Like most other states, Missouri uses assessments intended to measure whether students are on a pathway to "college and career readiness." The state longitudinal data system now has the capacity to directly test that claim. We make use of 8th-grade assessment (MAP) scores in Math, Science, and Communication Arts for roughly 260,000…

Although previous studies have identified the effect of social environment and individual behavior on adolescent obesity in the field of social science, much less is known about the association between adolescent educational expectations and obesity. This article draws on China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) 2013 to 2014 to examine the relationship…

Using data on ninth graders, math teachers, and schools from the nationally representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we investigate the following questions: (1) How do ninth graders' perceptions of their math teachers as equitable relate to their math identity at the intersection of adolescents' race and gender? and (2) Do…

This study tracked college and workforce outcomes for students who began 8th grade in fall 1998 and attended a Texas public school. Students were tracked for 17 years, through summer 2015, when they were approximately 30 years old. Of the 38,322 eighth-grade students in Harris County, 30 percent finished a postsecondary certificate or degree.…

This annual report looks closely at how Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students are progressing on the path to and through high school and college. In particular, the report examines three key milestones--high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion--and tracks how rates on these milestones have changed across time. These rates…

The meta-analysis, that included 75 studies, examined the relationship between illegal drug consumption, on the one hand, and student academic and behavioral outcomes, on the other, for the middle school to college grade levels. The meta-analysis first (research question #1) addressed whether there is a statistically significant relationship…

Math and science motivational beliefs are essential in understanding students' science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) achievement and choices in high school and college. Drawing on the Eccles' expectancy-value theory and Arnett's emerging adulthood framework, this study examined the relations among high school students' motivational…

Self-determination theory (SDT) proposes to explain the relations between motivational states and human development. In education, a central tenet of the theory is that experiencing autonomous motivation in school activities (i.e., genuine pleasure and enjoyment) fosters optimal learning processes, whereas experiencing controlled motivation (i.e.,…

Shortages of science and mathematics teachers are a serious concern in the United States. Despite the implementation of intervention strategies to address this problem at the high school level, little empirical research had been conducted to inform and strengthen these initiatives. This retrospective cohort study used multinomial logistic…

This study examines the educational outcomes of Latino men in Texas by conducting a descriptive policy-focused disaggregate analysis of longitudinal data from the 8th Grade Cohort Longitudinal Study and the Integrated Postsecondary Data System (IPEDS). Based on our analysis, we provide context and understanding of the progress made towards meeting…

Understanding the potential relationships between musicians' different primary personality traits, ages, and their music preferences could be relevant in music teaching and learning. We surveyed participants (N = 362) from four groups: middle school orchestra students, high school orchestra students, collegiate orchestra students, and in-service…

This study was grounded in the social cognitive career theoretical framework (Lent, Brown, & Hackett, 1994). The purpose of this four-year longitudinal study was to examine the factors that may have contributed to students' motivation to develop STEM interest during secondary school years. The participants in our study were 9th-11th grade high…

Using rich Texas administrative data, we estimate the impact of middle school principals on post-secondary schooling, employment, and criminal justice outcomes. The results highlight the importance of school leadership, though striking differences emerge in the relative importance of different skill dimensions to different outcomes. The estimates…

Talking about race does not have to be incredibly awkward. In this book, Gooding offers twelve clear, cogent, and concise racial rubrics to help users of mainstream media more readily discern patterns hidden in plain sight. The text primarily leverages popular movies as the medium of analysis--since they are unparalleled in their cultural…

Among students in the 2024 ACT-tested graduating class, over 374,000 took the PreACT 8/9® or PreACT test before taking the ACT. This issue brief compares the ACT scores and college enrollment rates for students who took a test from the PreACT Suite of Assessments versus those who did not. The brief also examines average PreACT-to-ACT gain scores…