We analyze admissions and transcript records for students at multiple Ivy-Plus colleges to study the relationship between standardized (SAT/ACT) test scores, high school GPA, and first-year college grades. Standardized test scores predict academic outcomes with a normalized slope four times greater than that from high school GPA, all conditional…

Numerous studies have demonstrated that social and emotional skills (SE skills) can predict academic achievement, including grades and test scores, and prior research at ACT has shown that stronger SE skills are associated with higher ACT scores. However, despite the abundant evidence that SE skills are beneficial for students in general, less is…

Prior research has shown the importance of the ACT score and high school GPA (HSGPA) in predicting college success. Early college success, as indicated by students' first-year college GPA (FYGPA), plays a pivotal role in later college success and timely degree completion (Demeter et al., 2022; Gershenfeld et al., 2016). The accurate prediction of…

Throughout history religion has influenced the behavior of adherents, however, little research has been completed determining how these religious beliefs result in changes in academic achievement. This research study, on the relationship between religious affiliation and academic achievement, is constructed on the theory that religious teachings…

Holistic admissions practices require evaluating an applicant's credentials in light of the opportunities available in their high school context. High school grades, test scores, and course taking are clearly related to college grades, retention, and graduation. But does performance in high school context also relate to college success? Building a…

Empirical research on the predictors of the edTPA scores is growing in education literature. However, to date minimal empirical literature exists on edTPA and physical education as a specific program area. State policymakers, educator preparation program administration, and physical education teacher education faculty may benefit from…

Background/Context: Impact evaluations of schooling reforms in developing countries typically focus on tests of student achievement that are designed and implemented by researchers. Are these tests any good? What practical and principled guidance should researchers in the field follow? We aim to answer these questions. Test scores have, of course,…

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between school-wide academic outcomes and the instructional modalities utilized by public schools during the 2019-2022 school years. This study also determined if there was a significant difference in assessment scores earned by public school students…

Academic achievement in American high schools is increasingly defined in terms of quantifiable values. Despite being designed to produce favorable data, explicit standardized-test preparation has an insignificant impact on scores and is counterproductive to the cultivation of attributes necessary for success in higher education and effective civic…

Colleges and universities have become increasingly concerned that requiring standardized test scores for admission is an impediment to campus diversity, and these objections have grown with the recent focus on societal inequities. In addition, the pandemic led to the cancellation of test administrations, which, in turn, caused many institutions to…

The Every Student Succeeds Act requires that English Learners (ELs) are included in annual state testing (grades 3-8 and once in high school) and included in each state's accountability system disaggregated by subgroup to ensure that they receive the support they need to learn English, participate fully in their education experience, and graduate…

There is empirical evidence of substantial heterogeneity in economic mobility across geographic areas and the efficacy of schools has been suggested as an explanatory factor. Using administrative microdata from seven states covering nearly 3 million students, we explore the potential role of schools in promoting economic mobility by estimating…

This study is the first to explore how skill and effort drive student achievement using a framework developed by Duckworth, Eichstaedt, and Unger (2015). A statistically significant achievement difference, as measured by Comprehensive Business Exam score during the last semester in college, was identified when students were separated by standard…

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) English II and Algebra I scores correlate with American College Testing (ACT) English and Mathematics scores, to examine the methods teachers use to prepare students for the MAAP test, and to determine whether these methods enhance…

Historically, African American and other underserved students encounter academic challenges in pursuit of a college degree--one of which is their performance on standardized tests. This paper analyzes College Grade Point Averages (CGPAs), ACT Composite (ACTC), and SAT Total (SATT) scores of students who participated in the Health Sciences and…