The 2014 Michigan Public High School Context and Performance Report Card is the Mackinac Center's second effort to measure high school performance. The first high school assessment was published in 2012, followed by the Center's 2013 elementary and middle school report card, which used a similar methodology to evaluate school performance. The…

Secondary education in Fiji ends with the Form 7 examination. Predictive validity for academic success of Form 7 scores which form the basis for admission into the Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Surgery programme of the Fiji School of Medicine was examined via a cohort of 129 students. Success rates for year 1 in 2008, 2009, and 2010 were 90.7…

This paper provides evidence on the sources of differences in inequality in educational scores and their evolution over time in four European countries. Using Programme for International Student Assessment data from the 2000 and the 2006 waves, the paper shows that inequality decreased in Germany and Spain (two "decentralised" schooling…

Data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction archive are used to assess the joint effect of race and gender on advanced academic (advanced placement and honors) course enrollment within a school district with an open enrollment policy. Using student SAT scores; the authors compare expected levels of advanced course enrollment for…

Mathematics education has emerged to be of prime importance in the United States, as American students' performance has shown to be consistently and significantly lower than many other nations in the world (Rampey, Dion, & Donahue, 2009; National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.; OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, n.d.).…

This study determined whether enrollment in agriscience education was related to high school students' science achievement. The results of the mandatory high school graduate exit exams were used to measure science achievement. All test scores from non-special education students were utilized for the study. The comparison of the science achievement…

Equality and quality in higher education (HE) are frequently juxtaposed in the literature. This paper presents evidence to contest deficit assumptions about widening participation, particularly the belief that entering HE with "non-traditional" entry qualifications lowers standards. Drawing on a three-year constructivist grounded theory…

This study explored the relationship between reading and achievement on a science standardized test. A nonfiction reading subtest and the science section of the Connecticut Academic Performance Test were compared for Grade 10 students at 3 Connecticut high schools. Results showed a moderate-to-strong positive relationship between the variables.…

This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of self-efficacy on the performance of General Educational Development (GED) and high school graduates enrolled in developmental reading skills courses. The sample for the study consisted of 100 high school and 31 GED graduates enrolled in developmental reading courses in a midwestern community…

Many U.S. students must pass a standards-based exit exam to earn a high school diploma. The degree to which exit exams and state standards properly signal to students their preparedness for postsecondary schooling has been questioned. The alignment of test scores with college grades for students at the University of Arizona (n = 2,667) who took…

"Algebra for everyone" has been a popular reform, though not commonly implemented and not fully evaluated. Through investigation, one might be able to determine whether courses deemed equivalent to a traditional college preparatory algebra course provide an equitable understanding of algebra concepts and skills, while controlling for…

We use data on statewide end-of-course tests in North Carolina to examine the relationship between teacher credentials and student achievement at the high school level. The availability of test scores in multiple subjects for each student permits us to estimate a model with student fixed effects, which helps minimize any bias associated with the…