Many students who enter a STEM track in college move out of that track before graduation (National Science Foundation, 2018). The purpose of this study was to assess whether there was a difference in STEM-related major persistence for population proportions of students actively involved in the Science Scholars program and those who were…

To understand students' college preparation experiences, in May 2021, the authors surveyed high school seniors who took the ACT® test between September 2020 and June 2021. These students reported their intentions to attend a postsecondary institution (i.e., a four-year public college or university, a four-year private college or university, a…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page sheets on a variety of subjects. The topics for this report on College and Career Readiness of English learners include: (1) Percentage Distribution of High School Students Participating in the SAT or ACT Exams by English Learner…

On July 1, 2021, Martin Methodist College (MMC) merged with University of Tennessee System as the University of Tennessee Southern (UTS). The purpose of this supplemental report to the 2023 "Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book" is to provide a data summary and snapshot of UTS in relation to other public colleges across the state. This…

This report provides an overview of the Austin Independent School District's college readiness outcomes for seniors in the 2018 and 2019 graduation cohorts.

The purpose of this supplemental report to the 2022 "Tennessee Higher Education Fact Book" is to provide a data summary and snapshot of the University of Tennessee Southern (UTS) in relation to other public colleges across the state. This report supplement is reflective of the first enrollment period for UTS, fall 2021, and completions…

Though many studies explore arts participation at the P-12 level and attendance at the adult level, there remains little to no exploration on who attends arts events throughout college. Being an egalitarian period of life where on-campus arts programing remains either free or at a reduced cost, college may be one of the last areas to cultivate…

A random sample of students who took the ACT test in either April or June of 2016 were invited to participate in an online survey via an email invitation (N = 35,0471). To study whether mailing post card invitations to students improves response rates, a portion of these test-takers were randomly assigned to be sent a post card. In addition,…

Prior work has demonstrated that debate is associated with academic achievement in high school. Whether debate in high school is predictive of better college outcomes beyond its established relationship with promoting college readiness as indicated by the ACT is unknown. This research examines and evaluates the impact of participating in a high…

This report describes ACT test results for Austin Independent School District (AISD) seniors in the 2018-2019 school year. In 2018-2019, the district's average ACT composite score of 23.0 exceeded the state (20.5) and national (20.7) average composite scores.

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics. This document presents highlights relating to English learners and college and career readiness covering school-year (SY) 2013-2014. The topics for this report include: (1) Percentage of ELs…

This report provides an overview of AISD's college readiness outcomes for seniors in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years.

Past literature has examined ways in which college students adopt civic identities. However, little is known about characteristics of students that vary in their expression of these identities. Drawing on data from American College Testing (ACT), this study employs multinomial logistic regression to understand attributes of students who vary in…

Students are most likely to leave science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors during their first year of college. We developed an analytic approach using random forests to identify at-risk students. This method is deployable midway through the first semester and accounts for academic preparation, early engagement in university…

The Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (subsequently renamed the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, also known as TOPS) was created by Act 1375 of the 1997 Regular Legislative Session. The first college freshman class to receive TOPS awards entered postsecondary education in the fall of 1998. Act 1202 of the 2001 Regular Legislative…