This paper provides a brief review of major research findings on how the kind and level of courses students take in high school affect their performance on tests, their readiness for college-level work, and their persistence in earning a degree. It also features a look at what constitutes a "rigorous" high school curriculum. Highlights from four…

The research reported in this paper identifies the "core curriculum" and "optional curriculum" suggested by widely used textbooks of elementary school mathematics and describes the influence of each on teacher autonomy in selecting the content of instruction. Preliminary analyses suggest that the "core curriculum" is generally consistent with…