, the purpose of this qualitative inquiry study was to better understand how two groups of gifted adolescent girls (Group 1 = 11, Group 2 = 14; Ages 13-16) made meaning of being "gifted." The…

Over the last 30 years, public school administrators have spent a great deal of time and resources attempting to increase the achievement level of high school students throughout the United States. The purpose of this study was to quantitatively investigate and examine the relationship of one-to-one technology on the math and English achievement…